Joe Williams
Me and the Blues (1963)

review by: Alexander Washburn
Date: 11/15/00

Joe Williams doesn't sing let's take a toaster into the bathtub with you type of blues. Make no mistake about it, he sings the blues. Actually according to Williams, he and the blues "spend a lot of time together." But Williams seems to appreciate the blues and not woe them and his songs come off as toe tapping, sing-a-long blues, with a smooth voice that could very well be crooning alongside Nat "King" Cole.

Williams replaces the smokey room blues feel with a big band sound, complete with horn solos. Joe Williams wears his blues well, as a badge of honor, not shame, and that, as he sings on a previously unreleased track, "is good work if you can get it."