Release Date: June 1991.
Recording Time: 71 minutes.
Recording Date: 1935 - 1941.
Release Info: Compilation (BDCD-6003) Studio Recording.
Styles: Acoustic Blues, Delta Blues, Pre-War Country Blues, Regional Blues.
Document's Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1935-1941) is an invaluable collection of Big Joe Williams' late-'30s and early-'40s recordings. Most of the best performances of Williams' career are here ("Baby Please Don't Go," "Somebody's Been Borrowing That Stuff," "Crawlin' King Snake," "Little Leg Woman," "Stack of Dollars," "Highway 49"), with support from figures including Sonny Boy Williamson and Henry Townsend. ~ Thom Owens
Big Joe Williams was a true original; his music was as wayward, volatile and cantankerous as the man himself. Nowhere is this more apparent than on his first two 1935 sessions for Bluebird. He was still playing a 6-string guitar but already his style was unique in its disregard for metre, the spontaneous flurries of mandolin-like strumming and hammered bass runs. He also played with a bottleneck but, again, like no one else. When Henry Townsend joined him on Somebody's Been Borrowing That Stuff, the result was tumultuous, joyous music-making. The second session added violin (not a one-string fiddle, despite B&GR) and washboard for some of the most individual and exciting music to be heard on Bluebird. Baby Please Don't Go and Stack O' Dollars became standards in his repertoire but never sounded like they did here. Chasey Collins' two tracks from the session are tacked on to the end of Volume 2; "Walking Blues" and "Atlanta Town" draw forth wild instrumental flights from Joe and the violinist. The marathon 1937 session featuring Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Lee McCoy and Joe was the beginning of an enduring partnership which these CDs celebrate. The Bluebird and Columbia sessions saw Joe and Sonny Boy develop a mutual understanding that, as Paul Oliver has pointed out, presaged a similar partnership between Muddy Waters and Little Walter. Other joys here include Joe's tribute to President Roosevelt, His Spirit Lives On, released in 1945 on Chicago 103 and his Bullet single from 1949. Jivin' Woman and She's A Married Woman are also known as "Kings Highway and "Meet Me In The Bottom" and, to these ears, do not feature a drummer. Big Joe doesn't inspire the awe accorded to Robert Johnson, Son House and Charley Patton but his music is equally rewarding, consistently enjoyable and subtly addictive. With forty-five tracks and more than two hours playing time, these two Document volumes of early recordings from Big Joe Williams are gems. ~ Neil Slaven (Blues & Rhythm review: Issue 61, June 1991)
Credits: Bernard Besman - Composer; Chester Burnett - Composer; Chasey Collins - Washboard; Clifford Dinwaddie - Washboard; Alfred Elkins - Bass; Sleepy John Estes - Composer; Bob Groom - Liner Note Art; John Lee Hooker - Composer; Armand Jump Jackson - Drums; Ransom Knowling - Bass; Robert Lee McCoy - Guitar, Guitar (Baritone); Singleton Palmer - Drums; Johnny Parth - Producer; Public Domain - Composer; Judge Riley - Drums; Rudi Steager - Executive Producer; Henry Townsend - Guitar, Guitar (Baritone); Dad Tracy - Fiddle, One-String Fiddle; Big Joe Williams - Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Baritone), Primary Artist, Vocals; Jabo Williams - Composer; Joe Williams - Composer; Joe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers - Ensemble; Sonny Boy Williamson II - Guest Artist; Sonny Boy Williamson I - Composer, Harmonica.
Tracklist:
01. Little Leg Woman - Big Joe Williams
02. Somebody's Been Borrowing That Stuff - Big Joe Williams
03. Providence Help The Poor People - Big Joe Williams
04. 49 Highway Blues - Big Joe Williams
05. My Grey Pony - Big Joe Williams
06. Stepfather Blues - Big Joe Williams
07. Baby Please Don't Go - Joe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers
08. Stack O' Dollars - Joe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers
09. Wild Cow Blues - Joe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers
10. Worried Man Blues - Joe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers
11. I Know You Gonna Miss Me - Big Joe Williams
12. Rootin' Ground Hog - Big Joe Williams
13. Brother James - Big Joe Williams
14. I Won't Be In Hard Luck No More - Big Joe Williams
15. Crawlin' King Snake - Big Joe Williams
16. I'm Getting WIld About Her - Big Joe Williams
17. Peach Orchard Mama - Big Joe Williams
18. Meet Me Around The Corner - Big Joe Williams
19. Throw A Boogie Woogie - Big Joe Williams
20. North Wind Blues - Big Joe Williams
21. Please Don't Go - Big Joe Williams
22. Highway 49 - Big Joe Williams
23. Someday Baby - Big Joe Williams
24. Break 'Em On Down - Big Joe Williams
Personnel: Big Joe Williams - Vocals, Guitar (1-24); Henry Townsend - Guitar (2); "Dad" Tracy - Fiddle [One-string Fiddle] (7-10); Chasey Collins - Washboard (7-10); Robert Lee McCoy - Guitar (11-14); Sonny Boy Williamson - Harmonica (11-14, 19-24); Alfred Elkins - Bass [Bass Cano] (19-24).