AMG Review of These Are My Blues

Cub Koda
All Music Guide

This previously unissued 17-track collection finds Big Joe Williams performing live in concert at Rockford College in Rockford, Illinois. Williams is in fine form throughout, hollering the blues with his typical no-holds-barred approach, singing and playing with passion and zest. He tackles many of his standard pieces here ("Baby Please Don't Go," "Highway 49," "Mellow Peaches") and puts his own spin on blues standards like "Rock Me Mama," "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl," John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen" and Jimmy Rogers' "Sloppy Drunk." There is new material; his tribute to President Kennedy, "A Man Amongst Men" and his "'56 Plymouth" are equally as fine as the more standard fare aboard. What is truly unique on here is the sound of Williams' nine-string guitar. Here it's highly amplified with the tremolo unit turned all the way up in intensity, creating an other-worldly effect, at times sounding like two guitars shimmering in tandem and at others, sounding like a cross between Pops Staples and Bo Diddley. Recorded by blues-researching trailblazer Pete Welding, this is one great addition to Williams' latter day discography.