Customer Reviews

Atlanta 12 String

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I hesitate to call this an "album" because McTell never recorded albums, he recorded sides; but this work stands out so sharply against the two other major periods of his recordings -- the original 20s and 30s sides, and then the "last session" -- what's so amazing about these sessions here is that McTell hadn't been "rediscovered" like so many of the other old bluesman who only a scant few years later would be being taken into the false (though hopefully renumerative) milieu of folk/blues revivalists -- I don't know why this seems to mark these recordings as "purer" than so many others in the 60s, but they are like nothing else. Modern (for the 50s) recording techniques mean a sonic depth which his 20s/30s recordings couldn't have hoped to compete with -- yet unlike the "Last Session," Blind Willie is at the height of his powers. A man, his voice, and a his 12-string. The version fo "Dying Crapshooter's Blues" is peerless, and the version of "Delia" just gut-wrenching -- World-Gone-Wrong-era Bobby Dylan's constant acknowledgement of McTell as a constant wellspring of inspiration (for some of Dylan's darkest material) makes much more sense after this album. Truly one of my own favorites of all time.

Between the Regal Sessions and these Atlantic Recordings, Blind Willie McTell was at the height of his powers. Although some might disagree, McTell was, I think, the best blues interpretivist of his era. McTell could take an old chestnut like "Last Dime Blues" and rework it into his own signature material. With just a simple break in his voice McTell can bring you to tears.

If you are a fan of American Roots music, you owe it to yourself to purchase these Atlantic Sessions. This recording is an essential in any blues lover's collection and may possibly be the best country blues recording of all time.

It's hard in a way to believe that this disc was recorded in the late 1940's. It sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday and Willie McTell is sitting right there in the room with you. Thank goodness there were some music lovers at Atlantic who captured these great performances.

For anyone who has never owned a Blind Willie McTell record, this is the one I would recommend starting with. The sound is great compared to his 30's era recordings, yet his unmistakeable voice and 12-string playing style are every bit as engaging as any he ever recorded.

I agree with another reviewer that "Dying Crapshooter's Blues" alone is worth the price of admission. In my humble opinion, it is one of the five greatest blues songs ever recorded. Not only does the song contain many of the great blues themes (death, hard-living, lost love), it also captures the milieu of the bluesman's lifestyle (cathouses, deadly policemen, loaded dice); and it's all pulled off with a mixture of humor and pathos that draws you into the song's world.

"Dying Craphsooter's Blues" and other great performances on this disc make it an essential album in any blues/folk collection and a wonderful entree into the repertoire of this one-of-a-kind performer.

In 1948, the year the tracks included on "Atlanta Telve String" were recorded, lone wolf bluesmen weren't exactly the hippest thing in music. Most of the blues records being released and sold during that time featured blues shouters and crooners backed up by horn or piano driven proto R&B combos. Thus, it is a minor miracle that the fledgeling Atlantic label chose to cut a session's worth of material by Blind Willie McTell. Astute businessmen who surely must have realized the limited marketbility of these tracks, the brothers Ehrtegun were clearly either fans of McTell's clasic 20's & 30's sides or were blown away by his audition and just couldn't pass up the opportunity to record him. At any rate, the performances cut during McTell's Atlantic session constitute some of the finest solo blues ever laid to wax. These tracks reflect McTell's highly individualistic style, which was neither entirely urban nor country, nor a product of any particular geographical region. Although folkie academic types like to place him in the artificially concocted "Piedmont Blues" school, McTell was widely traveled and was influenced by all kinds of music. Revelations from this session include his peformances of "Motherless Children," "You Got To Die," and several other gospel blues that betray McTell's musical debt to the equally idiosyncratic (and equally visually impaired)Texan Blind Willie Johnson. More representative of McTell's earlier work are the boisterous ragtime numbers "Kill It Kid" and "Razor Ball"-the only two performances form the session released as singles. The two best performances form the session, however are "Little Delia" and "Dying Crapshooter's Blues." The former is McTell's passionate reworking of an ancient murder ballad, while the former is a Blind Willie McTell original. "Dying Crapshooter," is especially interesting, as it represents something of a deconstruction of the traditional death bed lament song("St. James Infirmary," Streets of Laredo," etc). A darkly comedic masterpiece, this track may very well be the finest McTell performance extant on record. While the inclusion of this track alone would qualify "Atlanta Twelve String" as essential listening for anyone who enjoys blues music(or good music, period), every performance on this disc features powerful, yet nuanced, singing and virtuoso guitar work. (Note:many of the songs on "Atlanta Twelve String" were recorded earlier by McTell for Alan Lomax in 1940, but the performances cut by Atlantic are superior-and feature better sound, to boot)

I started llike everyone...Led Zep, Clapton, Rolling Stones,etc. Then i started to get complicated with jazz and prog rock. 20 years passed. When i got to free jazz and avant garde music i felt like i had reached a peak in musical investigation. Now i have come full circle to the beginning...and what a joy it is! Charlie Patton, Skip james, Muddy Waters, Blind Jefferson, Beefheart, Howilin Wolf, Robert Johnson, John Hurt, Leroy Carr, Son House and others are all worth checking out. But Blind Willie Mctell can really hit the soft spot in your soul if you are a real music lover. This and his early stuff are guranteed to send shivers up your spine. Music that seems simple in appearance...but, if you are willing to open up, you will be amazed at the richness of emotions this music can transmit. And this is a joy specially because of the good sound and choice of songs. Highly recommended to all those who love music and blues influenced music.

I was looking over the blues albums in a music store one day in hopes of finding a good one that I might not have (I have more blues cds than most of the stores, and that is not an exaggeration... and I mean real blues cds, not white celebrity-filled jam fests). When I came across this one, a Mctell that i did not own, I was excited. As excited as I was though, I was not expecting it to be as unbelievable as I discovered it to be. This may well be the man's greatest recording. His voice and playing had matured and taken on an chilling quality. Every song is excellent and distinctive...Mctell is truly unique. The twelve string playing is breath taking and the vocals full of power. Like I said, every track is great, but if I had to mention at least one highlight, his version of Blind Willie Johnson's "Motherless Children..." is haunting. This "album" gave me chills, seriously.

This an amazing recording and a wonderful showcase of Blind Willie's virtuosity. He covers an impressively wide range of emotions and genres with these songs: from upbeat dance hall numbers like "Kill it Kid," "Razorball," and "Pinetop Boogie Woogie" to the vintage murder ballads "Little Delia" and "Dying Crap-Shooters Blues" to love songs brimming with pain such as "On the Cooling Board," "Blues Round Midnight," and "Soon this Morning" to Gospel tunes like "You Got to Die," "Ain't it Grand to Live a Christian," and "Pearly Gates." Very few blues albums (or albums of any musical category, for that matter) can claim such great variety. All of this tells nothing of McTell's command of the Twelve-String Guitar or of his singing. Suffice it to say, he lives up to the billing that Bob Dylan gives him.

This album contains some of my favorite McTell tunes, including standards like "Little Delia" and "Broke Down Engine Blues." But several of the songs, "Motherless Children Have a Hard Time," "I Got to Cross the River Jordan," and "Ain't It Grand to Live a Christian," are truly monumental, absolutely transcendent, both in Blind Willie's twelve-string playing and his remarkable voice and delivery. Blind Willie McTell is one of the few American voices that can be considered to have made a major and enduring contribution to world culture. His work is both a national treasure and an unforgettable experience for any and every sympathetic listener. This album will be listened to again and again, giving the listener pleasure, inspiration, and a timeless aesthetic and emotional experience that only the highest genius can deliver. Willie sings the Blues, 'cause Willie lived the Blues.

McTell may have lost quite a few steps since the 1920s and '30s by the time this music was recorded, but he was still in excellent form. The disc has a solid song selection and shows us that, had McTell have lived just a few more years, he could have been a huge star in the Country Blues revival. His twelve string guitar playing is exquisite. In my opinion, McTell and Gary Davis are the greatest twelve string guitarists in history; better than Leadbelly and Jesse Fuller. This disc and "Pig 'N' Whistle Red" are extremely enjoyable, but one should buy the JSP McTell box set first!

Fans of his music and the music of this period will enjoy a more mature Blind Willie.