Lonnie Johnson was best known for his tonally beautiful guitar playing, but he was also a fine singer and songwriter, and pretty adept on violin, piano, banjo, mandolin, harmonium, and bass as well. Equally at home in the blues or the jazz world (he worked with artists as raw as Texas Alexander and as polished as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington), Johnson's life as a professional musician began in the mid-'20s and stretched all the way into the 1960s, when his career was given an autumnal boost during the folk/blues revival. This four-disc 95-track box from Proper moves chronologically through Johnson's peak years with commercial labels, beginning with his prolific OKeh years, which are covered on the first two discs (highlights include several elegant instrumentals, a particularly fine solo version of W.C. Handy's "Careless Love," and some amazing duets with jazz guitarist Eddie Lang) and conclude on the third disc, the first part of which covers Johnson's last years with the label (he was released from his contract in 1932). After moving to Chicago, Johnson signed with Decca in 1937, and his amazing solo guitar performance called "Swing Out Rhythm" is included here from the Decca stay. In 1939 Johnson moved to RCA Victor's Bluebird imprint, and those sides round out the third disc and begin the fourth. In 1947, having switched from acoustic to electric guitar, Johnson left Bluebird, and after tracking some sides for Moe Asch's Disc label, followed by a brief stay at Aladdin, he began a long association with King. One of his first cuts for the label, "Tomorrow Night," included here, topped the R&B charts for several weeks in 1948 and touched off Johnson's R&B years, which saw the guitarist moving more toward ballads and working increasingly with large horn sections. His association with King ended in 1951, and his final commercial tracks for the label conclude disc four of this set. There are several single-disc releases of Lonnie Johnson's work on the market and casual listeners may well want to start with one of those, since there is a lot of repetition here (none of the musicians from the 1920s and 1930s could have anticipated having multi-disc box sets), but as an extensive overview of Johnson's peak years, The Original Guitar Wizard is a steal at a budget price.
Disc 1: Mr. Johnson's Blues (01:14:41)
01. Mr. Johnson's Blues 02:44
02. Johnson's Trio Stomp 03:01
03. To Do ThisYou Got To Know How 03:10
04. South Bound Water 02:46
05. I Done Told You 03:01
06. Steppin' On the Blues 02:55
07. Steady Grind 03:27
08. Four Hands Are Better Than Two 03:19
09. Woke Up With the Blues In My Fingers 03:12
10. Backwater Blues 03:40
11. Mean Old Bedbug Blues 02:56
12. Roaming Rambler Blues 03:06
13. Stay Out Of Walnut Street Alley 03:14
14. St. Louis Cyclone Blues 03:07
15. Bedbug Blues 03:03
16. Garter Snake Blues 03:16
17. 6/88 Glide 03:02
18. Life Saver Blues 03:07
19. I'm Not Rough 03:01
20. Sweet Potato Blues 03:00
21. Hotter Than That 03:04
22. Savoy Blues 03:31
23. Playing With the Strings 03:03
24. Stompin' 'Em Along Now 02:56
Disc 2: Hot Fingers (01:18:09)
01. Deep Blue Sea Blues 03:06
02. No More Women Blues 03:03
03. I'm So Tired Of Living All Alone 03:08
04. Crowing Rooster Blues 02:42
05. Broken Levee Blues 03:27
06. Careless Love 02:58
07. Toothache Blues 06:10
08. Misty Mornin' 03:20
09. Two Tone Stomp 03:03
10. Have To Change Keys To Play These Blues 03:03
11. It Feels So Good, Pts.1 & 2 - Spencer Williams 06:15
12. Jet Black Blues 03:03
13. Guitar Blues 03:16
14. Blue Guitars 03:14
15. Bullfrog Moan 03:19
16. Sundown Blues 03:06
17. The New Fallin' Rain Blues 03:15
18. You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now Pts.1 & 2 06:08
19. Hot Fingers 03:00
20. Blue Room 03:08
21. She's Making Whoopee In Hell Tonight 03:12
22. Another Woman Booked Out And Bound To Go 03:13
Disc 3: Jersey Belle Blues (01:16:19)
01. I Got the Best Jelly Roll In Town Pts.1 & 2 06:55
02. The Dirty Dozen - Spencer Williams 03:10
03. I Just Can't Stand These Blues 03:31
04. Deep Sea Blues 03:29
05. Long Black Train 03:01
06. I Have To Do My Time 03:11
07. No More Troubles Now 03:16
08. You're Getting Old On Your Job 03:17
09. Don't Wear It Out 03:20
10. Got the Blues For Murder City 03:25
11. Let All Married Women Alone 03:20
12. Beautiful But Dumb 03:04
13. Sleepy Water Blues 03:04
14. Uncle Red, Don't Use Your Head 03:06
15. I'm Nuts About That Gal 03:13
16. Racketeers Blues 03:15
17. Swing Out Rhythm 02:40
18. Why Women Go Wrong 02:54
19. Jersey Belle Blues 03:00
20. The Loveless Blues 03:15
21. I'm Just Dumb 03:01
22. Get Yourself Together 03:13
23. Crowing Rooster Blues 02:39
Disc 4: Tomorrow Night (01:12:51)
01. That's Love 02:59
02. Lazy Woman Blues 03:04
03. In Love Again 02:55
04. He's a Jelly Roll Baker 03:19
05. When You Feel Low Down 02:57
06. The Victim Of Love 03:14
07. Watch Shorty 03:08
08. Keep What You Got 02:58
09. Love Is the Answer 02:50
10. Tomorrow Night 03:04
11. What a Real Woman 02:39
12. Falling Rain Blues 02:48
13. Working Man's Blues 02:40
14. Playing Around 02:44
15. Trouble Ain't Nothing But the Blues 02:01
16. Blues Stay Away From Me 02:05
17. Little Rockin' Chair 02:54
18. Nothing But Trouble 02:45
19. Why Should I Cry 02:49
20. It Was All In Vain 02:42
21. You Only Want Me When You're Lonely 02:58
22. Me And My Crazy Self 02:36
23. I'm Guilty 02:46
24. Just Another Day 02:37
25. You Can't Buy Love 02:57
26. Can't Sleep Any More 02:22
