B.B. King: 12 Albums Mini LP SHM-CD Collection (1965-1978) [2012, Universal Music, UICY-94836~47]

Universally hailed as the reigning king of the blues, the legendary B.B. King is without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half century. His bent notes and staccato picking style have influenced legions of contemporary bluesmen, while his gritty and confident voice – capable of wringing every nuance from any lyric – provides a worthy match for his passionate playing. Between 1951 and 1985, King notched an impressive 74 entries on Billboard's R&B charts, and he was one of the few full-fledged blues artists to score a major pop hit when his 1970 smash "The Thrill Is Gone" crossed over to mainstream success (engendering memorable appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and American Bandstand). Since that time, he has partnered with such musicians as Eric Clapton and U2 while managing his own acclaimed solo career, all the while maintaining his immediately recognizable style on the electric guitar.

×

B.B. King: 12 Albums Mini LP SHM-CD Collection (1965-1978) [2012, Universal Music, UICY-94836~47]

Close

The seeds of Riley B. King's enduring talent were sown deep in the blues-rich Mississippi Delta, where he was born in 1925 near the town of Itta Bena. He was shuttled between his mother's home and his grandmother's residence as a child, his father having left the family when King was very young. The youth put in long days working as a sharecropper and devoutly sang the Lord's praises at church before moving to Indianola – another town located in the heart of the Delta – in 1943.

Country and gospel music left an indelible impression on King's musical mindset as he matured, along with the styles of blues greats (T-Bone Walker and Lonnie Johnson) and jazz geniuses (Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt). In 1946, he set off for Memphis to look up his cousin, a rough-edged country blues guitarist named Bukka White. For ten invaluable months, White taught his eager young relative the finer points of playing blues guitar. After returning briefly to Indianola and the sharecropper's eternal struggle with his wife Martha, King returned to Memphis in late 1948. This time, he stuck around for a while.

King was soon broadcasting his music live via Memphis radio station WDIA, a frequency that had only recently switched to a pioneering all-black format. Local club owners preferred that their attractions also held down radio gigs so they could plug their nightly appearances on the air. When WDIA DJ Maurice "Hot Rod" Hulbert exited his air shift, King took over his record-spinning duties. At first tagged "The Peptikon Boy" (an alcohol-loaded elixir that rivaled Hadacol) when WDIA put him on the air, King's on-air handle became "The Beale Street Blues Boy," later shortened to Blues Boy and then a far snappier B.B.

King had a four-star breakthrough year in 1949. He cut his first four tracks for Jim Bulleit's Bullet Records (including a number entitled "Miss Martha King" after his wife), then signed a contract with the Bihari Brothers' Los Angeles-based RPM Records. King cut a plethora of sides in Memphis over the next couple of years for RPM, many of them produced by a relative newcomer named Sam Phillips (whose Sun Records was still a distant dream at that point in time). Phillips was independently producing sides for both the Biharis and Chess; his stable also included Howlin' Wolf, Rosco Gordon, and fellow WDIA personality Rufus Thomas.

×

B.B. King: 12 Albums Mini LP SHM-CD Collection (1965-1978) [2012, Universal Music, UICY-94836~47]

Close

the Biharis also recorded some of King's early output themselves, erecting portable recording equipment wherever they could locate a suitable facility. King's first national R&B chart-topper in 1951, "Three O'Clock Blues" (previously waxed by Lowell Fulson), was cut at a Memphis YMCA. King's Memphis running partners included vocalist Bobby Bland, drummer Earl Forest, and ballad-singing pianist Johnny Ace. When King hit the road to promote "Three O'Clock Blues," he handed the group, known as the Beale Streeters, over to Ace.

It was during this era that King first named his beloved guitar "Lucille." Seems that while he was playing a joint in a little Arkansas town called Twist, fisticuffs broke out between two jealous suitors over a lady. The brawlers knocked over a kerosene-filled garbage pail that was heating the place, setting the room ablaze. In the frantic scramble to escape the flames, King left his guitar inside. He foolishly ran back in to retrieve it, dodging the flames and almost losing his life. When the smoke had cleared, King learned that the lady who had inspired such violent passion was named Lucille. Plenty of Lucilles have passed through his hands since; Gibson has even marketed a B.B.-approved guitar model under the name.

The 1950s saw King establish himself as a perennially formidable hitmaking force in the R&B field. Recording mostly in L.A. (the WDIA air shift became impossible to maintain by 1953 due to King's endless touring) for RPM and its successor Kent, King scored 20 chart items during that musically tumultuous decade, including such memorable efforts as "You Know I Love You" (1952); "Woke Up This Morning" and "Please Love Me" (1953); "When My Heart Beats like a Hammer," "Whole Lotta' Love," and "You Upset Me Baby" (1954); "Every Day I Have the Blues" (another Fulson remake), the dreamy blues ballad "Sneakin' Around," and "Ten Long Years" (1955); "Bad Luck," "Sweet Little Angel," and a Platters-like "On My Word of Honor" (1956); and "Please Accept My Love" (first cut by Jimmy Wilson) in 1958. King's guitar attack grew more aggressive and pointed as the decade progressed, influencing a legion of up-and-coming axemen across the nation.

In 1960, King's impassioned two-sided revival of Joe Turner's "Sweet Sixteen" became another mammoth seller, and his "Got a Right to Love My Baby" and "Partin' Time" weren't far behind. But Kent couldn't hang onto a star like King forever (and he may have been tired of watching his new LPs consigned directly into the 99-cent bins on the Biharis' cheapo Crown logo). King moved over to ABC-Paramount Records in 1962, following the lead of Lloyd Price, Ray Charles, and before long, Fats Domino.

In November of 1964, the guitarist cut his seminal Live at the Regal album at the fabled Chicago theater and excitement virtually leaped out of the grooves. That same year, he enjoyed a minor hit with "How Blue Can You Get," one of his many signature tunes. "Don't Answer the Door" in 1966 and "Paying the Cost to Be the Boss" two years later were Top Ten R&B entries, and the socially charged and funk-tinged "Why I Sing the Blues" just missed achieving the same status in 1969.

×

B.B. King: 12 Albums Mini LP SHM-CD Collection (1965-1978) [2012, Universal Music, UICY-94836~47]

Close

Across-the-board stardom finally arrived in 1969 for the deserving guitarist, when he crashed the mainstream consciousness in a big way with a stately, violin-drenched minor-key treatment of Roy Hawkins' "The Thrill Is Gone" that was quite a departure from the concise horn-powered backing King had customarily employed. At last, pop audiences were convinced that they should get to know King better: not only was the track a number-three R&B smash, it vaulted to the upper reaches of the pop lists as well.

King was one of a precious few bluesmen to score hits consistently during the 1970s, and for good reason: he wasn't afraid to experiment with the idiom. In 1973, he ventured to Philadelphia to record a pair of huge sellers, "To Know You Is to Love You" and "I Like to Live the Love," with the same silky rhythm section that powered the hits of the Spinners and the O'Jays. In 1976, he teamed up with his old cohort Bland to wax some well-received duets. And in 1978, he joined forces with the jazzy Crusaders to make the gloriously funky "Never Make Your Move Too Soon" and an inspiring "When It All Comes Down." Occasionally, the daring deviations veered off-course; Love Me Tender, an album that attempted to harness the Nashville country sound, was an artistic disaster.

Although his concerts were consistently as satisfying as anyone in the field (King asserted himself as a road warrior of remarkable resiliency who gigged an average of 300 nights a year), King tempered his studio activities somewhat. Nevertheless, his 1993 MCA disc Blues Summit was a return to form, as King duetted with his peers (John Lee Hooker, Etta James, Fulson, Koko Taylor) on a program of standards. Other notable releases from that period include 1999's Let the Good Times Roll: The Music of Louis Jordan and 2000's Riding with the King, a collaboration with Eric Clapton. King celebrated his 80th birthday in 2005 with the star-studded album 80, which featured guest spots from such varied artists as Gloria Estefan, John Mayer, and Van Morrison. Live was issued in 2008; that same year, King released an engaging return to pure blues, One Kind Favor, which eschewed the slick sounds of his 21st century work for a stripped-back approach. A long overdue career-spanning box set of King's over 60 years of touring, recording, and performing, Ladies and Gentlemen…Mr. B.B. King, appeared in 2012.

by Bill Dahl

B.B. King is not only a timeless singer and guitarist, he's also a natural-born entertainer, and on Live at the Regal the listener is treated to an exhibition of all three of his talents. Over percolating horn hits and rolling shuffles, King treats an enthusiastic audience (at some points, they shriek after he delivers each line) to a collection of some of his greatest hits. The backing band is razor-sharp, picking up the leader's cues with almost telepathic accuracy. King's voice is rarely in this fine of form, shifting effortlessly between his falsetto and his regular range, hitting the microphone hard for gritty emphasis and backing off in moments of almost intimate tenderness. Nowhere is this more evident than at the climax of "How Blue Can You Get," where the Chicago venue threatens to explode at King's prompting. Of course, the master's guitar is all over this record, and his playing here is among the best in his long career. Displaying a jazz sensibility, King's lines are sophisticated without losing their grit. More than anything else, Live at the Regal is a textbook example of how to set up a live performance. Talking to the crowd, setting up the tunes with a vignette, King is the consummate entertainer. Live at the Regal is an absolutely necessary acquisition for fans of B.B. King or blues music in general. A high point, perhaps even the high point, for uptown blues.

by Daniel Gioffre

Tracklist:

01. Every Day I Have The Blues 02:37
02. Sweet Little Girl 04:16
03. It's My Own Fault 03:33
04. How Blue Can You Get 03:35
05. Please Love Me 03:00
06. You Upset Me Baby 02:38
07. Worry, Worry 06:23
08. Woke Up This Mornin' 01:44
09. You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now 04:33
10. Help The Poor 02:37

By 1967, King had refined his singing and guitar style (which were always intertwined) to a fine point. What was just beginning to emerge during this period was King the showman, the singer with a story to tell his audience; sometimes a sad story, sometimes an angry one, occasionally even a downright mean one. Nowhere was this more apparent than in live performance. Here he's captured in concert in Chicago, home of the blues and the ideal place to testify to the congregation. From "Tired of Your Jive" to "I Know What You're Puttin' Down" to the unequivocal "Baby Get Lost," B.B. lets his audience in on the ups and downs of romance in no uncertain terms, both through his impassioned vocals and characteristically stinging guitar. The effect is both cathartic and awe-inspiring.

by Rovi

Tracklist:

01. Introduction 00:21
02. Waitin' On You 02:30
03. Introduction 00:48
04. Gamblers' Blues 05:12
05. Tired Of Your Jive 03:31
06. Night Life 04:48
07. Buzz Me 04:15
08. Don't Answer The Door 04:10
09. Blind Love 03:32
10. I Know What You're Puttin' Down 03:36
11. Baby Get Lost 03:59
12. Gonna Keep On Loving You 03:48
Bonus Tracks:
13. Goin' Down Slow (Live) 06:32
14. Sweet Sixteen, Parts One And Two (Live, Complete Version) 06:10

This isn't his most well-known stuff, but it's a very solid late '60s set. Featuring brassy arrangements by Johnny Pate (who also worked with many prominent Chicago soul acts during the '60s), it presents King's sound at its fullest without sacrificing any of his grit or sophisticated swing. No famous classics here, but the material is very strong throughout.

by Richie Unterberger

Tracklist:

01. Heartbreaker 02:32
02. Losing Faith In You 02:58
03. Dance With Me 03:35
04. That's Wrong Little Mama 02:20
05. Having My Say 02:42
06. I'm Not Wanted Anymore 02:27
07. Worried Dream 02:57
08. Paying The Cost To Be The Boss 02:35
09. Until I Found You 02:24
10. I'm Gonna Do What They Do To Me 02:48
11. Raining In My Heart 02:30
12. Now That You've Lost Me 02:29

Although this collection has "Don't Answer the Door," "Paying the Cost to Be the Boss" and a nice live re-cut of "Sweet Sixteen" to highly recommend it, this 1968 issue is hardly King's best, and the "electric" part of the title makes it sound like there's an acoustic B.B. King album lurking around somewhere that you and I somehow missed in the last 40 years. To be sure, these are rock solid performances all recorded between 1965 to 1968, just as King's music was getting slicker and more urban. But this was one of the albums that helped introduce B.B. to a more modern audience (it's gone on to sell over a million copies in 30 years' time), heading straight to the timeline of "The Thrill Is Gone" putting him on the map worldwide. This 1998 CD reissue also includes three bonus tracks, studio versions of "Waitin' On You" and "Night Life," plus "Messy But Good" from the motion picture soundtrack For the Love of Ivy. Not his best, certainly electric, and ultimately, a good one to add to the collection after you've gotten about five or six others first.

by Cub Koda

Tracklist:

01. Tired Of Your Jive 02:12
02. Don't Answer The Door 05:12
03. The B. B. Jones 02:43
04. All Over Again 02:38
05. Paying The Cost To Be The Boss 02:35
06. Think It Over 02:50
07. I Done Got Wise 02:22
08. Meet My Happiness 02:20
09. Sweet Sixteen (Parts 1 & 2) 04:18
10. You Put It On Me 02:52
11. I Don't Want You Cutting Off Your Hair 02:40
Bonus Tracks:
12. Waitin' On You 02:27
13. Messy But Good (from Motion Picture Sountrack 'For The Love Of Ivy') 02:35
14. Night Life 02:35
15. How Blue Can You Get (Single Version) 02:42
16. Rockin' Awhile 02:43
17. Help The Poor (Single Version) 02:38
18. Stop Leadin' Me On (Single Version) 02:22
19. Never Trust A Woman (Single Version) 02:37
20. Sloppy Drunk (Single Version) (Mono) 03:10

Although Live & Well wasn't a landmark album in the sense of Live at the Regal, it was a significant commercial breakthrough for King, as it was the first of his LPs to enter the Top 100. That may have been because recognition from rock stars such as Eric Clapton had finally boosted his exposure to the White pop audience, but it was a worthy recording on its own merits, divided evenly between live and studio material. King's always recorded well as a live act, and it's the concert tracks that shine brightest, although the studio ones (cut with assistance from studio musicians like Al Kooper and Hugh McCracken) aren't bad.

by Richie Unterberger

Tracklist:

01. Don't Answer The Door 06:14
02. Just A Little Love 05:15
03. My Mood 02:38
04. Sweet Little Angel 05:03
05. Please Accept My Love 03:12
06. I Want You So Bad 04:17
07. Friends 05:39
08. Get Off My Back Woman 03:18
09. Let's Get Down To Business 03:37
10. Why I Sing The Blues 08:38
Bonus Track:
11. Get Myself Somebody (Mono) 02:35

Completely Well was B.B. King's breakthrough album in 1969, which finally got him the long-deserved acclaim that was no less than his due. It contained his signature number, "The Thrill Is Gone," and eight other tunes, six of them emanating from King's pen, usually in a co-writing situation. Hardliners point to the horn charts and the overdubbed strings as the beginning of the end of King's old style that so identifiably earmarked his early sides for the Bihari Brothers and his later tracks for ABC, but this is truly the album that made the world sit up and take notice of B.B. King. The plus points include loose arrangements and a small combo behind him that never dwarfs the proceedings or gets in the way. King, for his part, sounds like he's having a ball, playing and singing at peak power. This is certainly not the place to start your B.B. King collection, but it's a nice stop along the way before you finish it.

by Cub Koda

Tracklist:

01. So Excited 05:37
02. No Good 04:37
03. You're Losin' Me 04:55
04. What Happened 04:43
05. Confessin' The Blues 04:56
06. Key To My Kingdom 03:20
07. Cryin' Won't Help You Now 06:23
08. You're Mean 10:04
09. The Thrill Is Gone 05:26
Bonus Track:
10. Fools Get Wise 02:38

B.B. King hasn't made many better pop-flavored albums than this. Besides making Leon Russell's "Hummingbird" sound like his own composition, King showed that you can put the blues into any situation and make it work. Carole King was one of several pop luminaries who did more than just hang on for the ride.

by Ron Wynn

Tracklist:

01. Nobody Loves Me But My Mother 01:27
02. You're Still My Woman 06:03
03. Ask Me No Questions 03:07
04. Until I'm Dead And Cold 04:44
05. King's Special 05:11
06. Ain't Gonna Worry My Life Anymore 05:19
07. Chains And Things 04:53
08. Go Underground 04:02
09. Hummingbird 04:38

The plodding rhythms laid down by a coterie of British rock stars for this set make one long for B.B. King's road-tested regular band. But it was the fashion in 1971 to dispatch American blues legends to London to record mediocre LPs with alleged rock royalty (the lineup here includes Ringo Starr, Peter Green, Alexis Korner, and Klaus Voorman).

by Bill Dahl

Tracklist:

01. Caldonia 03:59
02. Blue Shadows 05:09
03. Alexis' Boogie 03:29
04. We Can't Agree 04:48
05. Ghetto Woman 05:14
06. Wet Hayshark 02:28
07. Part-Time Love 03:15
08. Power Of The Blues 02:21
09. Ain't Nobody Home 03:16
Bonus Track:
10. May I Have A Talk With You 03:51

B.B. King has cut a lot of albums since the success of Live at the Regal. And, like the live shows they document, none of them are any less than solid and professional, hallmarks of King's work aesthetic. But every so often B.B. truly catches fire; his playing and singing comes up an extra notch or two, and the result is a live album with some real sparks to it. Live in Cook County Jail is one of those great concerts that the record company was smart enough to be there to capture, documenting B.B. firing on all cylinders in front of an audience that's just damn happy for him to be there. Possibly the best live version of "The Thrill Is Gone" of all its many incarnations, and rock solid renditions of classics like "Everyday I Have the Blues," "How Blue Can You Get?," "Sweet Sixteen" and a great medley of "3 O'Clock Blues" and "Darlin' You Know I Love You." Live at the Regal is still the champ of King's live output, but many say this runs a close second, and they just may be right.

by Cub Koda

Tracklist:

01. Introduction 01:52
02. Everyday I Have The Blues 01:42
03. How Blues Can You Get 05:12
04. Worry, Worry, Worry 09:56
05. 3 O'Clock Blues / Darlin' You Know I Love You 06:17
06. Sweet Sixteen 04:22
07. The Thrill Is Gone 05:28
08. Please Accept My Love 04:01

It took 28 years, but in 1999 Live in Japan finally became available in the U.S. Recorded at Sankei Hall in Tokyo on March 4 and 7, 1971, Live in Japan was originally released as a two-LP set in Japan. At the time, King's superb Live in Cook County Jail was a respectable seller for ABC, and the label also planned to release In London – so ABC felt that because a fair amount of live King albums were coming out in the U.S., it was best to release the Sankei Hall recording only in Japan. But many of King's American fans wanted it anyway, and collectors went out of their way to find imported copies of the double LP. Parts of Live in Japan did come out on various U.S. releases, but it was not released in its entirety in the U.S until this 1999 reissue. Backed by many of the same players heard on Live in Cook County Jail, King is in excellent form on spirited, gutsy performances of "The Thrill Is Gone" and "Sweet Sixteen" as well as Sonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight to the Blind," Leon Russell's "Hummingbird," and Peter Chatman's "Every Day I Have the Blues." The instrumentals "Japanese Boogie" and "Jamming at Sankei Hall" give the band a chance to let loose and improvise, and "Lucille" (King's name for his guitar) gets in some passionate, inspired solos. Although Live at the Regal and Live in Cook County Jail are King's most essential live albums, Live in Japan is a fine CD that his fans will definitely want.

by Alex Henderson

Tracklist:

01. Every Day I Have The Blues 02:10
02. How Blue Can You Get? 05:26
03. Eyesight To The Blind 04:29
04. Niji Baby 05:52
05. You're Still My Woman 05:58
06. Chains And Things 05:43
07. Sweet Sixteen 06:02
08. Hummingbird 04:08
09. Darlin' You Know I Love You 04:25
10. Japanese Boogie 09:17
11. Jamming At Sankei Hall 09:38
12. The Thrill Is Gone 05:39
13. Hikari #88 08:00

Although the duo of Bobby Blue Bland and B.B. King was one of the most popular touring acts of the '70s and '80s, their first duet album – appropriately titled Together for the First Time … Live – doesn't quite live up to expectations. Both musicians are in fine form, but rarely do any sparks fly. Occasionally, King turns out a good solo and Bland sings with passion, but usually the vibe of the record is too relaxed to be truly engaging. It's a pleasant record, just not the essential listening that it should have been.

by Thom Owens

Tracklist:

01. Introduction / 3 O'Clock In The Morning 03:23
02. It's My Own Fault Baby 04:11
03. Driftin' Blues 05:05
04. That's The Way Love Is 03:50
05. I'm Sorry 09:49
06. I'll Take Care Of You 03:36
07. Don't Cry No More 02:48
08. Don't Want A Soul Hangin' Around 03:49
09. Medley 13:56
a) Good To Be Back Home
b) Driving Wheel
c) Rock Me Baby
d) Black Night
e) Cherry Red
f) It's My Own Fault Baby
g) 3 O'Clock In The Morning
h) Oh, Comee Back Baby
i) Chains Of Love
j) Gonna Get Me An Old Woman
10. Everybody Wants To Know Why I Sing The Blues 06:15
11. Goin' Down Slow 05:11
12. I Like To Live The Love 06:00

Another collaboration that worked a lot better than one might have expected. King and the Crusaders blended in a marginally funky, contemporary style for the buoyant "Never Make Your Move Too Soon" and an uplifting "When It All Comes Down."

by Bill Dahl

Tracklist:

01. When It All Comes Down (I'll Still Be Around) 04:11
02. Midnight Believer 04:58
03. I Just Can't Leave Your Love Alone 04:16
04. Hold On (I Feel Our Love Is Changing) 04:07
05. Never Make A Move Too Soon 05:27
06. A World Full Of Strangers 04:20
07. Let Me Make You Cry A Little Bit Longer 05:45




All thanks go to ALLexxess