AMG Review of Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1932-1934)

Jason Ankeny
All Music Guide

By early 1932, the point at which this second volume in Document's series begins, Big Bill Broonzy was well established on the Chicago music scene; although his music was beginning to take on an urbanized flavor, his forté was still country-blues, and the opening tracks here -- "Mr. Conductor Man," "Too-Too Train Blues" and "Bull Cow Blues" among them -- are among his finest examples of the form. Of equal interest are the sides he subsequently recorded with his Jug Busters, a rather mysterious group which yielded just two tracks -- "Rukus Juice Blues" and "M and O Blues" -- but which pushed Broonzy further away from his rural roots; in all likelihood, the group also inaugurated his collaboration with the enigmatic yet renowned Black Bob, with whom he would cut a series of classic guitar and piano duets in the months to follow.