There is some argument about exactly when this record hit the streets, but back then it would have cost only a nickel to get the Arhoolie catalog mailed to you.
Big Joe Williams is a timeless kind of bluesman, the sort of artist that sounds completely like his own man rather than aspiring toward the muddled, sound-alike mainstream. There is nothing mainstream about this guy at all. He doesn't even play a normal guitar, having pieced together some kind of nine-string creation that has the best aspects of both the six- and 12-string models, ringing like chimes in the high end. The cover of this album has one of the best pictures of this instrument that has been published. Down low,
Big Joe might be the originator of many bass string licks that are attributed to funk bassists, although in other cases he is simply imitating big band bass players and doing it well. There is another style of bassline playing he does that sounds like he is boxing with the instrument, displayed prominently on the rollicking "Shake Your Boogie." He is also one of the great shouting blues vocalists, loud enough to cut through a bank of machine guns and friendly sounding on top of that. One really wants to understand everything he says in order for him to fully communicate, but another aspect of his vocal style is that he sounds like he is still partially chewing his dinner, making full comprehension of the lyrics pretty hard. His wife sings on one track and is even harder to understand than he is.