Release Date: June 1991.
Recording Time: 60 minutes.
Recording Date: 1945 - 1949.
Release Info: Compilation (BDCD-6004) Studio Recording.
Styles: Acoustic Blues, Country Blues, Delta Blues, Regional Blues.
The second volume in Document's Complete Recorded Works series compiles 19 tracks recorded by Big Joe Williams during the latter half of the '40s and adds a pair of 1935 sides featuring the nine-string bluesman with Chasey Collins. Williams revisited earlier territory during this period, and though his redos of "Baby Please Don't Go" and "Stack of Dollars" don't pack the punch of the originals, they're still highlights here. ~ 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 45 tracks and more than two hours playing time, these CDs are gems. ~ Neil Slaven (Blues & Rhythm review: Issue 61, June 1991)
Credits: Gary Atkinson - Cover Art, Executive Producer; Chasey Collins - Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals, Washboard; Clifford Dinwaddie - Washboard; Sleepy John Estes - Composer; Bob Groom - Liner Note Art, Liner Notes; Armand Jump Jackson - Drums, Drums (Snare); Ransom Knowling - Bass; Singleton Palmer - Drums, Drums (Snare); Johnny Parth - Compilation Producer, Producer; Charley Patton - Composer; Judge Riley - Drums, Drums (Snare); Rudolf Staeger - Executive Producer; Rudi Steager - Executive Producer; Swamp Dogg - Composer; Dad Tracy - One-String Fiddle; Traditional - Composer; Rokia Traoré - Composer; Big Joe Williams - Arranger, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Baritone), Guitar (Rhythm), Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals; Joe Williams - Composer, Primary Artist; Sonny Boy Williamson II - Harmonica; Sonny Boy Williamson I - Harmonica (Amplified).
Tracklist:
01. Drop Down Blues - Big Joe Williams
02. Somebody's Been Worryin' - Big Joe Williams
03. Wanita - Big Joe Williams
04. Vitamin A - Big Joe Williams
05. His Spirit Lives On - Big Joe Williams
06. Baby Please Don't Go - Big Joe Williams
07. Stack Of Dollars - Big Joe Williams
08. Mellow Apples - Big Joe Williams
09. Wild Cow Moan - Big Joe Williams
10. Pea Vine Blues - Big Joe Williams
11. Bad And Weakhearted Blues - Big Joe Williams
12. Kind Biscuit Stomp - Big Joe Williams
13. I'm A Highway Man - Big Joe Williams
14. Banta Rooster Blues - Big Joe Williams
15. Mean Step Father Blues - Big Joe Williams
16. House Lady Blues - Big Joe Williams
17. Don't You Leave Me Here - Big Joe Williams
18. Jivin' Women - Big Joe Williams
19. She's A Married Women - Big Joe Williams
20. Walking Blues - Chasey Collins with Joe Williams
21. Atlanta Town - Chasey Collins with Joe Williams
Personnel: Big Joe Williams - Vocals (tracks: 1-9, 18-19), Guitar (tracks: 20-21), Written-By (tracks: 1 to 19); Chasey Collins - Vocals, Washboard (tracks: 20-21); "Dad" Tracy - Fiddle (tracks: 20-21); Sonny Boy Williamson - Harmonica (tracks: 1-9); Ransom Knowling - Bass (tracks: 6-9); Jump Jackson - Drums (tracks: 1-5); Judge Riley - Drums (tracks: 6-9); Singleton Palmer - Drums (tracks: 18-19).