Demonstrats how the folk sensibility and tradition now informs a whole new generation of styles and genres, for example Country and Western and New Age music.

The album is a collection of recordings of Odetta and Larry Mohr from 1953–54; it was partially recorded live at San Francisco's Tin Angel nightclub, but was not called "The Tin Angel" on any 1950s releases. Like much of Odetta's early work, "The Tin Angel" combines traditional songs (e.g. spirituals) with blues covers. It is often only credited as an Odetta solo album, perhaps because she went on to have the more successful career.