This set is by the original Sonny Boy Williamson,born in 1914,whose first release was in 1937. This was the well-known Good Morning,Little School Girl,an immediate hit. His unique vocals(he had a speech impediment)and his mastery of the harmonica became well-known throughout the South and other areas where blues were popular. His sidemen on this first disc were Big Joe Williams-guitar,Robert Lee McCoy-guitar,and on some tracks Henry Townsend-guitar with Walter Davis-piano. The tracks vary a bit in the vocal department,with McCoy,Williams and Williamson trading off on lead vocals. A look at the tracks on this disc will reveal several songs familiar to any listener of blues-but the overall feel is the same no matter who is out front. A very relaxed,"real" feel oozes out of this music,which continues through the entire set. The first sixteen tracks on disc two follow the previous formula,with vocals traded off between Williamson,McCoy and Townsend. As with a lot of music recorded during this time,there is some confusion as to who exactly played on which tracks,but that doesnt stand in the way of enjoying this music. The last eight sides feature either Elijah Jones or Yank Rachell on vocals. Jones vocals are suitably rough sounding and fit quite well in this set. The addition of Rachells mandolin gives these tracks even more of a down-home feel and is quite a nice addition. Disc three continues in the same vein. The only important addition is piano player Speckled Red,who takes a vocal on You Got to Fix It,otherwise he plays accompaniment to Williamson. Reds piano is out of the barrelhouse style and is a standout. Theres someone named Willie Hatcher,who plays mandolin on the last few tracks and really contributes nothing of any comment. Disc four is a bit different than the others in that Sonny Boy is starting to leave behind the country sound and influences so important to his sound. The arrangements and the overall feel is starting to lean toward a more urban sound. The players on this disc are essentially the same as the above discs,the only real addition is Big Bill Broonzy on guitar. His addition gives the tracks an urban feel,that while different, is still in the style of the original Sonny Boy Williamson. Taken as a whole,this set is very fine indeed. Anyone looking for the beginnings of popular blues harmonica,played by a master,should certainly investigate this set. The down-home relaxed vocals, the easy-fitting accompaniment,and harmonica played by a master,are one of the cornerstones of blues music.

This four-CD set is the perfect companion and complement to JSPs The Original Sonny Boy Williamson, Vol. 1, covering the blues harp legends final eight years. John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson (aka Sonny Boy Williamson I) has, until fairly recently, been the odd man out in the story of Chicago blues stars, at least in terms of how history and posterity treated him. Having died in 1948, long before the significance of the blues or his work was recognized, he receded within the shadow cast by the older yet longer-lived name appropriator Sonny Boy Williamson II (aka Aleck Ford Miller), who got to record for Chess Records into the 1960s, and made it all the way to sessions with the likes of Eric Clapton and even a sadly never fulfilled intersection with the Band. The situation got even more frustrating for scholars when The New York Times, no less (known in the journalism trade as the newspaper of record), in a 1990s article about blues musicians being acknowledged with proper grave markers, obliterated any mention of the existence of John Lee Williamson in the course of telling of Miller/Williamson IIs neglect. RCAs efforts at assembling John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamsons music ended after two volumes and never got near the 1940s end of his output, and the only other effort to collect his work, by Document Records, was only available piecemeal, as hard to find imports. This set makes up for all of that, covering the mans output from beyond the point of his most well-known record and song, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl."

Williamson had a decade of life beyond that point, and the 104 sides here -- assembling his own credited singles as well as his recordings backing such legends as Yank Rachell and Big Joe Williams -- are well worth hearing. The mans music grew in sophistication and complexity across the 1940s as his lyrical and musical facility advanced. Thus, what starts out as fairly rudimentary Chicago blues, as an outgrowth of Delta blues, soon begins to anticipate and intersect with what became the early Aristocrat and Chess Records sounds of Muddy Waters and Little Walter. You get to hear Williamson turn from typical blues subjects (i.e., women) to topical material about the Second World War, and also start to play off of harder guitar sounds as the 40s go on, and the recordings themselves evolve past the antique feel of those better-known early sides. The tendency, because he died so long ago -- 60-plus years at the time of this release -- is to hear his music as something out of another age, but by the fourth disc in this set you hear Williamson catching some of the same energy and vibe that Leonard Chess latched onto at just about the same time when he heard Walter and Muddy. And in terms of the names associated here, also along for the ride (and, at times, driving) are Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red, the ubiquitous Willie Dixon, and Big Maceo, Eddie Boyd, and Washboard Sam. (Indeed, on the basis of the sidemen alone, this set should be considered essential listening.) The sound quality ranges from very good to excellent, and the annotation by Neil Slaven is detailed and thorough, as is the accompanying discography. ~ Bruce Eder

Tracklist:

Disc 1

Listen 1. Boy Is Mine - Brandy & Monica
Listen 2. Boogie Nite - Tweet
Listen 3. Freak Like Me - Adina Howard
Listen 4. Gangstas Paradise - Coolio & LV
Listen 5. Free Your Mind - En Vogue
Listen 6. On The Hotline - Pretty Ricky
Listen 7. Could It Be - Jaheim
Listen 8. Used To Be My Girl - Brian McKnight
Listen 9. Im Not Ready - Keith Sweat
Listen 10. Swing By My Way - Will.I.Am & John Legend

John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds in favor of organic instrumentation. He has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and has amassed 22 Top 40 hits in the United States. In addition, he holds the record for the most tracks by a solo artist to hit number-one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, with seven, and he has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, winning one. Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2008 by Billy Joel. His biggest musical influences are Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and The Rolling Stones.

John is using Cubase on PC which is an unusual setup for top house producer. He is using an interesting mix of plugins as well.

New movie adapted from Steve Harveys book "Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man" due out 420 featuring Arielle Kebbel, Meagan Good, Gabrielle Union, Kevin Hart and some of the artists featured on this soundtrack New tracks from Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Kelly Rowland and Keri Hilson. For the Johnta Austin followers, he co-wrote track 4 with Tricky Stewart, who also co-produced the track. Lead Single for the soundtrack is the title track by Jennifer Hudson