B B King The Blues

True, this 1973 vintage best-of album covers a ridiculously slim wedge of time in the blues king's long career. Yet this period was quite significant, for it marks the crest of B.B. King's initial entry into the pop music mass market – and this album surfs succinctly, if not comprehensively, over the high points of his turn-of-the-decade winning streak. There's a potent slice of King's triumphant Live at Cook County – one of his sassiest "How Blue Can You Get?" on records – the huge hit "The Thrill Is Gone" extracts from his surprisingly pleasing early excursions into pop/rock territory on In London and Indianola Mississippi Seeds, and plenty of flavorful electric blues ("Sweet Sixteen," "Why I Sing the Blues") at full length. There are some quirks – "Caldonia" is shortened because one of the unnamed participants on the session demanded the cut, and the "compatible stereo/quad" sound on the LP has some details drastically mixed down when it's played back in ordinary stereo.

This compilation includes early recordings by B.B. King, in particular, from the album My Kind Of Blues (1961).

Universally hailed as the king of the blues, the legendary B.B. King was without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half of the 20th century. His bent notes and staccato picking style influenced legions of contemporary bluesmen, while his gritty and confident voice – capable of wringing every nuance from any lyric – provided a worthy match for his passionate playing.

n a jaw-gnashing exercise of discographical loggerheads, The Soul of B.B. King was just a retitled version of a King album previously released on the Crown label, B.B. King. Further muddling the record-keeping, The Soul of B.B. King would appear on both the United and Custom labels (both of which were, like Crown, budget imprints of the Modern Records company)…

Recorded in Cannes France 1983. An amazing live recording of B.B. King. Some of his best versions of songs are on this disc. Like the ever so sweet guitar playing on "You Know I Love You". Or "Caldonia" with the altered break parts with gives the whole song a heavier groove and B.B. a chance to really sing out loud. A really good and in some ways forgotten record.