(Acoustic Blues) Dan Pickett - 1949 Country Blues - 1990, APE (image+.cue) lossless

Reissuers have unearthed little information about Dan Pickett: He may have come from Alabama, he played a nice slide guitar in a Southeastern blues style, and he did one recording session for the Philadelphia-based Gotham label in 1949. That session produced five singles, all of which have now been compiled along with four previously unreleased sides on a reissue album that purports to contain Pickett's entire recorded output — unless, of course, as some reviewers have speculated, Dan Pickett happens also to be Charlie Pickett, the Tennessee guitarist who recorded for Decca in 1937. As Tony Russell observed in Juke Blues, both Picketts recorded blues about lemon-squeezing, and Dan uses the name Charlie twice in the lyrics to "Decoration Day." 'Tis from such mystery and speculation that the minds of blues collectors do dissolve.

Review by Thom Owens
1949 Country Blues is an invaluable reissue of ten sides originally released on 78s during 1949, plus four previously unreleased songs. During the '60s, these sides were highly collectable, and earned the reputation of being among the finest country-blues. That reputation wasn't misguided — he was truly unique among country bluesmen. Pickett had a distinctive rhythmic style and unique phrasing that makes his records compelling decades after his release. He made songs from the likes of Blind Boy Fuller ("Lemon Man," also known as "Let Me Squeeze Your Lemons") and Leroy Carr ("How Long") sound like his own. At times, the music on 1949 Country Blues is simply astonishing. No serious blues collector should be without this disc.