Steam (2007)

A value-added combination of four of the blues guitar legend Albert King's albums, dating from the 1970s to the 1990s, this two-disc best-of notably includes his 1979 Allen Toussaint-produced set NEW ORLEANS HEAT, as well as the workmanlike R&B of 1977's KING ALBERT. Among the highlights are a reworking of Toussaint's "Get Out My Life Woman" and the guitarist's own "Born Under a Bad Sign," and there's also the bonus of King's unlikely yet frequently performed version of Ray Noble's standard "The Very Thought of You," with full string accompaniment. As you'd expect from a chronicle of the master's late-period work, funky, fatback rhythm, horns, and stinging guitar work predominate, overlaid with King's good-natured, relaxed baritone vocals.