Big Joe Williams Collection

Those who've never heard Big Joe Williams might be genuinely surprised at just how outstanding a musician he was, being tremendously accomplished on his self-made nine-string guitar and with vocals as expressive and forceful as Muddy Waters. Beautifully remastered, this collection finds Williams' talents at their peak with a fine variation of raw country blues like "Whistling Pines" and "Kings Highway Blues," and more strongly uptempo tracks like "Somebody's Been Fooling #1" and "King Bisquit Stomp #2." None of the thirteen tracks disappoint, as this ranks among the strongest releases in the Big Joe Williams' catalogue.

Big Joe Williams was the epitome of the rambling, wandering itinerant bluesman so romanticised in the early days of blues discovery and record collecting. He rambled across the United States from coast to coast in the 1920s and '30s.

This 52-disc (no, that is not a typo) comp, ABC of the Blues: The Ultimate Collection from the Delta to the Big Cities, may just indeed live up to its name. There are 98 artists represented , performing 1,040 tracks. The music begins at the beginning (though the set is not sequenced chronologically) with Charlie Patton, Son House, and Robert Johnson, and moves all the way through the vintage Chicago years of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, with stops along the way in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, New York, and all points in between. Certainly, some of these artists are considered more rhythm & blues than purely blues artists: the inclusion of music by Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Bo Diddley, and others makes that clear.

The musical roots of Big Joe Shelton, a 2012 Blues Music Award Nominee, run deep in the rich, dark, rich, soil of the Black Prairies of Northeast Mississippi; the same region that spawned the likes of blues icons Howlin’ Wolf, Big Joe Williams and Bukka White. As a young man Shelton was fortunate in befriending Williams and this friendship greatly influenced his musical sensibility. Big Joe has performed at numerous festivals and clubs throughout the southeastern United States including: King Biscuit Blues Festival, Howlin’ Wolf Memorial Blues Festival, Freedom Creek Blues Festival and the Beal Street Mess Around. He has also toured England, France, Belgium, Bulgaria and the Netherlands. He has played with blues legends Big Joe Williams, Furry Lewis, Son Thomas, Junior Kimbrough, Fenton Robinson and BMA / Handy Award nominees Willie King, Blind Mississippi Morris, R. L. Burnside and Johnny Rawls as well as Daniel “Slick” Ballinger, the 2007 BMA Best New Artist and 2009 Grammy nominee Elvin Bishop.

The archive contains of 3179 tracks from 1899 until 1956 on 168 CDs and 2 books with 180 pages of artist biographies each. High-End mastered at 24-bit and 96 kHz.
The Archive is split into 42 Sets x 4xCD. Each CD is untitled and dedicated to one musician, who mostly appears in different collaborations.

The archive contains of 3179 tracks from 1899 until 1956 on 168 CDs and 2 books with 180 pages of artist biographies each. High-End mastered at 24-bit and 96 kHz.
The Archive is split into 42 Sets x 4xCD. Each CD is untitled and dedicated to one musician, who mostly appears in different collaborations.

The essential history of the blues, includes of 100 superb performances from the 20's of the XX century to our days. There are so many wonderful artists to enjoy on this collection: B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Bessie Smith, Sonny Boy Williamson, T-Bone Walker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Big Walter Horton, Albert King, Koko Taylor, James Cotton, and more…