Critic's Review
Jim Smith, All Music Guide
This interestingly packaged import offers a slight variation on The Definitive Transatlantic Collection, containing roughly the same number of tracks while eliminating a few arguable essentials ("The Mermaid and the Seagull," for example). Packaged as a mock spiral notebook complete with song lyrics, the set is designed for those who want to gain an appreciation for McTell's craft, and at that it succeeds rather well, even if it focuses attention away from his bluesier recordings and toward his dreamy, poetic work. That seems to be the intention, however, and since this does contain the original version of "Streets of London," it's hard not to recommend this as a good, concise, and inexpensive introduction to McTell's early work.
