Document Records has nearly 900 titles in its catalog and is easily the largest purveyor of American vernacular music, with titles featuring vintage American blues, jazz, boogie-woogie, gospel, old-timey, and country, all drawn from commercially released 78s and rare field recordings. If You Take Me Back is one of a series of samplers Document has released that allows a quick glimpse into the label's vast archive, and with tracks ranging from early country blues to stylish early jazz, it has a well-sequenced variety that is often lacking on the single-artist discs, which are predominantly archival in nature. Among the highlights here are Bukka White's classic 1940 recording of "Fixin' to Die Blues"; a rediscovered Skip James doing "Illinois Blues" at a 1964 concert in Boston; a raw, stunning field recording of Jimmy Peters & the Ring Dance Singers stomping through "Rockaway" in 1934; and the exciting gospel-blues of Rev. Lonnie Farris & the Gospel Flames on "Golden Street," recorded in 1962 and featuring some amazing electric slide guitar work from Farris. The range of styles presented here is impressive, and If You Take Me Back works both as a wonderful sampler of what Document offers and as a quick introduction to true American roots music at its finest. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide