Again what is great is the sound of his harmonica and voice mixing with these really gifted younger musicians. Brian Auger was already a well-established Jazz and Blues keyboard player and Jimmy Page's guitar was fluid and strong. These tracks have a much more polished feel to them, and not just because they were studio recordings, but because they sound like the work of more experienced musicians.
Sonny Boy was equally at home with Jazz as he was with Blues, and at times these tracks are more reminiscent of the former than the latter. But whatever you want to call it, the music on this disc is great. Even the mistakes in the songs give it an intimacy that you don't normally find in a studio session, of course that could also be down to the fact they were recorded "live".
Bye Bye Sonny is a marvelous record of some great once in a lifetime performances. To have these three recordings gathered together on one recording is a perfect reminder of the influence that American Blues had on some the biggest name of British Rock and Roll of the 1960s. Not only is it fascinating to hear Sonny Boy Williamson sound so amazing even at this late stage in his career, it is equally interesting to hear these young men on the cusp of stardom learning their chops from an expert.
Sonny Boy Williamson didn't make that many recordings in his life, he didn't press his first record until 1951, so these ones made at the end of his illustrious career and life become even more special simply for adding to the catalogue of his recorded music. Whether you buy it for that reason, or from curiosity because of whom he's playing with, Bye Bye Sonny is a great addition to any music collection.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
nice review richard. this is interesting, as i'm pretty certain that one of my cousins had disc 2 on lp way back in the early 70's.
we new Page was on it but didn't like it all that much...of course, we were expecting a Zeppelin-ish wall of sound.
2 - Pico
Man, I gotta get this one!
I recently listened to Eric Burdon's latest roots-based effort Soul Of A Man and it's evident from that release that he never forgot the lessons he learned from jamming with the likes of SBW II.
Sonny Boy was a big influence on so many prominent blues-based rockers that came to the fore right after his death. Your article is a fine account as to how that happened. Good read.
3 - kb4iuj
You know this guy looks just like his son. Which I met not to long ago in Memphis. Clearly I need to get in touch with that guy and get his photos which I took of him with his lady friend.
I'll bet he'd be a really interesting character to interview.