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    Big Joe Williams and the Stars of Mississippi Blues

    03/09/2004 | Jsp Records 

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    All Music Guide Review

    A five-disc box set from England's JSP Records, Big Joe Williams and the Stars of Mississippi Blues collects 126 tracks by Big Joe Williams and loosely related artists like Willie Lofton, Honeyboy Edwards, Robert Petway, and Tommy McClennan. Disc one opens with a half dozen tracks from Williams (including "49 Highway Blues") with Henry Townsend on second guitar that were recorded in Chicago in February 1935, followed by four sides (including Williams' signature song, "Baby Please Don't Go") recorded the following Halloween. The disc closes out with four songs from a session in Aurora, IL, in 1937, and nine tracks recorded in March and December of 1941. The second disc collects 17 songs Williams recorded in Chicago in 1945 and 1947, followed by two sides (including "Jivin' Woman") tracked in St. Louis in 1949, and six songs from a 1951 session in Jackson, MS. Disc three and the start of disc four feature the complete recorded output of Tommy McClennan, a gruff-voiced blues shouter best known for "Cross Cut Saw Blues" and "Whiskey Head Woman" and a penchant for interjections and spoken asides during his recordings. Disc four concludes with seven tracks from Robert Petway, including his influential version of "Catfish Blues." The final disc opens with six more Petway recordings, followed by a dozen Honeyboy Edwards field recordings made for Alan Lomax in 1942, and then concludes with the eight sides Willie "Poor Boy" Lofton recorded for Decca Records in 1934 and 1935 (including his "Dark Road Blues," a version of Tommy Johnson's "Big Road Blues"). What holds all of this together? Countless songs that are essentially variations of "Baby Please Don't Go" and "49 Highway Blues," showing the real and pervasive influence of Williams' rough and ragged approach to Mississippi blues. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

    Track Listing

  • Track#
  • Title
  • time
  • 1
  • Little Leg Woman
  • 3:08

  • 2
  • Somebody's Been Borrowing That Stuff
  • 3:05

  • 3
  • Providence Help the Poor People
  • 3:06

  • 4
  • 49 Highway Blues
  • 3:08

  • 5
  • My Grey Pony
  • 3:11

  • 6
  • Stepfather Blues
  • 3:08

  • 7
  • Baby Please Don't Go
  • 3:25

  • 8
  • Stack of Dollars
  • 3:11

  • 9
  • Wild Cow Blues
  • 3:15

  • 10
  • Worried Man Blues
  • 2:39

  • 11
  • I Know You Gonna Miss Me
  • 3:03

  • 12
  • Rootin' Ground Hog
  • 2:57

  • 13
  • Brother James
  • 2:53

  • 14
  • I Won't Be in Hard Luck No More
  • 2:39

  • 15
  • Crawlin' King Snake
  • 2:50

  • 16
  • I'm Getting Wild About Her
  • 2:48

  • 17
  • Peach Orchard Mama
  • 2:42

  • 18
  • Meet Me Around the Corner
  • 2:58

  • 19
  • Throw a Boogie Woogie
  • 2:42

  • 20
  • North Wind Blues
  • 2:54

  • 21
  • Please Don't Go
  • 2:47

  • 22
  • Highway 49
  • 3:13

  • 23
  • Someday Baby
  • 3:10

  • 24
  • Break 'Em on Down
  • 3:13

  • 25 (2)
  • Drop Down Blues
  • 2:57

  • 26 (2)
  • Somebody's Been Worryin'
  • 3:12

  • 27 (2)
  • Wanita
  • 3:23

  • 28 (2)
  • Vitamin A
  • 2:48

  • 29 (2)
  • His Spirit Lives On
  • 2:46

  • 30 (2)
  • Baby Please Don't Go
  • 2:47

  • 31 (2)
  • Baby Please Don't Go (Alternate Take)
  • 2:49

  • 32 (2)
  • Stack of Dollars
  • 2:49

  • 33 (2)
  • Mellow Apples
  • 2:48

  • 34 (2)
  • Wild Cow Moan
  • 2:54

  • 35 (2)
  • P Vine Blues
  • 3:11

  • 36 (2)
  • Bad and Weakhearted Blues
  • 2:43

  • 37 (2)
  • King Biscuit Stomp
  • 2:34

  • 38 (2)
  • I'm a Highway Man
  • 2:53

  • 39 (2)
  • Banta Rooster Blues
  • 2:59

  • 40 (2)
  • Mean Stepfather Blues
  • 2:47

  • 41 (2)
  • House Lady Blues
  • 2:57

  • 42 (2)
  • Don't You Leave Me Here
  • 2:53

  • 43 (2)
  • Jivin' Woman
  • 2:48

  • 44 (2)
  • She's a Married Woman
  • 2:41

  • 45 (2)
  • Mama Don't Allow Me
  • 2:44

  • 46 (2)
  • Delta Blues
  • 2:40

  • 47 (2)
  • Overhauling Blues
  • 2:46

  • 48 (2)
  • Whistling Pines
  • 2:34

  • 49 (2)
  • She Left Me a Mule
  • 2:32

  • 50 (2)
  • Bad Heart Blues
  • 2:45

  • 51 (3)
  • You Can Mistreat Me Here
  • 2:45

  • 52 (3)
  • New "Shake 'Em on Down"
  • 3:10

  • 53 (3)
  • Bottle It Up and Go
  • 2:49

  • 54 (3)
  • Whiskey Head Woman
  • 3:00

  • 55 (3)
  • Brown Skin Girl
  • 2:45

  • 56 (3)
  • Cotton Patch Blues
  • 2:47

  • 57 (3)
  • Baby Don't You Want to Go
  • 2:58

  • 58 (3)
  • Baby, Please Don't Tell on Me
  • 2:44

  • 59 (3)
  • I'm Going Don't You Know
  • 2:44

  • 60 (3)
  • New Highway 51
  • 2:51

  • 61 (3)
  • She's Just Good Huggin' Size
  • 2:59

  • 62 (3)
  • My Little Girl
  • 2:51

  • 63 (3)
  • My Baby's Gone
  • 2:45

  • 64 (3)
  • It's Hard to Be Lonesome
  • 2:38

  • 65 (3)
  • My Baby's Doggin' Me
  • 2:40

  • 66 (3)
  • She's a Good Looking Mama
  • 2:52

  • 67 (3)
  • Whiskey Head Man
  • 2:50

  • 68 (3)
  • New Sugar Mama
  • 2:58

  • 69 (3)
  • Down to Skin and Bones Blues
  • 2:42

  • 70 (3)
  • Katy Mae Blues
  • 2:46

  • 71 (3)
  • Love With a Feeling
  • 3:00

  • 72 (3)
  • Drop Down Mama
  • 2:52

  • 73 (3)
  • Black Minnie
  • 2:56

  • 74 (3)
  • Elsie Blues
  • 2:59

  • 75 (3)
  • Des'e My Blues
  • 3:16

  • 76 (4)
  • Cross Cut Saw Blues (Take 1)
  • 2:44

  • 77 (4)
  • Cross Cut Saw Blues (Take 2)
  • 2:47

  • 78 (4)
  • Classy Mae Blues
  • 2:48

  • 79 (4)
  • You Can't Read My Mind
  • 3:01

  • 80 (4)
  • Travelin' Highway Man
  • 3:01

  • 81 (4)
  • Deep Blue Sea Blues
  • 3:01

  • 82 (4)
  • I'm a Guitar King
  • 2:49

  • 83 (4)
  • It's a Crying Pity
  • 2:52

  • 84 (4)
  • Mozelle Blues
  • 2:57

  • 85 (4)
  • Blues Trip Me This Morning
  • 3:03

  • 86 (4)
  • Mr. So and So Blues
  • 2:46

  • 87 (4)
  • Roll Me, Baby
  • 3:03

  • 88 (4)
  • I Love My Baby
  • 3:07

  • 89 (4)
  • Shake It Up and Go
  • 2:56

  • 90 (4)
  • Blue as I Can Be
  • 2:45

  • 91 (4)
  • Bluebird Blues
  • 2:59

  • 92 (4)
  • Bluebird Blues (Take 2)
  • 2:55

  • 93 (4)
  • Boogie Woogie Woman
  • 3:00

  • 94 (4)
  • Catfish Blues
  • 2:55

  • 95 (4)
  • Ride 'Em on Down
  • 2:58

  • 96 (4)
  • Rockin' Chair Blues
  • 3:03

  • 97 (4)
  • My Little Girl
  • 3:11

  • 98 (4)
  • Let Me Be Your Boss
  • 3:13

  • 99 (4)
  • Left My Baby Crying
  • 3:09

  • 100 (4)
  • Sleepy Woman Blues
  • 2:46

  • 101 (5)
  • Don't Go Down Baby
  • 3:03

  • 102 (5)
  • Bertha Lee Blues
  • 2:53

  • 103 (5)
  • Hollow Log Blues
  • 3:05

  • 104 (5)
  • In the Evening
  • 2:53

  • 105 (5)
  • My Baby Left Me
  • 3:16

  • 106 (5)
  • Cotton Pickin' Blues
  • 3:14

  • 107 (5)
  • Roamin' and Ramblin' Blues
  • 3:01

  • 108 (5)
  • You Got to Roll (Levee Camp Song)
  • 0:58

  • 109 (5)
  • You Got to Roll
  • 2:32

  • 110 (5)
  • Water Coast Blues
  • 5:54

  • 111 (5)
  • Stagolee
  • 1:06

  • 112 (5)
  • Just a Spoonful
  • 1:46

  • 113 (5)
  • Spread My Raincoat Down
  • 2:40

  • 114 (5)
  • Hellatakin' Blues
  • 0:50

  • 115 (5)
  • Wind Howlin' Blues
  • 3:15

  • 116 (5)
  • Worried Life Blues
  • 2:55

  • 117 (5)
  • Tear It Down Rag
  • 1:09

  • 118 (5)
  • The Army Blues
  • 3:51

  • 119 (5)
  • It's Killin' Me
  • 2:54

  • 120 (5)
  • Poor Boy Blues
  • 2:43

  • 121 (5)
  • Jake Leg Blues
  • 3:05

  • 122 (5)
  • My Mean Baby Blues
  • 2:56

  • 123 (5)
  • Dirty Mistreater
  • 2:50

  • 124 (5)
  • Rainy Day Blues
  • 3:00

  • 125 (5)
  • Beer Garden Blues
  • 3:00

  • 126 (5)
  • Dark Road Blues
  • 3:04

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