Description
When Big Jack Johnson died at age 70 in 2011, the planet lost a giant figure in the world of Delta blues. But he lives again here as he joins forces with harp players Kim Wilson and George “Wild Child” Butler and delivers a bare-bones, deep-in-the-pocket set of tunes from the M.C. Records vault that see the light of day for the first time ever.
Possessing a booming voice and doubling on guitar and mandolin, Big Jack’s at the top of his game on this one. The songs here were culled from outtakes from two previous releases, 1998’s Lickin’ Gravy and 2000’s The Memphis Barbecue Sessions. But they’re far more than that – especially when you consider that the Memphis album captured the W.C. Handy Award for country blues album of the year. A Blues Hall of Famer, it was his only win despite about a dozen nominations.
Wilson, the founder and front man of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, shines on five cuts, ripping and running on harp without benefit of amplification. A native Alabaman who recorded in Chicago with Willie Dixon & Jimmy Dawkins in the ‘50s and ‘60s, Butler was a skilled reed player and vocalist, too, which comes through loud and clear on his four cuts.
