Let's just get this out of the way first: This is a killer BIG JACK JOHNSON album that features his Jelly Roll Kings partners (both legends themselves), Sam Carr and Frank Frost. Big Jack cranks his guitar to juke joint volume and takes the vocals on all but the instrumental passages. Big Jack (kin to Super Chikan and Big George Brock) was known locally in his native Clarksdale as "the oilman" since he drove an oil truck for years; truth is, blues just didn't pay the bills. Even today, if you visit the abandoned-looking Red's Lounge here in town, you'll notice pictures, posters and even a banner making it clear that it was once the "Home of Big Jack Johnson." He was a local blues hero who broke out to the rest of the world later in life. This CD captures what made him so sought after. Recommended. - Roger Stolle, Cat Head
 
Fat Possum Records.