Blind Dog Radio

>> EVERY SATURDAY AT 9.00 PM (CT)

Statesboro Blues: The Early Years 1927-1935 by Blind Willie McTell

Label: Document Records.
Release Date: July 12, 2005.
Recording Time: 223 minutes.
Recording Date: October 18, 1927 - April 25, 1935.
Release Info: DOCD-5677, 3 x CD, Compilation, Reissue, Remastered.

Personnel: Blind Willie McTell - Vocals, Guitar, Speech, Whistling; Blind Sammie - Vocals, Guitar; Georgia Bill - Vocals, Guitar; Hot Shot Willie - Guitar, Vocals, Speech; Ruby Glaze - Vocals, Speech; Kate McTell - Vocals; William Shorter - Banjo; Alfoncy Harris, Bethenea Harris - Vocals [Duet]; Ruth Mary Willis - Vocals; Curley Weaver - Guitar, Vocals, Speech; Buddy Moss - Guitar.

Blind Willie McTell is unique among country bluesmen in having a 30-year recording career while remaining essentially an itinerant musician, and during his lifetime he was a familiar sight on the streets of Atlanta and other Southern cities as he performed his varied repertoire of blues, rags, and vaudeville pieces on his 12-string guitar. This three-disc collection assembles all of his commercial 78s (as well as alternate takes) from Victor, Columbia, OKeh, and Vocalion, including his signature tune, the magnificent "Statesboro Blues." Whether McTell actually wrote a lot of these songs (or merely adapted them) is unclear, but there is a sharp writer's eye at work here, as evidenced by lines like "Mother died and left me reckless/Daddy died and left me wild" (from "Statesboro Blues") or "I got the blues so bad/I can feel them in the dark" (from "Dark Night Blues"). These recordings feature the early McTell, when his voice was a high and expressive tenor -- that voice deepened and grew rougher as a lifetime of street singing began to take its toll, and by the time Alan Lomax recorded him in the 1940s, McTell had slowed the pace of his songs down considerably as well. All three of the discs included here have been available as individual sets from Document, but having them all together in one package brings the full sweep of McTell's commercial career into focus. Few country bluesmen of his day could boast as varied a repertoire, one that embraced deep blues, Piedmont, and hokum styles, as well as religious and gospel pieces, and he was a remarkably consistent performer in all of these guises. There are multiple takes of some songs that might irritate some casual listeners, and since the set unfolds chronologically, the pacing at times bogs down, but as the lion's share of his life's work, these recordings show why artists like Bob Dylan hold Blind Willie McTell in such high regard. ~ Steve Leggett

Credits: Alan Taylor - Digital Remastering; Alfoncy Harris - Duet, Main Personnel, Vocals; Bethenea Harris - Duet, Main Personnel, Vocals; Blind Willie McTell - Arranger, Composer, Guitar, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Speech / Speaker / Speaking Part, Vocals, Whistle (Human); Buddy Moss - Guitar; Curley Weaver - Guitar, Main Personnel, Speech / Speaker / Speaking Part, Spoken Word, Vocals; Dave Evans - Liner Notes; Gary Atkinson - Audio Production, Cover Design, Producer; Kate McTell - Main Personnel, Vocals; Paul Swinton - Digital Remastering; Ruby Glaze - Guitar, Main Personnel, Vocals; Ruth Willis - Main Personnel, Vocals; William Shorter - Banjo, Main Personnel.

Tracklist:
  • 1-01. Writin' Paper Blues - Blind Willie McTell (3:11)
  • 1-02. Stole Rider Blues - Blind Willie McTell (3:08)
  • 1-03. Mama, 'Tain't Long Fo' Day - Blind Willie McTell (3:01)
  • 1-04. Mr. McTell Got The Blues - Blind Willie McTell (2:21)
  • 1-05. Mr. McTell Got The Blues - Blind Willie McTell (2:22)
  • 1-06. Three Women Blues - Blind Willie McTell (2:43)
  • 1-07. Dark Night Blues - Blind Willie McTell (2:51)
  • 1-08. Statesboro Blues - Blind Willie McTell (2:32)
  • 1-09. Loving Talking Blues - Blind Willie McTell (2:43)
  • 1-10. Atlanta Strut - Blind Sammie (3:10)
  • 1-11. Travelin' Blues - Blind Sammie (3:14)
  • 1-12. Come On Around To My House Mama - Blind Sammie (3:03)
  • 1-13. Kind Mama - Blind Sammie (2:57)
  • 1-14. Teasing Brown - Harris* & Harris* (2:43)
  • 1-15. Drive Away Blues - Blind Willie McTell (3:13)
  • 1-16. This Is Not The Stove To Brown Your Bread - Harris* & Harris* (2:33)
  • 1-17. Love Changing Blues - Blind Willie McTell (3:08)
  • 1-18. Talkin' To Myself - Blind Sammie (3:12)
  • 1-19. Razor Ball - Blind Sammie (3:20)
  • 1-20. Southern Can Is Mine - Blind Sammie (3:15)
  • 1-21. Broke Down Engine Blues - Blind Sammie (3:09)
  • 1-22. Stomp Down Rider - Georgia Bill (3:08)
  • 1-23. Scarey Day Blues - Georgia Bill (3:02)
  • 1-24. Rough Alley Blues - Ruth Mary Willis (3:18)
  • 1-25. Experience Blues - Ruth Mary Willis (3:13)
  • 1-26. Painful Blues - Ruth Mary Willis (2:53)
  • 2-01. Low Rider's Blues - Georgia Bill (3:19)
  • 2-02. Georgia Rag - Georgia Bill (3:05)
  • 2-03. Low Down Blues - Ruth Mary Willis (3:14)
  • 2-04. Rollin' Mama Blues - Ruby Glaze, Hot Shot Willie* (2:53)
  • 2-05. Lonesome Day Blues - Ruby Glaze, Hot Shot Willie* (3:14)
  • 2-06. Mama, Let Me Scoop For You - Ruby Glaze, Hot Shot Willie* (3:12)
  • 2-07. Searching The Desert For The Blues - Ruby Glaze, Hot Shot Willie* (3:07)
  • 2-08. Warm It Up To Me - Blind Willie* (2:57)
  • 2-09. It's Your Time To Worry - Blind Willie* (3:04)
  • 2-10. It's A Good Little Thing - Blind Willie* (2:53)
  • 2-11. You Was Born To Die - Curley Weaver & Partner (2:51)
  • 2-12. Dirty Mistreater - Curley Weaver & Partner (3:11)
  • 2-13. Lord, Have Mercy If You Please - Blind Willie McTell (2:59)
  • 2-14. Don't You See How This World Made A Change - Blind Willie McTell (2:56)
  • 2-15. Savannah Mama - Blind Willie McTell (3:18)
  • 2-16. Broke Down Engine - Blind Willie McTell (3:16)
  • 2-17. Broke Down Engine No. 2 (Take 1) - Blind Willie McTell (3:28)
  • 2-18. Broke Down Engine No. 2 (Take 3) - Blind Willie McTell (2:54)
  • 2-19. My Baby's Gone - Blind Willie McTell (3:00)
  • 2-20. Love-Makin' Mama (Take 1) - Blind Willie McTell (2:56)
  • 2-21. Love-Makin' Mama (Take 2) - Blind Willie McTell (2:53)
  • 2-22. Death Room Blues (Take 1) - Blind Willie McTell (2:52)
  • 2-23. Death Room Blues (Take 2) - Blind Willie McTell (2:59)
  • 2-24. Death Cell Blues - Blind Willie McTell (3:07)
  • 3-01. Lord, Send Me An Angel (Take 1) - Blind Willie McTell (2:58)
  • 3-02. Lord, Send Me An Angel (Take 2) - Blind Willie McTell (2:54)
  • 3-03. B And O Blues No. 2 (Take 1) - Blind Willie McTell (3:02)
  • 3-04. B And O Blues No. 2 (Take 2) - Blind Willie McTell (2:50)
  • 3-05. Weary Hearted Blues - Blind Willie McTell (3:03)
  • 3-06. Bell Street Lightnin' - Blind Willie McTell (2:55)
  • 3-07. Southern Can Mama - Blind Willie McTell (2:57)
  • 3-08. Runnin' Me Crazy - Blind Willie McTell (3:08)
  • 3-09. East St. Louis Blues (Fare You Well) - Blind Willie McTell (2:54)
  • 3-10. Ain't It Grand To Be A Christian - Blind Willie McTell (3:11)
  • 3-11. We Got To Meet Death One Day (Take 1) - Blind Willie McTell (3:00)
  • 3-12. We Got To Meet Death One Day (Take 2) - Blind Willie McTell (2:54)
  • 3-13. Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around - Blind Willie McTell (2:46)
  • 3-14. I Got Religion, I'm So Glad - Blind Willie McTell (3:13)
  • 3-15. Dying Gambler - Blind Willie McTell (3:00)
  • 3-16. God Don't Like It - Blind Willie McTell (2:47)
  • 3-17. Bell Street Blues - Blind Willie McTell (2:51)
  • 3-18. Let Me Play With Yo' Yo-Yo - Blind Willie McTell (3:08)
  • 3-19. Lay Some Flowers On My Grave - Blind Willie McTell (3:26)
  • 3-20. Ticket Agent Blues - Blind Willie McTell (3:21)
  • 3-21. Cold Winter Day - Blind Willie McTell (3:10)
  • 3-22. Your Time To Worry - Blind Willie McTell (2:42)
  • 3-23. Cooling Board Blues - Blind Willie McTell (3:19)
  • 3-24. Hillbilly Willie's Blues - Blind Willie McTell (2:42)