This second volume in Document’s project to reissue the complete recorded works of Jim Jackson in chronological order isn’t quite as necessary as the first, since that volume contains what are arguably his most important and interesting songs (“Kansas City Blues,” “He’s in the Jailhouse Now,” “Old Dog Blue’,” “I’m Wild About My Lovin’”). True, there are some worthwhile tracks here as well, including “What a Time,” “Traveling Man,” “Hesitation Blues,” and a particularly impassioned version of W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues,” but Jackson wasn’t a striking enough guitarist or singer to overcome mediocre and cliché-ridden material, and there’s plenty of that here, too. Document has also issued both of these volumes in a double-disc set, which may be preferable to collectors and blues scholars, but until someone issues a decent single-disc overview of Jackson’s recordings, casual listeners should probably stick with the first volume. – Steve Leggett
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