Blind Willie McTell - Pig 'n Whistle Red [1993]

This collection of 20 songs, cut by Mctell with Curley Weaver on second guitar and sharing the vocals, was left out of many Mctell biographical accounts until it resurfaced in 1993. Cut for Regal Records in 1950, it's a remarkable document, capturing Mctell and Weaver in vivid modern sound, and includes remakes of Mctell's 1933 "Talkin' to You Mama" and "Good Little Thing" as well as more recent material that the two had been doing, and even outtakes, showing very different interpretations of the 1920s pop standard "Pal of Mine" and the gospel number "Sending Up My Timber." The sheer diversity of material makes this an indispensable (as well as a delightful) recording, and except for some minor tape damage on "A to Z Blues" and one other cut, there are few technical flaws here. Read More