Clapton wasn't the first to cover "Hellhound," nor, for that matter, to put out a disc of Johnson songs. In 1998, Peter Green (a founding member of Fleetwood Mac) issued The Robert Johnson Songbook with the Nigel Watson Splinter Group, followed in 2000 by Hot Foot Powder, the two together comprising all of Johnson's known work. A compatriot and contemporary of Clapton's, Green is himself a middle-aged white guy, but on Hot Foot he surrounds himself with authentic blues greats like Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, and Muddy Waters's longtime sideman Hubert Sumlin, giving the whole enterprise a certain street cred. In contrast to the high-visibility, high-energy versions on Me and Mr. Johnson, Green's comparatively low-key approach conveys an earthiness that seems more in tune with the songs as originally conceived. His singing, while not exactly strong, has a cracked, damaged quality that works well in the context: the man has not had an easy life, and you can hear it.

More to the point, Green does not overplay the material. Most of his versions are built around an acoustic rhythm section — both Green and Watson play a mean slide — making them sound as if they could have been taped in '40s or '50s just as easily as today. Even rockers like "Dead Shrimp Blues," which features a driving electric backing by Sumlin, highlights the rhythmic possibilities of Johnson's recording without overwhelming it. Nigel Watson's take on "Preachin' Blues," one of Johnson's most dazzling performances, adds a personal accent but stays true to the core. Their cover of "Hellhound" suffers from some of the same tendency to overdramatize as Clapton's does, yet still manages to keep a fair amount of the original feel. And while it sounds odd to hear Green repeat all of Johnson's spoken asides like Gospel, I have to remind myself that Johnson himself (judging from his alternate takes) had apparently worked many of these out in advance, rehearsing his own spontaneity for later use. Sometimes even Johnson covered Robert Johnson.

by Mark Polizzotti