There's been controversy about this for years. It was common to speed up recordings due to both commercial and technical reasons. 78s held only 3 minutes and getting a more upbeat, commercial sound was desired. It's also been endlessly debated what guitar tunings RJ utilized. That debate strongly influences the overall speed issue. My opinion is that nobody will ever definitively know the exact speed he played during these sessions, which may be different than what he played in juke joints.
Fortunately, with modern digital tech it's fairly easy for anybody to experiment with slowing the songs down. I suggest you start at less than a 20% reduction. My impression is that his vocals sound much better, but the guitar playing, particularly his rhythmic drive doesn't sound right.
Fortunately, with modern digital tech it's fairly easy for anybody to experiment with slowing the songs down. I suggest you start at less than a 20% reduction. My impression is that his vocals sound much better, but the guitar playing, particularly his rhythmic drive doesn't sound right.