Ragtime Guitars Foremost Fingerpicker
The mysterious Blind Blake was a guitar marvel and good singer whose recording career lasted just a few years, 192~ 32. These twenty-three titles on the Paramount label, most of them blessed with clear sound, are as much about his easeful control over picking technique as his emotional outlook. Blake's blues, ragtime, and unclassifiable tunes are interestingly written, with melodies, improvisations, and rhythms taking unexpected routes. The music always has a certain charm to it, even when lachrymose (e.g., "Chump Man Blues," "Rope Stretching Blues").-- © Frank John Hadley 1993--From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD