Revisited

Big Joe Williams recorded for several small labels in the late '50s and through the 1960s, pounding out rough country blues on his half-homemade nine-string Sovereign guitar. Revisited does a fair job of assembling a sampling of these recordings, beginning with new versions of his two signature songs, "Baby Please Don't Go" and "Highway 49" (featuring Erwin Helfer on piano), which Williams cut for Cobra Records in 1957. "I've Been Buked and I've Been Scorned," "Ain't Nothing Like Whiskey," and "Brand New Car" were recorded in 1960 in California, eventually appearing on the World Pacific and Society imprints. This was a sort of super session of sorts, teaming Williams with Lightnin' Hopkins, Sonny Terry, and Brownie McGhee. "Shake 'Em on Down" was tracked in 1963 in Copenhagen, while "Stack o' Dollars," featuring a young Paul Butterfield on harp, was recorded in Chicago in 1965, finally coming out on the Takoma label. The final song here, "Everybody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone," comes from a studio session in London in 1968, and was issued by the Liberty label in Great Britain. Despite the many different dates, labels, and locales, the sequencing here is well done, making for a wonderfully cohesive introduction to the rediscovery phase of Big Joe Williams' career. ~ Steve Leggett