Customer Reviews

His Best (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection)

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I have no idea why I've only given this compilation four stars, but with this new system that Amazon has introduced, you can't change it without having to delete the entire review and write a new one. But I meant five. Five stars. Five!

This magnificent collection brings most of Aleck "Rice" Miller's best songs together on a single disc, and it is highly recommended if you're relatively new to Rice Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson II).
Every one of these songs are top-notch. Raw, gritty electric blues played by some of the tightest bands in the business, the cleverest lyrics this side of Willie Dixon, and musicians which include Muddy Waters, Robert "Jr." Lockwood and Buddy Guy. And of course Miller's braying harmonica and instantly recognizable rasp of a voice.

Rice Miller's amplified harmonica playing is easily the grittiest and most immediately recognizable ever on record (Big Walter Horton is the only one who gets close), and the way he moves between singing in his expressive old man's voice and blowing the harp is amazing.
"This man moves from vocal to harp with an ease only possible of one who long ago sold his soul to the devil in exchange for not having to breathe while performing", the liner notes to one of his LPs once stated (in a disturbingly serious way!).

This is one of the finest items in the entire MCA/Chess catalogue, featuring all-time Chicago blues highlights like "All My Love In Vain", "Nine Below Zero", "Don't Start Me To Talkin'", "Help Me", the supremely tough "One Way Out", and "Fattening Frogs For Snakes" which combines one of the most irresistable blues tunes you'll ever hear with one of Miller's best lyrics.
Because his output for the label was of such a uniformly high quality, virtually everything Williamson put down on tape at the Chess studios could make a final cut on any best of package you'd want to put together on the man, so a lot of wonderful music is obviously missing from this collection, including three of Sonny Boy's best songs ("Santa Claus", "Too Young To Die" and "Peach Tree"). But you gotta start somewhere, right? And this is a genuine A+ compilation, well annotated, and utilizing the finest digital transfers ever heard.

I just have to add one word of advice:
If you already have his debut LP, "Down And Out Blues", or know enough about Sonny Boy to want a lot of the really good stuff in one place, may I suggest the 45-track "The Essential Sonny Boy Williamson", also from MCA/Chess, instead.
It has more than twice as many songs, yet at no point does it resort to "filler", and that one is the definitive Rice Miller-collection. Oh, and you'll need his Trumpet sides as well!

This CD is a must have for anybody that seriously follows the blues. The songs featured here are all taken from recording from the last ten years of Sonny Boy's life. Sonny Boy died in May of 1965. Considering the age of these recordings, many in the 1950's, the sound is remarkably clear. Nineteen of the twenty songs here were penned, at least in part, by Sonny Boy himself. The long exception is "Bring It On Home" which was written by Willie Dixon. The first few songs feature a dream team band lineup consisting of Otis Spann on piano, Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Willie Dixon on bass and Fred Below on drums. The music is nothing short of excellent. Replacing Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers on the guitar for most of the remainder of the tracks is Robert Lockwood although Matt Murphy and Buddy Guy make appearances on two of the tracks. Only complaint, it's to short. 20 songs but only 56:16 minutes. Highly recommended.

If you are already a blues or a harp aficionado, you know who Sonny Boy Williamson is and you know he's great. Let me just add that this is a great collection and a very high quality recording at a great price. If you're looking for the highlights of Sonny Boy's work, this is it.

Maybe you don't know so much about him. Maybe you're new to the blues, or you're learning to play the harmonica, and you're thinking about buying this CD. You should buy it, because:

1. It's great blues, in classic form, with an excellent band fronted by a blues legend. Sonny Boy should be on your shelf for the same reasons that Howling Wolf, Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson should be there.

2. It's great harp playing. Maybe you're just learning the harmonica, and you've figured out how to play "Camptown Ladies" and "You Are My Sunshine," but now you're stuck and you feel like the harmonica is a dead end. Listen to this guy, and hear what a simple ten-hole diatonic harmonica can do, played cross-harp. Great stuff.

While there is an unresolved debate as to Sonny Boy Williamson's real name or birth date (or year for that matter!), there is no question that he was one of the great blues harpists of the post-World War II era. With 1993's two-disc ESSENTIAL out of print, this single-disc collection of some of his best work at Chess is an amazing introduction to one of the genre's most imposing artists.

Beginning with his first sides for Chess in 1955, "Good Evening Everybody" and "Don't Start Me Takin'," through the end of his career in the mid-sixties, Williamson worked with some of the best studio musicians Chess had. Willie Dixon plays bass on most tracks (and wrote the one song--"Bring It on Home"-- not written or co-written by Williamson himself), Fred Below is the drummer on most tracks, Lafayette Leake and Otis Spann share piano duties, and guitarists are primarily Robert Lockwood and Luther Tucker.

Like many blues artists, Williamson was more appreciated in England than in his home country. Between 1963 and 1965 he toured extensively in Europe and recorded with such blues-based artists as the Animals and the Yardbirds. His most obvious influence would be on the Allman Brothers who covered his "One Way Out," but you'll hear it in any artist who has a deep passion and conviction in his music. Any complete blues library will have at least one Sonny Boy Williamson album, and this one will make a nice addition. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

For someone on a budget who is interested in the music of this legendary artist, look no further than this single disc album. The sound and track selection here are excellent. Anyone interested in the blues needs to have at least one Sonny Boy Williamson album in their collection and you can't go wrong here. But for those of you who have a few extra dollars to spend, I strongly suggest passing this single disc release and opt for the 2 disc set "The Essential Sonny Boy Williamson" on the MCA/Chess label. "The Essential" boasts 45 tracks an is much more comprehensive than this release. It may be out-of-print, but can be found for sale in zShops or eBay at a very reasonable price.

Sonny Boy Williamson's blues harp performance in this CD is just amazing. This CD is the best collection of blues harp performances by Sonny Boy Williamson. He is the real blues master. His influence is not only for today's blues and rock harpists but also for guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix. 'Click'

When Aleck Ford, alias Alex "Rice" Miller, claimed during one his early Forties radio broadcasts for King Biscuit Time on KFFA in Helena, Arkansas to be THE "Sonny Boy" Williamson, John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson was already well known by that nickname in the Chicago area [see my review of the CD Shake The Boogie].

However, born on December 5, 1899 in Glendora, Mississippi, Ford would become the better known of the two, especially in Europe where, decked out in his two-tone suits and bowler hats, he would generate a large, loyal following in the early Sixties.

Before then he had two charted R&B hits on the Checker label, with the first, Don't Start Me Talkin' - on which he was backed by Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers on guitar - peaking at # 3 in November 1955 b/w All My Love In Vain). The second charter came almost exactly one year later when Keep It To Yourself made it to # 14 R&B. The B-side of that record was The Key (To Your Door) which seems to be unavailable (the other Williamson CD, The Essential Sonny Boy Williamson, carries a previously unreleased take).

After a seven year absence from the charts he returned in 1963 with Help Me (# 24 R&B) b/w Bye Bye Bird, again on Checker, and would go on to cut several LPs with some well known groups of the day, among them The Yardbirds and The Animals.

Van Morrison and The Moody Blues would also pay homage by cutting, respectively, Help Me and Bye Bye Bird, while on Bring It On Home (To Me) the most faithful rendition was by Led Zeppelin on the album Led Zeppelin II.

Williamson, who died in Helena on May 25, 1965. is widely regarded as one the most influential harmonica-playing bluesmen of his era, and if you want to know why, simply buy this great CD. In 1980 the Blues Hall Of Fame was launched and among the initial 20 inductees were both "Sonny Boys."

All other great blues harp players have been imitated with some success. Nobody has been able to copy SBW2; nobody can get his tone or his timing. Even if he didn't play harp, he was one of the most evocative, intense singers in blues. To top it off, he wrote great songs. For me, that makes him one of the greatest musicians ever. I first had most of this collection as the vinyl "This Is My Story." I've had this CD collection for several years now and it still amazes me when I play it. This may seem a strange comparison, but the closest musician I can compare him to is Sidney Bechet. Nobody else played soprano sax with his timing - you could copy him note for note, but you could never solo with that timing - he was the only one. Same goes for SBW2.

Sonny Boy Williamson was as earthy as they come. From his poeticly delivered, whiskey tinged lyrics, to his declamatory harmonica, his songs are a unique discography in the annals of post war country blues.

Born in Mississippi, and once married to the Howlin' Wolf's sister, Sonny Boy made his way all across the south, and eventually became a super star in England.

These sides, cut in Chicago from the late 50s to early 60s, show Sonny Boy in a more urban atmosphere, and arguably, present some of his best music.

All of his influential Chess singles are here, including the rocker "Nine Below Zero," the Willie Dixon penned "Bring It on Home, the oft covered "Help Me," and the English pop chart sensation "Bye Bye Birdie."

These Chess sides definately have the bounce of Sonny Boy's earlier work. The urban recording techniques, and guitar from the likes of Muddy Waters and Robert Lockwood add a hard edged quality to Sonny Boy's brand of storytelling.

Some of my favorite blues anywhere. Masterful.

Every one of these tracks is pure gold, no fillers here. Sonny Boy, with Willie Dixon and Robert Johnson,is one of the greatest blues songwriters ever. This is probably, the best cd in the chess anniversary collection and the best one disc complation out there. Sonny Boy is one of the greatest ever, and this is one of the most essential cd in any blues fan collection.