One Kind Favor

Performer: B.B. King
Engineer: Emile Kelman; Vanessa Parr; Jason Wormer
Producer: T-Bone Burnett
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: B.B. King (vocals, electric guitar); Johnny Lee Schell (guitar); Jeffrey Clayton, Keith Fiddmont (alto saxophone); Rickey Woodard, Thomas R. Peterson, Charles Owens (tenor saxophone); Ernie Fields Jr. (baritone saxophone); Darrell Leonard, Snooky Young (trumpet); Ira Nepus (trombone); Randall Aldcroft, Alexander Iles (euphonium); Dr. John (piano); Neil Larsen (Hammond b-3 organ); Nathan East (acoustic bass); Mike Elizondo (electric bass); Jim Keltner, Jay Bellerose (drums, percussion). Audio Mixer: Mike Piersante. Arrangers: Darrell Leonard; Geoff Muldaur. Though he's created some of the most essential, elemental blues in musical history, B.B. King has never shied away from exploring different directions, and some might say he's occasionally ventured too far afield. ONE KIND FAVOR should silence those doubters; with the help of superproducer T-Bone Burnett's roots noir approach, it finds King delivering gritty, impassioned interpretations of the tunes that influenced him in the 1950s. From his soulful, syncopated take on Blind Lemon Jefferson's country blues classic "See That My Grave is Kept Clean" to the Chicago-style stomping takeover of the Mississippi Sheiks' "The World Is Gone Wrong," King proves that at the age of 82 he can still turn out fiery, energetic music as undeniably vital as anything being produced by artists a third of his age.

Rolling Stone (p.70) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "King is front and center, with a killer backing band....King is heartbreakingly intimate on standards like Blind Lemon Jefferson's 'See That My Grave Is Kept Clean' and John Lee Hooker's 'Blues Before Sunrise.'" Rolling Stone (p.91) - Ranked #17 in Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums Of 2008 -- "America's most famous bluesman lived his version of the stories in these standards." Down Beat (p.74) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "ONE KIND FAVOR returns B.B. King to the studio setting of the '50s, complete with a true stereo sound and an intimate, first-take ambiance. It's back-to-the-basics B.B., and it's his best album in years..." Living Blues (pp.34-35) - "[O]ne of his strongest in decades....B.B.'s vocals and guitar skills are still top rate." Mojo (Publisher) (p.119) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "He and Lucille are still as one and the guitar licks come exquisite and often." Paste (magazine) (p.58) - "Elegiac by intent, the record is awash in poignancy, radiating from the deeply felt guitar and vocal performances of the 83-year-old King and his supporting band and from the carefully chosen material." Record Collector (magazine) (p.84) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The song choices are all outstanding....[The songs] give King lots of room for his road-weary, half-shouted vocals and bent-note adorned guitar work..."

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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