Release Date : Oct 1961 Recording Date : ct 7, 1961 Label :Fantasy Type : Compilation By the time these sessions were recorded in the early '60s (as Studio Blues and Blues for Nine Strings), the sounds of Big Joe Williams's thundering voice and his extraordinary nine-string guitar had been heard from the levee camps of the Delta to the freight yards of old Chicago. Once rediscovered by the folks at Prestige/Bluesville (like so many blues artists), he was placed in the studio with an understandably nervous young harp player named Larry Johnson and legendary bassist Willie Dixon. What resulted was a down-home jam session in which Big Joe dragged the others to wherever his personal muse led. Highly personalized versions of ancient ballads are the norm here, with Big Joe's fluid fingerpicking weaving its way around Dixon's deep, syncopated groove. It's incredible how tight the trio is and how original each song sounds considering the improvised nature of the sessions. But then, the great ones always make it sound easy. --Ken Hohman Review : by Thom Jurek Unless you are a serious blues historian or blues aficionado, this 22-track collection of tracks by Big Joe Williams is all you are ever going to need. All of these tunes were recorded in New York on October 7, 1961, and issued as two separate LPs on Prestige's Bluesville imprint. The first ten tracks here were released as Studio Blues (catalog number 1083) and the rest as Blues for 9 Strings (catalog number 1056). Right, they are presented here in reverse release order, but they were all recorded during the same session. Williams is accompanied throughout by Willie Dixon on bass and Larry Johnson on harmonica. Williams plays his trademark nine-string guitar with its wild tuning on all but three tunes here. All of his well-known numbers are presented, though they are obviously later dates, but they lack no passion or proficiency given that this was the real beginning of the blues revival on this side of the Atlantic. The folk revival had not yet begun to wane, and many young men were heading for the East Coast in station wagons to find the bluesmen they had heard on either Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music or similar recordings. Williams and his friends show incredible stamina in running through these songs, and producer Kenneth S. Goldstein does a great job of presenting them raw and rugged. This is a party record if there ever was one. 1. Levee Camp Blues - 5:04 2. Low Down Dirty Shame - 2:59 3. Gambling Man - 4:47 4. Ain't Gonna Rain No More - 2:15 5. Feel So Good - 4:04 6. Prowling Ground Hog - 3:37 7. Back Home Again - 3:25 8. Sugar Babe - 4:12 9. Tell Me Mama - 3:03 10. Studio Blues - 3:12 11. I'm a Fool About My Baby - 3:02 12. 38 Pistol Blues - 2:40 13. Pearly Mae - 2:44 14. Walking Blues - 2:42 15. Highway 45 - 4:14 16. Meet Me At The Bottom - 3:30 17. Skinny Mama - 2:52 18. Jockey Ride Blues - 2:48 19. Coal and Iceman Blues - 3:24 20. Army Man Blues - 3:09 21. Black Gal - 4:07 22. Pallet On The Floor - 2:59 Rec. October 7, 1961 in New York City tracks 1-10 originally released as Studio Blues, 1965. (Bluesville BV 1083) tracks 11-22 originally released as Blues For Nine Strings, 1962. (Bluesville BV 1056) Personnel: Big Joe Williams - vocals, 9-string guitar, 6-string guitar (6), 12-string guitar (2,8) Willie Dixon - bass Larry Johnson - harmonica
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