music. He sang and composed or preserved some of the most inventive, compelling, and beautiful traditional songs, blues and 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 asides to the audience, commenting on and sharing the performance and drawing them in. He utilizes this facility in his serious pieces, 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 the proverbial sense of the term; more than that, he was able to craft superb arrangements that underpinned his emotional persona.