Blind Willie McTell – Statesboro Blues – Collected Recordings 1927-1950 – 2CD

Acrobat has devoted a number of collections to the blues guitarists and singers who represent what is known as the Piedmont school of blues – artists whose roots were in the region surrounding Atlanta, Georgia, and developed a distinctive style of blues during the late 1920s and through the ‘30s, the best-known names including Blind Blake, Barbecue Bob, Curley Weaver, Josh White, Blind Boy Fuller and Buddy Moss. Blind Willie McTell was one of the most prominent of that coterie of performers, and one of the best-known in later years. He had a highly distinctive style, with a fluid fingerstyle technique, playing music that incorporated ragtime, jug band and hokum influences and chord sequences that differentiated it from pure blues more typical of the Delta. This 48-track 2-CD collection comprises a significant proportion of his releases during this era on the Victor, Okeh, Columbia, Bluebird, Vocalion, Decca, Atlantic and Regal labels. It features recordings with his sister Kate McTell and with singer Ruby Glaze, and releases under the names Blind Sammie, Georgia Bill and Barrelhouse Sammy, and with Curley Weaver as The Pig ‘n’ Whistle Band. He is also accompanied by Curley Weaver on second guitar on a number of the recordings. He was a highly individual and stylish performer, with a very extrovert and entertaining approach, and this collection is an enjoyable showcase for his very particular contribution to the Piedmont blues tradition.

Track Listing:

CD1:
Blind Willie McTell: 1. Stole Rider Blues -   2. Mr McTell Got The Blues -   3. Mama Ain't Long Fo' Day -   4. Writing Paper Blues -   5. Three Women Blues -   6. Statesboro Blues -   7. Loving Talking Blues -   8. Dark Night Blues -   9. Love Changing Blues -   10. Drive Away Blues -   Blind Sammie: 11. Kind Mama Blues -   12. Atlanta Strut -   13. Come Around To My House Mama -   14. Traveling Blues -   15. Razor Ball -   16. Talking To Myself -   17. Broke Down Engine Blues -   18. Southern Can Is Mine -   Georgia Bill: 19. Georgia Rag -   20. Low Rider Blues -   21. Stomp Down Rider -   22. Scarey Day Blues -   Blind Willie McTell: 23. Rolling Mama Blues -   Ruby Glaze & Blind Willie: 24. Mama Let Me Scoop For You -

CD2:
Blind Willie McTell: 1. Searching The Desert For The Blues -   Blind Willie: 2. Savanah Mama -   3. B And O Blues No. 2 -   4. Death Cell Blues -   5. Warm It Up To Me -   6. Runnin' Me Crazy -   7. It's A Good Little Thing -   8. Lord Have Mercy, If You Please -   9. Don't You See How This World Made A Change -   10. My Baby’s Gone -   Blind Willie McTell: 11. Ticket Agent Blues -   12. Bell Street Blues -   Blind Willie & Katie McTell: 13. Dying Gambler -   14. God Don't Like It -   Blind Willie McTell: 15. Hillbilly Willie’s Blues -   16. Your Time To Worry -   17. We Got To Meet Death One Day -   18. Cold Winter Day -   19. Lay Some Flowers On My Grave -   Barrelhouse Sammy, The Country Boy: 20. Kill It Kid -   Blind Willie: 21. It's My Desire -   22. Hide Me In Thy Bosom -   Pig’n Whistle Band: 23. Talking To You Mama -   Blind Willie: 24. How About You -