The Best of B.B. King [Collectables]

Performer: B.B. King
Distributor: Gotham Distributing Corp.

Notes: Assembeled and remastered at The Village Recorder, Los Angeles by Ed Michel and Baker Bigsby. There's no shortage of albums in this world entitled either THE BEST OF B.B. KING or some variation thereof. Fortunately, the inestimably influential blues guitarist has a colossal and consistently impressive discography that warrants a couple of dozen best-of compilations. At 10 tracks, EMI's 2006 collection is a basic primer on King, featuring a full roster of the legendary performer's straightforward, soulful vocals and smooth, perfectly phrased fret work. There's no "The Thrill Is Gone" or "Caldonia" here, but King's take on "Everyday (I Have the Blues)" and the smooth swing of "Why I Sing the Blues" more than compensate. The lack of liner notes and recording information will frustrate some listeners, but it won't detract from the excellent music on offer. This solid three-CD boxed set overview of B.B. King's post-1960s career contains favorites like "The Thrill Is Gone" and "How Blue Can You Get?" as well Stevie Wonder's "To Know You Is to Love You," the latter an example of the master guitarist's impeccable taste in choosing songs to suit his style. King's late-1960s resurgence as an influence on young white musicians like Eric Clapton and Mike Bloomfield led to many crossover collaborations with rock artists (including Clapton and, eventually, U2), illustrated here by the inclusion of Leon Russell's "Hummingbird." The string arrangements on King's version, together with those on "Ghetto Woman" and the aforementioned "Thrill Is Gone," also show the attempts the bluesman made to enhance his commercial appeal. But ultimately King's music is best appreciated unadorned, as shown on the final live CD, which features stinging performances of "Night Life" and "Gambler's Blues." A basic 10-track budget line anthology, THE BEST OF B.B. KING contains none of B.B. King's six Top 40 hits from the 1960s and '70s, but it does contain some of the electric blues guitarist and singer's better known songs. Highlights include "You Don't Know," "Everyday I Have the Blues," "Ain't That Just Like A Woman," "When My Heart Beats Like A Hammer," and "You Upset Me Baby." THE BEST OF B.B. KING is a fine assembly of B.B.'s late '60s-early '70s recordings. With attention divided equally between his soul, "jazz," and blues songs, this nine-track set is a perfect introduction to the mid-career works of the guitarist-singer. From certified blues classics like "The Thrill Is Gone" and "Why I Sing The Blues" to sweet Memphis-style soul numbers like "Ain't Nobody Home," this compilation surveys King's songwriting as well as his interpretive abilities. He turns the Louis Jordan staple "Caldonia" into a Chicago-meets-Basin St. blues jam and his gospel-tinged version of Leon Russell's "Hummingbird"--which features Joe Walsh and Leon himself--further stretches the all-encompassing grasp of the jazz-blues-R&B legend, who is forever titled "The King Of The Blues."

The great Memphis guitarist and singer B.B. King has been the most high-profile figure in blues since the 1960s, ever since his LIVE AT THE REGAL album established him as a superstar. King has collaborated successfully with everyone from Bobby Bland to U2, but he made his name as a soulful, enthusiastic bandleader. His beloved Gibson ES-345 guitar, "Lucille," is the source of King's trademark sound--percussive attack, dramatic string-bending, and spare lead lines with a vocal-like quality.

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