Calling this retrospective by
Charlie Musselwhite
a "deluxe edition" may be a little misleading. Twelve of the album's 14 tracks come from three albums he recorded for
Alligator
in the early '90s. There are four each from
Ace of Harps
(1990),
Signature
(1991), and
In My Time
(1993). The sequencing is beautifully done and representative. The true curiosities are two unissued cuts. The first is
"Lotsa Poppa,"
an outtake from the
sessions. The cut itself isn't such a revelation, but
Musselwhite
's harp playing and singing is. His delivery is signature in that he is always slow and relaxed yet just underneath. There in the grain of his voice is something else, something that smolders. The final cut here is from
's private collection of tapes and it was recorded at home in the early '60s. It features the legendary
Will Shade
instructing a very young
on guitar and singing with him. It's ragged but moving and poetic. This is priceless archival
blues
history and is a fine bookend. Hopefully this will inspire the bluesman to find a venue to release more of his personal archives in the future. ~ Thom Jurek