I agree with almost everything here.
"Privateering" (the song) would have benefited from a simpler production, without the synth schnickschnack.
The blues songs I really like are the ones that are not simply blues-by-numbers, but something more unique. Like Bluebird or, earlier on, Baloney Again, as you mention. He used to take a traditional blues pattern and develop it into something else, and he's great at that, better than at just recreating old blues styles. So some of the blues songs he could have left off the album, I agree. BUT they gave him an opportunity to discover a more "raw" approach, which will only benefit his future recordings, I'm sure.
