All tracks on TREAT ME RIGHT are solo performances, except "St. Louis Blues" (with Sonny Terry) and "In The Evenin' (When The Sun Goes Down)" (with Josh White).

Personnel: Big Bill Broonzy, Josh White (vocals, guitar); Sonny Terry (vocals, harmonica).

Recorded in Paris, France in 1951. Includes liner notes by Anton Glovsky.

Originally released on LP on Archive Of Folk Music (FS-213).

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Personnel: Big Bill Broonzy (vocals, guitar); Josh White (vocals, guitar); Sonny Terry (vocals, harmonica).

Liner Note Author: Anton Glovsky.

Photographers: David Gahr; James J. Kreigsmann.

Like so many great American artists, especially those in blues and jazz, Big Bill Broonzy fled to Europe when times got tough stateside, and was duly accorded the respect he deserved. TREAT ME RIGHT contains some of his earliest recording after his 1951 trip across the pond. A number of the tracks included here are classics he'd been playing for some time, but they were new to listeners in France, where the album was first released. The title, which is a play on the tune "Treat Everybody Right," can be seen in retrospect as a plea for understanding from the man who'd left his homeland in search of artistic succor. There are solid renditions of such chestnuts as "See See Rider" and "Baby Please Don't Go," and it's easy to imagine the thrill of discovery the European audience must have felt digging into the rich loam of blues history that was Big Bill Broonzy.

This mid-priced reissue of the Archive of Folk Music recording Big Bill Broonzy (FS-213) chronicles the blues singer-guitarist's European comeback of the early '50s, when he was in his late fifties. He is assured and comfortable with the material, which includes such standards as "Baby Please Don't Go," "See Rider," and even "Sixteen Tons" (the last suggesting his eclecticism). His performance of "St. Louis Blues" should serve as a lesson to guitar players everywhere, and "Ridin' on Down," which he speak-sings in a deadpan manner, is hilarious. Complete with warmups and coughs, this is hardly a professional session, but a pro like Broonzy doesn't require much more than a microphone and a tape recorder to make a good record. ~ William Ruhlmann

Down Beat (10/96, p.60) - 4 Stars - Very Good - "...showcases Big Bill's dulcet voice, his penchant for story telling and his fine, refined guitar playing. Killer ending: a front-porch version of Merle Travis' `Sixteen Tons.'"

Dirty Linen (6-7/96, p.73) - "...the album is a truer representation of pure Broonzy than many of his earlier, more heavily instrumented, commercial releases..."

Sing Out! (4-5-6/97, p.146) - "...a fine example of his later repertoire....this is as good a single album of this seminal artist as is available."