Me and Mr. Johnson is the fifteenth solo studio album recorded by Eric Clapton, released in March 2004 by Reprise Records. It consists of covers of songs written and originally recorded by Robert Johnson. The album cover was painted by Sir Peter Blake, using a series of photographs of Clapton. Clapton had planned to record an album of new material, but by the time of the recording sessions there were not enough new songs written, so the band instead recorded a series of Johnson songs.

Me and Mr. Johnson sold more than two million albums worldwide and reached the Top 10 in more than 15 countries. A companion album and video release entitled Sessions for Robert J was released on 7 December 2004, and featured different versions of each of the songs from the studio album.

Background

At the beginning of 2004, Clapton set out to record a new album, working with his long-time collaborator Simon Climie on several songs that Clapton wrote about love, peace and happiness. However, when it came time to record in the studio, there were not enough finished songs for an album, so Clapton suggested the band play some songs composed by Delta blues great Robert Johnson. In just two weeks, Clapton and his studio band – Andy Fairweather Low, Billy Preston, Steve Gadd, Doyle Bramhall II, and Nathan East – recorded an entire album consisting of Johnson cover songs. Clapton was very pleased with the recordings, as was Warner Bros. Records and Reprise Records manager Tom Whalley. Clapton eventually finished his original material, which was released on the album Back Home in 2005.

In February 2004, Clapton was interviewed about his new studio album:

Critical reception

AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine notes Clapton sounds very "comfortable and relaxed" on the album, "as if he was having fun making music". Erlewine calls the album "simply the most enjoyable record he's made" since From the Cradle with the possible exception of Riding with the King. Comparing the album to From the Cradle, the music critic notes: "in some respects it's a better blues album than that since it never sounds as doggedly serious as that guitar-heavy affair". Erlewine finishes his review liking the album: "Some [...] may find the album too slickly produced – admittedly, blues albums should never boast a credit for Pro Tools, as this does – but this is a heartfelt tribute that's among Clapton's most purely enjoyable albums". He awarded the release three and a half out of five possible stars. He notes that Clapton limits his guitar solos to "a blistering chorus or two" in some of the songs, "to better show off the dirty-rubber swing of Clapton's longtime road-and-studio band". The journalist finishes his review finding "Clapton pays broad tribute to Johnson as a composer and public-domain synthesist". The magazine awarded the release four out of five points. Critic Robert Gauthier from Entertainment Weekly opined that Me and Mr. Johnson "will likely become a coffee-table album" and notes "Clapton sounds reinvigorated in these 14 songs by "Crossroads" soul-salesman Robert Johnson, with phlegm in his throat and (relative) fire in his belly". He also liked Billy Preston's work on keyboards and awarded the release a "B+" rating, meaning "very good". Billboard critic Christopher Walsh thinks that on Me and Mr. Johnson "Clapton is in fine form, setting aside the slick instrumentation and production that have marked much of his more recent work in favor of a smaller ensemble", creating as the result "a sparse sound, allowing Clapton's usual outstanding lead and slide guitar work to shine. Clapton and the stellar musicians behind him are obviously passionate about the music". Although Walsh liked the music on the album, he would like Clapton to "let it loose" more. On 7 July the same year, the album was certified with a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) commemorating sales of 500,000 copies in the U.S. In Canada, the album peaked at number three on the Canadian Albums Chart, compiled by the Billboard magazine

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!scope="row"|Brazilian Albums (ABPD)

|49

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!scope="row"|Canadian Albums (Billboard)

|3

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!scope="row"|Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)

|41

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!scope="row"|European Albums (IFPI)

|5

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!scope="row"|French Back Catalogue (SNEP)

|3

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!scope="row"|Greek Albums (IFPI)

|22

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!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)

|7

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!scope="row"|Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)

|9

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!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)

|7

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!scope="row"|US Top Internet Albums (Billboard)

|6

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!scope="row"|Yugoslavian Albums (Džuboks)

|11

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Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center;"

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!Chart (2004)

!Position

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!scope="row"|Australian Jazz/Blues Albums (ARIA)

|11

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!scope="row"|Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)

|132

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!scope="row"|Danish Albums (Hitlisten)

|92

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!scope="row"|Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)

|81

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!scope="row"|French Albums (SNEP)

|182

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!scope="row"|German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)

|120

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!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)

|92

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!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)

|123

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!scope="row"|US Billboard 200

|137

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!scope="row"|US Top Blues Albums (Billboard)

|1

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!scope="row"|US Top Internet Albums (Billboard)

|21

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{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

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!Chart (2005)

!Position

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!scope="row"|US Top Blues Albums (Billboard)

|5

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Certifications

Sessions for Robert J

Sessions for Robert J is the sixteenth solo studio album by the British rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Eric Clapton and was released on 7 December 2004 through Reprise Records. The release is a companion project to his previously released album Me and Mr. Johnson. A DVD shows Clapton and his band traveling around the United Kingdom and United States just before and after his 2004 Crossroads Guitar Festival, recording some takes of Johnson's songs on video. Songs that were not included on the first album include: "From Four 'Til Late", "Terraplane Blues", "Ramblin' on my Mind", "Sweet Home Chicago", and "Stones in My Passway". Several songs are performed in duet by Clapton on steel-string acoustic guitar and Doyle Bramhall II on steel string acoustic and dobro guitars. Between sessions, Clapton discusses Johnson's profound influence on him and other musicians. One notable segment features Clapton performing in the 508 Park Avenue building in Dallas, Texas, that served as a makeshift studio in 1937 for Johnson to cut his legendary recordings.

Background

In his 2007 autobiography, Clapton wrote that he asked his long-time friend Hiroshi Fujiwara to direct a video which would accompany some tracks from his then-new studio release Me and Mr. Johnson for either TV or Internet broadcasting, (but not for commercials). Fujiwara agreed to work with Clapton on the project but also suggested that his friend Stephen Schible, the producer of the movie Lost in Translation, work with him and Clapton. When Schible got to the scene, he quickly decided to go beyond the idea of doing some short-form videos that Clapton had suggested and film a whole documentary about why Clapton loved Robert Johnson and how Johnson influenced him, as well as other musicians and the blues in general. When Clapton agreed and finished filming for the video release, he was amazed by the recordings and consented to release them. With Sessions for Robert J, Clapton felt he had paid his dues to Robert Johnson. AllMusic critic Thom Jurek liked Sessions for Robert J and awarded the release three out of possible five stars. For his review for the AllMusic website, Jurek notes: