CD-Charts Position 1
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The Essential Sonny Boy Williamson

by: Sonny Boy Williamson II

Release Date June 08, 1993
I saw recently where Elvis Costello had this, or some other SBW collection, in his current Top Ten play list. That got me thinking.

Handyman owns a fairly deep collection of wide ranging, well-worn and warped blues LPs.
My most heavily traveled avenue of interest being the post-war 1950's Chicago blues scene.

I have a few vinyl volumes of SBW Chess material. Those recordings are desert island blues picks for me.

Sonny Boy Williamson's take on the blues has a particular funky edge, a particular off-beat that I cannot describe in musical terminology, but which I have always found distinctive and attractive.

The goldmines of the frontliners; Muddy Waters, Howlin'Wolf, Elmore James,John ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
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King Biscuit Time

by: Sonny Boy Williamson II

Release Date November 30, 1993
If you like really great Blues Harmonica, this is an excellent choice. This CD has a good selection of tempos and feeling, but it's definitely all Blues. If you've never heard SBW II, he is quite different than SBW I (no relation), and I prefer his style of early Blues. It's not exactly delta blues, although I think that's what many might classify it as: SBW II seems to have a broader appeal.

CD-Charts Position 3
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Cool Cool Blues: The Classic Sides 1951-1954

by: Sonny Boy Williamson [II]

Release Date March 14, 2006
Four discs. 68,68,71,78 min. each approximately. Remastered sound. There are 103 sides by Rice Miller,known as Sonny Boy Williamson and some friends and acquaintances here,and some of the tracks are some of the best blues recordings of this time period. Starting out with Eyesight To The Blind,a well-known title and Williamson's first release,the music continues along the same vein. Besides Williamson on vocals and harmonica,he is accompanied by the great Willie Love on piano with bass, drums,and guitar. The guitartists range from unknown to Elmore James to B.B.King. The first cd is devoted to Williamson as the main performer. The emphasis is squarely on Sonny Boy,with the backing group supporting him in an understated,but always authentic sound that really ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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Down and Out Blues/In Memorium

by: Sonny Boy Williamson [II]

Release Date February 02, 2004
Aleck "Rice" Miller's first LP, "Down And Out Blues", was reissued on CD in 1987, but is now out of print. Fortunately you can get it on this twofer-CD, coupled with the 1965 album "In Memorium", originally issued shortly after Miller's death.

There is plenty of remastered Sonny Boy available on the various MCA/Chess compilations, and they may just have a slight edge over this CD as far as fidelity is concerned, but if you want Sonny Boy's first album this is pretty much the only way to get it unless you want to pay import price.

"Down And Out Blues" features some of Miller's very best songs and biggest R&B hits, including "Don't Start Me To Talkin'", "I Don't Know", "All My Love In Vain", "Your Funeral And My Trial" and "Fattening Frogs For ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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Bummer Road

by: Sonny Boy Williamson [II]

Release Date September 06, 2004
I have this album but have been dragged, kicking & screaming, into the digital age. All my records are now enclosed in drywall cuz I was too lazy to move them (400+) during a remodel. Anyway, I LOVE the 12 minute version of "Little Village." The piano player is clearly Sonny Boy's smacked-out brother-in-law who keeps falling face-first into the keyboard about 10 seconds into each take. Sonny Boy yells at an exasperated engineer: "He'll git it, he'll git it!!" The tinny voice of the engineer replies: "OK. Take 92--Little Village." Sonny Boy hits it & blammo--the piano player falls off his bench. The engineer gets so dingy he finally can't recall the name of the song. Sonny Boy shouts: "Little Village! Little Village, M*therf*cker!!
Tempers flare, songs never ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Goin' in Your Direction

by: Sonny Boy Williamson II

Release Date May 31, 1994
You should not have to order this CD used!
Sonny Boy Williamson (II)'s early-50s waxings for Trumpet Records are not as well-known as his Chess sides, but they are a very important part of his legacy, and while the fidelity is not stellar, the performances are terrific.

I called this "early" Sonny Boy, and it is in terms of recorded material, but Rice Miller was already in his 50s when these performances were taped, and had played with men like Robert Johnson and Elmore James down in the Delta in the 30s. So his inimitable harmonica style was already in place on these his first recordings, and his characteristic vocals and his way with words were fully developed as well.

One of these songs features Bobo Thomas as the lead vocalist...his "Catfish ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Keep It to Ourselves

by: Sonny Boy Williamson II

Release Date June 13, 1990
You should not have to order this CD used!
Sonny Boy Williamson (II)'s early-50s waxings for Trumpet Records are not as well-known as his Chess sides, but they are a very important part of his legacy, and while the fidelity is not stellar, the performances are terrific.

I called this "early" Sonny Boy, and it is in terms of recorded material, but Rice Miller was already in his 50s when these performances were taped, and had played with men like Robert Johnson and Elmore James down in the Delta in the 30s. So his inimitable harmonica style was already in place on these his first recordings, and his characteristic vocals and his way with words were fully developed as well.

One of these songs features Bobo Thomas as the lead vocalist...his "Catfish ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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One Way Out

by: Sonny Boy Williamson II

Release Date August 17, 1990
Rather than blather: this is classic Chicago blues at its best. The reason I am reviewing is that the sound is amazing. Please don't tell me you're a fan if you don't grab this one! The Japanese have really got all of these Chess issues sounding so good that the price really is worth it. Why can't we do it as well . . .

CD-Charts Position 9
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Keep It to Ourselves

by: Sonny Boy Williamson II

Release Date October 09, 2001
First,don't confuse Sonny Boy Williamson with Sonny Boy Williamson.I mean,don't confuse Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller,born Aleck Ford,ca.1897,died May 25,1965),who's playing here,with Sonny Boy Williamson I,who was younger (born John Lee Williamson,1914-1948) but who recorded in the thirties,whereas the second didn't record before the end of the fourties.
Both two are among the most essential harmonica players in the blues history,with Sonny Terry ,Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter.

Personnaly,I think that Rice Miller,the guy you'll listen to on this CD,is my favorite one.This very mysterious man (we still don't know his real name,Miller or Ford,neither his surname,neither his date of birth,1897,1899,or 1891 ?) was one of the major artists in the Chicago blues style,with ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
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The Best of Sonny Boy Williamson

by: Sonny Boy Williamson [II]

Release Date August 01, 2006
The music on this compilation is magnificent, I didn't give it 5 stars only because it lacks the listing of musicians on each track (some of which are true blues legends themselves).
In this period he recorded with Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters and others, so it would be nice to have the correct info on that.

Otherwise, this is classical stuff; both vocally and instrumentally...

BTW, if my ears don't decieve me, the performer of "Like Wolf" (track 18) is Howlin' Wolf , although the authorship of the song is attributed to Williamson.