Dear Gary,

Thank you so much for this beautifully researched and heartfelt essay! The entire back catalogue of early blues was one of the many reasons for which, on the music streaming camp, I staunchly stand on the Deezer rather than Spotify camp.

With it’s stunning audio quality, listening to Blues on Deezer HiFi plan with good headphones or sound-system is like manna from above, and so is «Folk Singer.» While I had heard it before, and absolutely loved its gut-knotting, chilling simplicity, only today, because of your article did I listen to it on Deezer HiFi…oooooommmphhhh.

And having provided the live version for comparison was a wonderful discovery, and you are right…Water’s spoken word ad-lib is about as beautiful as it comes. From a time when music had real depth and message, when everything was still uncharted territory

And thank you for unearthing the fact that Buddy Guy is in my right stereo channel . The dialogue between these two is an intricate, nuanced love-dance.

Yours, aurally enlightened,

P.