Personnel includes: Big Bill Broonzy (vocals, guitar); Sammy Sampson (vocals); George Barnes (electric guitar); Frank Brasswell (guitar); Odell Rand (clarinet); Buster Bennett (alto saxophone); Bill Osborn (tenor saxophone); Punch Miller, Mr. Sheiks (trumpet); Leeford Robinson, Blind John Davis, Black Bob, Joshua Altheimer (piano); Bill Settles, Wilbur Ware, Oliver Hudson, Ransom Knowling (acoustic bass); Fred Williams (drums);

Recorded between April 9, 1930 and April 17, 1940. Includes liner notes by Lawrence Cohn.

This is part of Columbia Records' Blues 'N' Roots series.

Personnel: Big Bill Broonzy (vocals, guitar); Sam Sampson (vocals); Frank Brasswell (guitar); George Barnes (electric guitar); Odell Rand (clarinet); Buster Bennett (alto saxophone); Bill Osborn, Austin (tenor saxophone); Mr. Sheiks, Punch Miller (trumpet); Leeford Robinson, Black Bob Hudson, Joshua Altheimer, Blind John Davis (piano); Fred Williams (drums).

Liner Note Author: Lawrence Cohn.

Recording information: 04/09/1930-04/17/1940.

Though legendary guitarist/singer Big Bill Broonzy was one of the most influential players in Chicago blues, he was--like countless other early Chicago blues artists--from Mississippi, and it took a while for his Southern country-blues style to coalesce into the more urgent Chicago sound. You can hear that process taking place right before your ears on GOOD TIME TONIGHT, which catches Broonzy's progress throughout the 1930s, a crucial period of his (and the blues') development. He began recording in the late '20s, and by the time of the earliest sides here, he was still in the solo-artist mode, with a strong Mississippi flavor to his sound. As this collection moves along, though, piano, drums, and even clarinet enter into the fray, as Broonzy's approach is transformed from rural-sounding country picking to a harder-edged style right in tune with the times. GOOD TIME TONIGHT is a crucial document for anyone looking to understand how the blues got to where they were by the middle of the 20th century.

If you're following the 30-plus year career of Bill Broonzy and already have the two early compilations available on Yazoo, here's where you go next. These are basically ensemble works covering the time frame between 1930 to 1940 and Broonzy sounds very comfortable in the company of Blind John Davis and Joshua Altheimer. The 20 tracks compiled here (culled from various Vocalion, ARC and Columbia sessions) sound pretty great, benefitting mightily from modern sound restoration devices. ~ Cub Koda

Entertainment Weekly - "..this blend of rural blues and urban jazz is a revelation."

Down Beat (2/91) - 4 Stars - Very Good - "..a multi-faceted artist who's restored here to the stature and dignity he deserves."

Living Blues - "..superb mastering that raises all previous expectations."