The Search for Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson's limited discography is a truly seminal collection. His personal mythology (selling his soul to the devil for enormous talent), and minimalist style, created the template for the rock'n'roll superstar: his tormented lyrical intensity echoes in artists as diverse as Hendrix and Robbie Williams. Unlike Robbie, Johnson had a deft virtuosity and distinctive voice that haunts, sixty years after his mysterious death.

John Hammond Jr. follows the Johnson trail around the Mississippi Delta, stopping off to meet childhood friends and fellow musicians. Stock footage of rock megastars convinces that Johnson invented modern excess as we know it, while his sparse acoustic guitar shimmers on the soundtrack. Despite an interview with girlfriend Willie Mae (inspiration for the heart-stopping 'Train In Vain'), and a detailed personal geography, this film is pedestrian. Hammond's versions of Johnson's originals smack of egotism as much as reverence.

This documentary fills out biographical gaps and is a solid introduction, but never succesfully evokes the chilling magic of Johnson's hell-bound blues. [Margaret Kirk]