Where we last left off on my Star Trek music coverage, we heard from Brent Spiner (Data) , Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), and Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and William Shatner (Captain Kirk).
Today, I am happy to report that I have Tim Russ's self-titled 2000 album that I picked up used. Fans of Star Trek: Voyager will know Russ as Lt Commander Tuvok, but if you follow Star Trek closely, you'd recognize Russ in other Trek roles (like the movie Star Trek: Generations).
The album is largely jazz-style, but there is a blues song that really stood out for me: "Crossroads".
The most interesting thing about this song is that it's based on Robert Johnson's most popular song, "Cross Road Blues". Johnson had a short (less than two years), but very influencial career as a Delta blues musician... and many believe that he made a deal with the Devil to become a famous singer (and hence his untimely death at the age of 27).
I'm not sure if Russ was a fan before starring as Robert Johnson in Crossroads (1986), but it's evident that Russ loved Johnson's song that he recorded his version of it on this self-titled album.
What makes Russ' version more compelling is that it's actually based on an interpretation of Johnson's classic song from Eric Clapton when he was in Cream (from the album Wheels Of Fire). I love the Clapton's version as well, featuring some great guitar-playing and his blues-rock vocals.
Tim Russ will be making some rare appearance: September 20th at the Rhythm and Ribs in Sacramento, California and on October 11th at the Tri-State Convention in Washington.
Below are some more Star Trekkin' goodness.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Links: timrusswebpage.net
)
Recent Comments