Forgotten series: Otis Spann, "Last Call" (1970)

NICK DERISO: Recorded in 1970, this remarkable lost classic was not released until 2000 -- because the tapes were thought to have been destroyed ... until they were found in a warehouse in 1999.

Done just three weeks before Spann's death from liver cancer, Muddy Waters' most sympathetic pianist is featured primarily with his wife's fiery vocals (Spann was too weak to join in). Well studied and rightly revered by any good blues fan, this is a final glimpse into his genius, if only in patches.

Nick's Picks: His tinkling through Big Joe Turner's "Chains of Love," charging through "Stomp with Spann" and the sweet lowdown love of "My Baby (Sweet as an Apple)." Each more than makes up for the disappointments of the rather staid Muddy covers -- which feature, by the way, Luther Johnson, another ex-Waters sideman.