Produced by Jimbo Mathus, one of modern blues's greatest contemporary supporters and purveyors, Chris Cotton's "I Watched the Devil Die" is a collection of retro originals and acoustic country blues from the twenties and thirties. Recorded over the course of two days at Mathus' studio in Memphis with vintage gear, local musicians -- including blues great Big Jack Johnson -- and plenty of whiskey, the journey back in time is complete. Cotton's warm and boozey rasp and masterful Piedmont style fingerwork are convincing. High points include Cotton's rendition of Skip James's "I'm so Glad" and "That's It," an instrumental to which Mathus lends pleasantly out-of-tune tenor banjo and Hamilton Rott some hot fiddle licks. "I Watched the Devil Die" is a true period piece, and oh what a period it was, one that's really darn nice to visit now and again.