Something must have happened in recording technology between the late 1920s/early 1930s when Charley Patton's sessions were 'laid down' and the late 1930s/early 1940s when these recordings by Sonny Boy Williamson were made. Because I find the latter much more accessible.
Being a harmonica aficionado, Van Morrison must have been heavily influenced by Williamson. In fact the first version of Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl that I heard was Van's. Van actually makes it sound more paedophiliac than the original: where Williamson sings "Tell your mama and your pa / Sonny Boy's a schoolboy too", which leaves open the possibility that the singer is a teenager, Van sings the openly dirty-old-man lines, "Tell your mama and your pa / I once was a schoolboy too".
I got this the same day as the awful Muddy Waters Essential Selection, but it's vastly better as a compilation. These 'Complete Blues' CDs on Charly are professionally done, with all the dates of recording sessions and the musicians listed. This album has Big Bill Broonzy and Willie Dixon playing on some tracks.
I'm still learning this stuff. And it was only today that I realised there were two Sonny Boy Williamsons. [Update, 2pm: just catching up with last night's radio, and I hear Charlie Gillett playing something by Sony Boy II.]
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