Customer Reviews

Definitive Blind Willie Mctell

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This set is titled "The Definitive BWM" and the liner notes say -- twice -- that it includes "all his known recordings."

However, there's nothing here from his 1927 Atlanta session, his 1928 Atlanta session, his 1932 Atlanta session (as "Hot Shot Willie"), his 1935 Chicago sessions with Ruth Day, his 1936 Augusta session (as "Red Hot Willie Glaze"), his well-known 1940 session for John Lomax, his 1949 Atlanta session (as "Pig & Whistle Red") or his famous last session, 1956 in Atlanta for Ed Rhodes. How can they claim this is a "definitive" set?

The sound quality, as another reviewer mentioned, is somewhat mangled from ham-fisted noise reduction. I wouldn't go so far as to agree, however, that the originals were in "pretty good shape." To modern ears, these old 78's are pretty beat-up.

In spite of all this however, I give it 4 stars for McTell's sterling presence. Until a better set comes along, this'll have to do.

My moods change and I listen to lots of different styles of music but when it comes to pre-war blues, did anyone have a better guitar-tone than Blind Willie McTell?? Generally speaking, I rarely listen to anyone directly after I listen to McTell simply because the depth and richness of his tone makes other guitarists playing sound..well, not as rich. That's not to take anything away from the other masters like Lonnie Johnson (whom I LOVE), etc... it just speaks to how truly huge McTell's sound was. And yes part of it is just the 12-string factor, but I'd even choose McTell over other 12-stringers.

If you're unfamiliar with McTell, I think I would say that in certain aspects, some of his songs make me think of Woody Guthrie. If you don't like Woody then PLEASE don't let that scare you away from this great box-set. McTell had a better voice, he was an infinitely better guitarist, and his songs never have the political focus that Woody's have, but some of McTell's folkier talking-blues tunes do make me think of Woody a bit. And let it be known that I easily prefer McTell over Woody in terms of "performance ability". Plus, many of his songs don't make me think of Woody at all, such as Talking To Myself for instance. This is one of my favorite songs in all of pre-war blues. Really unique and wonderful, I've yet to hear anything like it by anyone else. You'll also notice that Robert Johnson was obviously familiar with McTell, as Robert's They're Red Hot is almost rhythmically identical to a couple of McTell's tunes on this set.

All in all, there's nothing that can really be said except "Buy this set!". It's inexpensive and it's one of the best collections of one of the best blues musicians that ever lived. Oh! One more thing, yes the title is indeed misleading if you didn't know anything about McTell before reading this. This is not a "definitive collection of everything Blind Willie McTell recorded". It is only the definitive collection of everything he recorded for the Columbia, Okeh, and Vocalion family of labels.

Worth every penny.

This is Columbia's McTell 2-CD boxed set. The text on the back of the box tells us that the collection is complete, but doesn't specify what they means by "complete". It lacks Statesboro Blues, which means the collection is neither complete nor definitive. Typical of Columbia remastering of old blues or jazz recordings, the surface noise is minimized at the expense of depth of the actual recording. McTell's booming 12-string sounds rather thin on these Colombia remasterings.

For better alternatives, there's a new Yazoo "best-of" collection which will probably be the CD of choice if you want a one-CD collection. These guys are reliably excellent with digital remastering of early blues recordings. Then there's JSP's boxed set (5-CDs) of complete early recordings up to 1940. The JSP includes Statesboro and all of his early classics, in excellent sound. And it can be had for $20 to $30, so it might steal 1st choice from Yazoo, unless you're short of storage space. Whichever you choose, McTell is one of the great singers of his age, plus he had a fair hand with the guitar. An essential acquisition if you're building an early blues collection.

If you're only going to add one Willie McTell-album to your collection, pass this one by. It is a very good overview of William Samuel McTell's excellent Columbia and Okeh sides, but you won't find any of his classic Victor singles here, and that's a pity, because it was at Victor that McTell recorded "Statesboro Blues", "Dark Night Blues", "Writing Paper Blues", "Stole Rider Blues", and "Mama T'Ain't Long 'Fo Day".
But add this one and "The Early Years 1927-1933" to your shopping basket, and you'll have a very fine overview of Blind Willie McTell in his prime.
Or you could just get the handsomely packaged box set "The Definitive Blind Willie McTell", or the exhaustive (and very reasonably priced) "The Classic Years 1927-1940"....

This collection consists of a compilation of all of Blind Willie's recordings for Columbia and Vocalion. Although the recordings made earlier in his career for Victor remain his most popularly known, this collection displays McTell in a broader light than any other compilation-type work available on the market. Although the previous reviewer criticizes this collection for not including "Statesboro Blues," I think it is important to listen to Willie on his on merits and not via preconceptions gained from listening to covers of his most popularly covered song.

Disc 2 is where this collection really shines, featuring a series of duets with Curley Weaver on the six string. The depth and complexity of the arrangements speak volumes about why the blues is a dying art form and why latter day acoustic bluesmen can't pull it off. Rather than ramming the point home like a rusty saw via the same three chords in the key of A, McTell and Weaver weave and improvise with the songs in an almost jazz-like fashion. "East St. Louis Blues," which closes the collection, is a perfect example of McTell taking a standard and turning it into something which is unique and is his own.

This record is subtle and beautiful and is worthy of many more than two stars. McTell was a prolific songster who recorded almost no substandard material in his career. "The Definitive Blind Willie McTell" is a great intro to his recorded works. Buy it and help to keep this American Icon's legacy alive.

My favorite McTell is on "Pig & Whistle Red" ... but this collection is well worth having especially if one remembers this is only one segment of his performing life. Simple blues such as "Death Cell Blues" show McTell's ability to control a song vocally; he makes the song memorable while playing very basic blues riffs. In most his works, it is his flourishes against the traditional background that sets him apart.

As on several of his recordings, the same piece is given in multiple takes - I enjoy these as a indication of McTell's improvisation / extemporaneous performance of even his signature pieces. Several of these cuts are performed with Curley Weaver ... the combination is excellent whether Weaver or McTell is featured. McTell also provides the accompaniment for Ruth Mary Willis on several tracks ... his versatility shows well in this context as well.

This is an excellent collection of blues with broader range of styles than many single artist collections. I highly recommend it.

Before I got this CD, I had never listned to a recording of Blind Willie McTell. The reason I got this was that I knew that the White Stripes, my favorite band, were inspired by his music and I loved there cover of McTell's "Southern Can Is Mine". The music on this CD is great. McTell was very very good on the 12-string guitar and that is apparent on this album. The liner notes are also very good (especially if you're a new-comer to pre-war blues). The only thing discouraging about the CD is the quality of many of the songs-- not very good, but if you can get over that then I'd recommend this to anyone interested in Blind Willie McTell.

Received the product in anticipation of listening to a restored classic but instead I can barely hear it. I placed it in my CD player and pushed play and heard nothing. I thought there was something wrong with the player but to check I put in one of my old CD's and it played fine. I put Blind Willie back in and pushed play and still nothing. I adjusted the volume almost to max and then I could barely hear it. I put in other CD's the I purchased at the same time as Blind Willie and the same poor quality. I guess I will be returning the whole set soon. Very disappointed.