Blind Willie McTell was an anomaly. There are only a handful of artists who can match his total command of rural traditionalmusic. He sang and composed or preserved some of the most inventive, compelling, and beautiful traditional songs, bluesand arrangements of all time. His voice did not have great range, but it conveyed something even better: warmth and conviction.His rags and comedic pieces don't just have an infectious bounce, they usually have McTell making spoken asidesto the audience, commenting on and sharing the performance and drawing them in. He utilizes this facility in his seriouspieces, also, while projecting an appropriate emotional affect. He was a brilliant guitarist, adept at several different styles,occasionally recasting a few favorite arrangements into new-sounding pieces. McTell could make his guitar "talk" in theproverbial sense of the term; more than that, he was able to craft superb arrangements that underpinned his emotionalpersona.