Greatest Hits, Vol. 2: The ABC-Dunhill/MCA Recordings

Performer: Bobby "Blue" Bland
Artist: B.B. King
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: Bobby "Blue" Bland (vocals); B.B. King (vocals, guitar). Producers include: Steve Barri, Monk, Higgins, Al Bell, Don Gant, Ron Chancey. Compilation producer: Andy McKaie. Recorded between 1973 & 1979. Includes liner notes by Bill Dahl. Liner Note Author: Bill Dahl. Photographer: Frank Driggs. By the end of his staggering 20-year run at the Duke label, Bobby Bland was rightly acknowledged as one of the premiere blues singers of all time. His constant presence on the R&B charts was matched only by his constant touring, a nearly endless pursuit that might very well have brought him to every smoky nightclub on earth. His first handful of post-Duke recordings, the best of which are included here, nearly match up to his early work, albeit in a decidedly different manner. The sophisticated uptown blues are replaced with a slinky groove that snakes its way throughout this compilation. Bland's manner is more relaxed, as if he's easing himself down into a hot tub with a bottle of champagne. Like the best of Bland's work, the mood is still sultry. "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" and "Yolanda" are as sexy as anything in his catalogue. One thing's for sure: if Bobby Bland is singing from a jacuzzi, he's not alone.

Bobby "Blue" Bland is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the blues world. Growing up in Memphis, he was influenced by gospel and country as well as blues, and his style has always shown a broader scope than that of most bluesmen. Early on he worked as a valet/driver for B.B. King, but eventually the two men would work together as peers. Bland began recording in the early '50s, but it was his '60s recordings, including the classics "I Pity the Fool" and "Turn on Your Lovelight" that would make him immortal. Among blues musicians his influence is seminal, and in the rock world, everyone from Eric Clapton to the Grateful Dead has reverently covered Bland's material.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25