Albert King Born Under a Bad Sign

Recorded live in Chicago in 1977, this captures a a brief set by each of these blues legends. The Albert King set finds him in excellent form, tearing up his guitar on "Born Under a Bad Sign" and "I Worked Hard," and turning in fine vocals on "The Very Thought of You" and the title track, here mistitled as "When You Down." John Lee Hooker's set is a typical boogie-infested one, with solid support from a small combo doing a nice job following his idiosyncratic timing. Everything stays pretty much uptempo, with the exception of "Serves You Right to Suffer" (here mistitled as "Serves Me Right") and "Crawlin' King Snake." Actually nice live sets from both performers, and a decent addition to either artist's discography.

The new Stax Classics series celebrates the iconic label's greatest stars, offering new liner notes, label discographies and 12 choice cuts from the artists' Stax catalog. This collection highlights influential bluesman Albert King, who redefined the genre throughout his career, and released dozens of innovative hits on Stax, influencing the younger rock crowd. Includes such classics as "Crosscut Saw," "Born Under a Bad Sign," and "Breaking Up Somebody's Home."

The new Stax Classics series celebrates the iconic label's greatest stars, offering new liner notes, label discographies and 12 choice cuts from the artists' Stax catalog. This collection highlights one of the most influential bluesmen in history, Albert King, who single-handedly ushered blues into the modern era by combining his direct, urgent Mississippi blues style with contemporary soul rhythms, continually redefining the state of the genre. During his nine years on the label, the prolific artist released dozens of innovative hits and became one of the few blues artists to break through to the young, white rock crowd, influencing many of the biggest rock stars of the 60s and 70s, including Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. This album includes such classics as 'Crosscut Saw,' 'Born Under a Bad Sign,' and 'Breaking Up Somebody's Home.'

Albert King - The Definitive Albert King (2011)
Label: Stax | MP3 320 Kbps | 02:01:40 | 259.85 MB
Genre: Blues

Albert King (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992) was an American blues guitarist and singer.One of the “Three Kings of the Blues Guitar” (along with B.B. King and Freddie King), Albert King stood 6’ 4”, weighed 250 lbs and was known as “The Velvet Bulldozer”. He was born Albert Nelson on a cotton plantation in Indianola, mississippi. During his childhood he would sing at a family gospel group at a church. One of 13 children, King grew up picking cotton on plantations near Forrest City, Arkansas where the family moved when he was eight years old. He began his professional work as a musician with a group called In The Groove Boys in Osceola, Arkansas.

2009 release that compiles two albums from the Blues great on one disc: King Albert (1977) and New Orleans Heat (1978). The king of modern electric soul-blues, Albert King joined Tomato Records in 1976 following his spell with the Stax label and this CD contains two of his very best releases from that era. The splendid King Albert marked an exciting return to form with a fine Motor City blues band that handles everything from B B King's big hit 'You Upset Me Baby' to Little Sonny Willis's exciting 'Love Shock' and a supremely soulful 'Good Time Charlie'. Released the following year, the very different Funk-tinged New Orleans Heat was overseen by legendary R&B producer Allen Toussaint at his Sea-Saint Studios. The cream of the Crescent City session musicians give the songs a real gumbo flavor

This 1974 release has King using his upside-down Flying V to slash a blues path through the Memphis Horns, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and the dawn-of-disco funk rhythm players. He half-sings with one eye on B. B. King and Bobby Bland and the other fixed on hot-buttered soul crooner Isaac Hayes. "Crosscut Saw" best captures the album title, with the leader and astounding drummer, Al Jackson, charbroiling a song the two had soul basted back in the mid 1960s with Booker T. Jones.

This reissue features a pair of LPs by Albert King: King Albert and New Orleans Heat, originally issued on Tomato in 1977 and 1978.
Rebounding slightly from the nadir of Albert, Albert King delivered King Albert, a record that at least sticks to the tough, soul-inflected blues that made his reputation. Granted, the sound of the album is entirely too polished, but there is genuine grit in the performances and some strong songs, such as "You Upset Me Baby" and "Good Time Charlie," on the record.

It's not as if Albert King hadn't tasted success in his first decade and a half as a performer, but his late-'60s/early-'70s recordings for Stax did win him a substantially larger audience. During those years, the label began earning significant clout amongst rock fans through events like Otis Redding's appearance at the Monterey International Pop Festival and a seemingly endless string of classic singles. When King signed to the label in 1966, he was immediately paired with the Stax session team Booker T. & the MG's. The results were impressive: "Crosscut Saw," "Laundromat Blues," and the singles collection Born Under a Bad Sign were all hits. Though 1972's I'll Play the Blues for You followed a slightly different formula, the combination of King, members of the legendary Bar-Kays, the Isaac Hayes Movement, and the sparkling Memphis Horns was hardly a risky endeavor. The result was a trim, funk-infused blues sound that provided ample space for King's oft-imitated guitar playing.