Best of Blind Willie Mctell

Blind Willie McTell | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 21, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Yazoo
• ASIN: B0002PUH6K
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,990 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #6 in Music > Blues > Regional Blues > East Coast Blues
  • #44 in Music > Blues > Delta Blues
  • #57 in Music > Blues > Acoustic Blues

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The finest Blind Willie compilation for selection & sound!, December 18, 2006

By 

Robert G. Martinez "Doctor of Rock" (Brooksville FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Best of Blind Willie Mctell (Audio CD)

I have been also a fan of old blues recordings since the early 1970's. Blind Willie is one of my favorites. If you love twelve-string guitar, he was the master. McTell was from Atlanta, so he never got the credit like those from the Mississippi Delta (Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Tommy Johnson, Son House etc) and McTell's form of blues was categorized as the "Piedmont Style" and featured some pop and ragtime influences than just hard-core blues. It was also sunny and cheerful at times. I've owned blues compilations with Blind Willie cuts and also owned the Columbia/Legacy version and found the guitar and overall balance to have less presence than this new Yazoo release. These are the finest sounding recordings ever on McTell. The sound is crisp and vibrant and you can hear the 12-string ring like a bell or a train whistle. This Yazoo CD covers the best of the early Victor recordings and also the Columbia ones. The only knock I have is that there are no specific dates when the songs were recorded. The Victors are from 1927 to 1932 and the Columbias are from around 1928 to 1935, but it would have been nice for "record nerds" like me to know exactly when they were recorded, so we could figure out who he was influenced by (current events,crazes, other musicians, movies etc.). Music can be influenced by the style of the times. Anyway, if you love guitar and folk blues excellence, Blind Willie is fantastic, plus he had a way with words. Bob Dylan is a also a fond admirer of McTell and even wrote a great song about him. This CD offers the finest selection of his greatest songs and with the greatest sound ever released. If you are a blues historian or fan, this is a must for your collection!

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Of The Greatest Lines Can Be Found On This CD, February 5, 2005

By 

J. Deighton "J. Deighton" (Inches From My Computer) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of Blind Willie Mctell (Audio CD)

They are, and I quote: "She looked like a lump of Lord have mercy," and "I drink so much I stagger when I sleep."
As to the rest of the CD, McTell was a bit more urbane than many of his delta blues contemporaries. (And yes, I meant "urbane" not "urban.") His guitar playing has a more jazzy feel to it, and you can tell that the music will be making its way to the big city soon. He's probably my favorite Delta blues guy, and young whipper snappers will be able to hear where Jack White got his schtick.
How's the sound quality on this release? Um, pretty darn excellent, all things considered.

5.0 out of 5 stars I was travelin' through South America's, August 19, 2011

By 

W.D. Mainer (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Best of Blind Willie Mctell (Audio CD)

Classic material from the good ol' days of 78 rpm's. "Broke Down Engine", "Statesboro Blues", "Travelin' Blues", "Dark Night Blues", "Mama Taint Long Fo Day", "Low Rider's Blues" are some of the highlights of this musician.