Big Joe Williams was an eccentric, compelling guitarist who, like Charley Patton and others who came before him, understood that the acoustic guitar had tremendous percussion capabilities. With his patented half-homemade nine-string guitar, an old Sovereign held together with duct tape and fervent prayer, he stomped his way through a kind of African/Delta blues like a driving one-man band. This 36-track, two-disc collection compiles some of his earliest sides recorded between 1935 and 1951, including several versions of his signature song "Baby Please Don't Go." ~ Steve Leggett