Albert KING - The Lost Session 1971

Albert KING - The Lost Session 1971

Blues

The tapes of this Albert King/John Mayall album were discovered by Bill Belmont in 1986 while rummaging through the Stax vaults looking for Albert King tapes for an album of unreleased blues material. It was produced by John Mayall at Wolfman Jack Studios in Los Angeles on August 28, 1971.

As to why it wasn't released at the time of its recording, Mayall said "The intent was to make it different from the Stax sound. I accomplished that but also got it canned because Stax obviously couldn't cope with that. It didn't sound like their stuff, so they didn't release it."

It is an inspired pairing of King, one of the most influential guitar stylist of the modern blues, and Mayall, the chief conceptualist of the British blues revival of the Sixties. It sounds different from anything King had recorded before or since, a three-way fusion of Mississippi Delta blues, British blues, and Los Angeles jazz.
From CD Universe.
**
Well since John Mayall has just had his 70th birthday concert released on DVD Blues fans should be interested his highly original and unusual teaming with the late great Albert King. The set was recorded at Wolfman Jack's home studio in L.A. in just one day August 20, 1971 and features a line up that was to become part of Mayall's Jazz-Fusion ideas in the 1970s.

This LP is very different. Albert plays with no effects, feedback or sustain. It's just plain straight ahead Blues. He also sings in mostly guitar keys instead of his usual Jazz keys. Mayall contributes all of the song's frameworks and King wrote the lyrics- mostly from his other songs and his expansive knowledge of old blues lyrics from Johnson, Brown, Robert Nighthawk, Elmore James, and many more!

This album was discovered in the Stax vaults when their tape collections were handed over to Fantasy Records in the 1980s. It was never released because it didn't sound like Stax, or the Blues at the time. There are many great tunes on this collection, but "Sun Gone Down-takes 1 & 2" have to be at the top. A great slow blues- one of King's best. "Brand New Razor" is my second favourite tune. It really jumps! "Money Lovin Woman" showcases King's famous talking blues ability. In fact the whole set is really great, different and interesting. I was surprised that in the recording of the set "Jammin with the Blues Greats" in the early 1980s Mayall and King played together again. It is curious that they didn't do one of these tunes.
By Perry Celestino.
**
The set was recorded at Wolfman Jack's home studio in L.A. in just one day August 20, 1971 and features a line up that was to become part of Mayall's Jazz-Fusion ideas in the 1970s.

This LP is very different. Albert plays with no effects, feedback or sustain. It's just plain straight ahead Blues. He also sings in mostly guitar keys instead of his usual Jazz keys. Mayall contributes all of the song's frameworks and King wrote the lyrics- mostly from his other songs and his expansive knowledge of old blues lyrics from Johnson, Brown, Robert Nighthawk, Elmore James, and many more!

This album was discovered in the Stax vaults when their tape collections were handed over to Fantasy Records in the 1980s. It was never released because it didn't sound like Stax, or the Blues at the time. There are many great tunes on this collection, but "Sun Gone Down-takes 1 & 2" have to be at the top. A great slow blues- one of King's best. "Brand New Razor" is my second favourite tune. It really jumps! "Money Lovin Woman" showcases King's famous talking blues ability. In fact the whole set is really great, different and interesting. **
Albert King- (Vocals, Guitar);
Lee King- (Guitar);
John Mayall- (12-String Guitar, Harmonica, Piano, Organ);
Clifford Solomon- (Alto Saxophone, Tenor Sax);
Ernie Watts- (Tenor Sax);
Blue Mitchell- (Trumpet);
Kevin- (Piano, Organ);
Ron Selico- (Drums).
**
01. She Won't Gimme No Lovin' 5:56
02. Cold In Hand 4:44
03. Stop Lying 3:52
04. All The Way Down 3:33
05. Tell Me What True Love Is 4:56
06. Down The Road I Go 4:36
07. Money Lovin' Women 5:39
08. Sun Gone Down (Take 1) 5:01
09. Brand New Razor 4:32
10. Sun Gone Down (Take 2) 5:01
**
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Albert KING - Lovejoy 1971

Albert KING - Lovejoy 1971

Blues

This LP was a turning point for Stax and Albert King. It was released just as Stax was about to begin its demise and it used a combination of Stax session players such as "Duck" Dunn and Atlantic "White Boy" soul players who had backed the likes of Aretha Franklin. It also has guitarist Jesse Edwin Davis, who played with King on the famous Fillmore recordings. It was produced by Don Nix of "I'm Goin Down" fame and who had played sax with the Mar-keys and others. Albert pulls off a polished LP with a slick early 1970s sound. More of a combined sound than pure blues and it was recorded in Hollywood CA and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, not Memphis. This, I feel, was Albert's first commercial market album.

However, it is an LP from Albert's "Golden Period" and the tunes do come off as very well produced, although a few are over-produced (this was Albert's problem with Tomato Records later on). First of all, we start with a cover of the Stone's then recent hit "Honky Tonk Woman", but a completely different groove. It is more polished and Albert has backing singers for the first time since he recorded in Cincinnati in the early 60s. The lyrics are also changed to remove the brothel inferences. Stax, who didn't mind songs such as "Who's Making Love" and "I'll Be The Other Woman" didn't like brothels I guess.

"Bay Area Blues" is one of King's neglected classics. It is a different sounding tune with a great groove and is a ode to King's famous Fillmore sessions. "Corna Corina' is a tune that goes back to Blind Lemon Jefferson and was done by Big Joe Tuner and many more. This tune jumps and has a great feel to it. Albert's economic solo is outstanding. "She Caught The Katy" of Taj Mahal and Blues Brothers fame is a tune to me that has an "Alabama" folk feel to it. It's part blues, part soul and part funk. "For the Love of A Woman" is a standard LP piece that wouldn't be too exciting if Albert King wasn't doing it, again it reminds us of some of his later Tomato Records work in the mid-1970s.

"Lovejoy" Ill. is an outstanding talking blues instrumental that heralds the change in Albert had would be reflected in his next three releases. He starts to define blues-funk which as the time was a new thing in the 1970s with Sly Stone, Allen Troussaint (who produced a later King LP) and others. I really love this track, another King highlight which goes unnoticed in most compilation reissues. The highlight of the set is "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven", written by Nix, which is one of King's best ever slow blues. It has a "modern progression" for the time, it's not a straight 12-bar blues, great lyrics "everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die" and a fantastic redefinition of King's standard guitar licks.

"Going Back To Luka" is the only King track ever to have a slide guitar on it, King played no slide at all. It is effective in this tune. The final cut is a gem. "Like A Road Leading Home" was Stax's response to "Let It Be', "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and other gospel influenced tunes at the time. King had sung in a Gospel Group, the "Harmony Kings", as one point. This tune is one of the most soulful ever done by Albert, another unsung "classic" never released as a single (too long at the time). His fantastic soulful solo ends the record. This is truly one of Albert King's lost Stax classic records. It marks the change in music from the 60s to the 70s and Albert's style from "Live Wire" and "Years Gone By" to "I'll Play The Blues For You" and beyond.
By Perry Celestino.
**
A very enjoyable album from Albert King which is right up there with Born Under a Bad Sign in terms of overall quality. I enjoy King's style because it's not just straight blues. Thanks to the team at Stax records in Memphis, his albums are a fantastic fusion of blues, soul, and funk, and usually feature great arrangements and production. This album sure as hell does, with nary a weak track to be found. Even the slower numbers "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" and "Like a Road Leading Home" have enough going on to keep me interested. The best track in my estimation is the fantastic "Bay Area Blues", with its genre-bending sound and fierce guitar licks.

"I'm smiling for the people,
although I'm feeling low,
I played three sets already,
I got four more sets to go.

My drummer's getting sleepy,
and the bass player's going down,
organ player's got his feet on the floor
to keep the room from spinnin' around"

By (deadlybreakfast)
**
Albert King- (Vocals, Guitar);
Jesse Edwin Davis, Tippy Armstrong, Wayne Perkins- (Guitar);
John Gallie, Barry Beckett- (Keyboards);
Donald "Duck" Dunn, David Hood- (Bass);
Jim Keltner, Roger Hawkins- (Drums);
Sandy Konikoff- (Percussion);
Jeanne Green, The Mt. Zion Singers- (Background Vocals).
**
A1. Honky Tonk Woman 3:59
A2. Bay Area Blues 2:55
A3. Corina Corina 3:45
A4. She Caught The Katy And Left A Mule To Ride 3:56
A5. For The Love Of A Woman 4:20

B1. Lovejoy, ILL. 3:46
B2. Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven 4:20
B3. Going Back To Iuka 3:58
B4. Like A Road Leading Home 5:24
**
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Albert KING - New Orleans Heat 1978

Albert KING - New Orleans Heat 1978

Blues

This is a wonderful recording (1978). If you're the kind of person that sits up and notices when you hear real talent, then pay attention to this one. It is "pure" Albert King, in every sense of the word; the New Orleans studio musicians are so tight and so there for him, they let him shine. The bass was so good, I had to see who it was: George Porter Jr. Excellent funk to some arrangements and the horns are icing on the cake: tight, tight but so relaxed at the same time.
I don't know if you can get horns like that anywhere BUT New Orleans...
One of my very, very favorite albums...
By Unknown.
**
Kenneth Williams- (Percussion),
Leroy Breaux- (Drums),
Robert Dabon- (Piano (Electric)),
June Gardner- (Drums),
Albert King- (Guitar),(Guitar (Electric)),(Vocals),
Leo Nocentelli- (Guitar (Electric)),
George Porter, Jr.- (Bass),
Wardell Quezergue- (Piano (Electric)),
Allen Toussaint- (Piano),
Charles "Hungry" Williams- (Drums),
**
01.Get Out of My Life Woman (3:40)
02.Born Under a Bad Sign (3:27)
03.The Feeling (4:57)
04.We All Wanna Boogie (3:14)
05.The Very Thought of You (4:15)
06.I Got the Blues (9:06)
07.I Get Evil (3:57)
08.Angel of Mercy (5:53)
09.Flat Tire (2:49)
**
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Albert KING - Jammed Together with Steve Cropper and Pop Staples 1969

Albert KING - Jammed Together with Steve Cropper and Pop Staples 1969

Blues

Jammed Together is somewhat of a surprise jam disc featuring three musicians with seemingly little in common. Pops Staples, Steve Cropper and Albert King. Pops Staples, the leader of the Staple singers, started his solo career at the ripe age of seventy. Pops played guitar with incredible agility for a man of seventy and his voice has been described as rough and sweet, sometimes wispy but full of soul. Pops released two solo albums, both steeped in gospel, in addition to this jam before his death on December 19, 2000. Steve Cropper was a guitarist for the popular R&B band, Booker T. & the MGs. Cropper was also a member of the Blues Brothers Band of film and recording fame. Albert King, was, well, Albert King, guitar extraordinaire. The guitar interplay between these three performers is first rate, exciting, sometimes funky and never dull. The guitarists blend with harmonious splendor and it is often hard to pick out which guitarist is playing the various solos. Vocal performances are kept to a minimum with each performer singing lead on one song apiece. This is Stax Records equivalent to Alligators "Showdown" featuring Albert Collins, Robert Cray and Johnny Copeland. Mighty good stuff. The liner notes are sparse and, as much as I would like to credit the excellent backup band, their identities are not revealed in the notes.
By "deepbluereview"
**
Steve Cropper,
Pop Staples,
Albert King.
*
01. What'd I Say   5.31
02. Tupelo   6.03
03. Opus De Soul   5.33
04. Baby What You Want Me To Do   3.33
05. Big Bird   3.16
06. Homer's Theme   2.13
07. Trashy Dog   3.03
08. Don't Turn Your Heater Down   3.18
09. Water   3.09
10. Knock On Wood   5.02
**
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Albert KING, Otis RUSH - Door to Door 1990

Albert KING, Otis RUSH - Door to Door 1990
Label:  Chess / Universal
Audio CD: (February 24, 2003)
Recorded between 1953 & 1961

Blues

King and Rush pushed themselves further toward interpretative wisdom and individuality with the 1960-61 recordings found in this blue-ribbon collection. The tone in King's low-down voice shifts between sternness and leniency while his rhythmically staggering guitar distills drama. Highlights include 'So Close', 'Bad Luck Blues' and 'Searchin' For A Women'.
From CD Universe.
**
Esquires King and Rush pushed themselves further toward interpretative wisdom and individuality with the 196~61 recordings found in this blue-ribbon collection. The tone in King's low-down voice shifts between sternness and leniency while his rhythmically staggering guitar distills drama. (Three 1953 Parrot singles, his earliest work, have been included, and they're notable for his up-high singing.) Rush, with "So Many Roads," "All Your Love," and four more gems, is also in fine form, his singing agonizingly pitched, his choking of the guitar neck beseeching and peremptory.
By Frank John Hadley.
**
If you didn't know any better, you would think that an album credited to "Albert King & Otis Rush" is some sort of collaboration between the two left-handed blues guitarists.
It's not, though. "Door To Door" is merely a collection of the few singles that King and Rush recorded during their short tenure with the Chess brothers in Chicago.
It's still a good album, however, and I suppose this way of re-issuing King's eight and Rush's six singles is better than putting out two seperate CDs.
Albert King, the older of the two men, does a great T-Bone Walker on "Bad Luck" (excellent piano playing on that one, courtesy of "Little" Johnny Jones), and "Won't Be Hangin' Around" is one of his greatest slow blues.
King also shines on the soulful, saxophone-driven "Searchin' For A Woman", and he does a very credible "Howlin' For My Darling" (originally written for Howlin' Wolf).
You should note that three of the six Otis Rush numbers are remakes of songs that he cut just a couple of years earlier with Cobra Records (not that they're not great), but this 1960 session also produced the original version of one of his best songs, the smouldering "So Many Roads, So Many Trains", which features what must be one of the greatest slow blues guitar solo of all time, as well as soulful blues piano playing by Lafayette Leake.
("Oddie" Payne is credited as Rush's drummer. It's "Odie". Like the dog!)
This is not an essential purchase perhaps (all the best songs can be found on other albums), but it is a very enjoyable collection of the few songs that these two excellent guitar players cut for the biggest blues label in town, and the quality of the material is high all the way through.
By  Docendo Discimus.
**
Albert King, Otis Rush- (Vocals, Guitar);
Hal White- (Tenor Saxophone);
Freddie Robinette- (Baritone Saxophone);
Wilbur Thompson- (Trumpet);
Sam Wallace, Johnny Jones, Lafayette Leake- (Piano);
Lee Otis, Matt Murphy, Willie Dixon- (Bass);
Thiotis Morgan, Odie Payne- (Drums).
**
01. Searchin' For A Woman  3.03
02. Bad Luck  3.02
03. So Close  2.45
04. Howlin' For My Darling  3.05
05. I Can't Stop  2.14
06. Won't Be Hangin' Around  2.55
07. I'm Satisfied  2.25
08. All Your Love  2.55
09. You Know My Love  2.41
10. Merry Way  2.52
11. Wild Women  2.38
12. Murder  2.56
13. So Many Roads  3.11
14. California  2.46
**
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Albert KING - Stax Profiles 2006

Albert KING - Stax Profiles 2006
Label: Stax

Blues

This compilation is a new attempt to bring the late great Albert King to a wider, younger audience. It is great and if you don't have many of King's records you should pick this up. It consists of 11 tracks which come mostly from the latter days of the label before its demise in the middle 1970s.

The first track is the rarest and most interesting. "Born Under A Bad Sign" was the signature tune of the LP that made King's name in the 1960s. This version is the one from the 1983 Canadian TV program which became the "In Session" CD, Albert's biggest selling recording, mostly because he jams with Stevie Ray Vaughan on it. OK this is the highlight, a never before heard AK track. The playing is tight and in tune (not like on some of the In Session recording). SRV shows why he was such a King devotee. Listen to the first and last solos-they are SRV and to Albert's. SRV has precise technique in the AK style, but Albert still has the soul. Lonnie Brook's once said "People think players sound alike until they hear them together", this is a classic example. This tune is worth the whole price of the CD!

The second tune "Lovingest Woman In Town" is a live studio version done in Chicago with Willie Dixon's band. These tapes are VERY rare and were thought to be King's rarest material in the mid-1980s. There are more of these gems and they need to be released (currently some of the tunes are on the "Windy City Blues" CD). This tune was originally an outtake on an early seventies Stax session produced by (great) drummer Al Jackson, Jr. It appeared on the Funky London CD (1994). This version is very good and has horns to boot.

"She Caught the Katy" and the classic "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven" are from the underrated CD "Lovejoy" named for the town in Illinois that King called home at the time. These tunes are well produced and subtle like King's playing. Check out the solo's on "Heaven" and the great ending. This LP was cut in Mussell Shoals Alabama in 1971 when Atlantic was farming out work in order to screw Stax and take the record royalties. This started with Aretha Franklin and then the late Wilson Pickett.

"The Sky Is Crying" is another gem from Mr King. This is the original version from Albert's first studio album "Years Gone By". The solos in this piece are superb. The bending is magnificent and soulful, It is amazing how King took a classic slide tune of Elmore James and turned into a masterpiece of vibrato drenched bends. However, the alternate take of this number originally released on the "Hard Bargain" CD (1995) is much better and longer. It should have been included on this CD.

"Don't Throw Your Love On Me Too Strong" was Albert's first chart hit in 1961. This interesting live version is from his famous Fillmore sessions. This tune is included in "Wednesday Night in San Francisco" released in 1990 during one of the later post-1960s Blues Revival periods. The extended version is great but has no horns and an economic, bearly adequate, lackluster backing band. The bassist is not very good. But Albert, as usual, rises above it.

"I Love Lucy "is a tune from King's famous "King Of The Blues Guitar" record of 1966. This single was added onto the LP to make it different (for Atlantic) than the Stax "Bad Sign" record. The tune is a risque soul song about Albert's guitar named "Lucy" (Like B.B.'s "Lucille"). As much as Albert denied it, he did copy B.B., a lot (But not in playing style!!). Listen to the micro-tone bends at the end of the song-It is some of his best playing and you can see why SRV, Hendrix, Clapton and others (Me) loved him!

"Can't You See What You're Doing To Me" was a later Stax single with the Bar-Kays. The signature bass riff is outstanding as is Albert's neck pickup solo-what great overbends- an inspiration to Buddy Guy at the time. This single had Albert's famous instrumental version of James Brown's "Cold Sweat" on the flip side.

"Angel Of Mercy" is one of the greatest minor key blues ever written. The subject matter (down and out) is classic. I love the bends in this tune-the best Albert ever did except in "Don't Burn Down the Bridge". The opening is very clever and a first in blues-pre-bending (ghost bending) on the introduction. The tune was a single that was added to the "I'll Play The Blues For You" LP of 1972. A classic tune!

"Oh, Pretty Woman" is the second version of this song, not the original on the "Bad Sign" LP. It was written by the WDIA DJ AC "Mooah" Williams and is one of the funkiest blues ever written. In this version from "The Pinch" LP (later released in CD as "The Blues Don't Change") is a true funk masterpiece. Great bass line. The only problem with the tune is that it's too short and should have cooked for longer! The Stax people had done this before, but with a much longer version, revamping the classic "Crosscut Saw" on the "I Wanna Get Funky" LP. But this tune is very short. But it's still good!

"I'll Play The Blues For You" is the closing tune. This is one of Albert King's most famous tunes and his most famous one from the 1970s. It has a great beat, wonderful changes and some great. soulful guitar playing. However, I have always thought the electric piano solo with the sax in the background the weak spot on the tune. This song was written by Sandy Jones who wrote King's first Stax hit "Laundromat Blues"

That's the set list. It is definately worth getting if you are new to Albert King or have a limited collection of his work. The opening tune makes the entire CD (clever marketing!) and perhaps the set should have been called "Born Under A Bad Sign-Part 2:the 70's"
By  Perry Celestino.
**
Albert King- (Vocals, Guitar);
Jesse Ed Davis, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bobby Manuel- (Guitar);
Donald "Duck" Dunn, Earl Thomas- (Bass Guitar);
Jim Keltner, Al Jackson- (Drums).

01. Born Under A Bad Sign (with Stevie Ray Vaughan) 3:38
02. Lovingest Woman In Town 5:41
03. She Caught The Katy And Left Me A Mule To Ride 3:58
04. The Sky Is Crying 4:11
05. Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong (live) 8:37
06. (I Love) Lucy 2:53
07. Can't You See What You're Doing To Me 4:17
08. Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven 4:22
09. Angel Of Mercy 4:23
10. Oh, Pretty Woman 4:44
11. I'll Play The Blues For You 7:18
**
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Albert KING - Blues For Elvis 1970

Albert KING - Blues For Elvis 1970
Label: Stax
Release Date: Jun 11, 1991

Blues

Originally titled King Does the King's Thing, here's Albert King adding his own touch to a batch of Elvis Presley tunes. Because King's style is so irreducible, the concept actually works, as he fills this album with his traditional, high-voltage guitar work and strong vocals. That isn't surprising, since four of the nine tunes on here originally started as R&B hits covered by Presley, including an instrumental version of Smiley Lewis' "One Night." No matter what the original sources may be, though, this is a strong showing in King's catalog.
By  Cub Koda.
**
It may not sound interesting to hear Albert King do the Elvis Presley hits (he didn't even choose to do it, he was forced by Stax Records) but in the end he gives great versions of all these songs.
I bought it one day because I found it in a record store and I'm a big Elvis fan. I thought I would sell it on e-bay if I didn't like it but since then it's always in the jukebox CD player. I just love this CD because Albert King does not replicate the same sound, he turns it into real blues songs and makes the songs his own. For once, it's not someone trying to sing like the King because noone can sing like him, there's no use trying.
So I'm sure Albert King, even if he didn't want to record all these songs in the beginning, enjoyed himself singing them as you can hear on the record. And in the same manner, I didn't believe in this record at first but now I can't live without it.
I wish Elvis had done an Albert King cover album.
By  Blue Boy.
**
Albert King- Vocals, Guitar
Willie Hall- Drums
Marvell Thomas- Piano, Organ
Michael Toles- Guitar
James Alexande- Bass
Donald "Duck" Dunn- Bass
**
01. Hound Dog 4:03
02. That's All Right 4:09
03. All Shook Up 2:29
04. Jailhouse Rock 3:37
05. Heartbreak Hotel 6:06
06. Don't Be Cruel 3:27
07. One Night 4:17
08. Blue Suede Shoes 3:16
09. Love Me Tender
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Albert KING - Red House 1992

Albert KING - Red House 1992
Label: Castle
Release Date: 3/10/1996

Blues

Many say that Albert King's last CD session was "Phone Booth" but they seem to overlook this now very rare recording done on a British label. It didn't receive too much airplay in 1992 and didn't sell well mainly because the sound mix seemed wrong.The horn section is much too loud. Albert plays and sings well but his guitar is just barely audible on most songs. The reverb is fairly high on his amp which results in clicks and pops and alot of his wonderful sweeping bends are wasted in the process.
A curious mixture of songs on this CD as Albert does James Taylors "Don't let me be lonely tonight" and The Electric Flags "Stop".A few novelty type songs like "If You Got It" with slightly humorous lyrics.
The auto-biographical song "Bluesman" speaks of Alberts life on the road and it competes with a familar B.B. King song " Better Not Look Down". The best track is down to what Albert does best, namely the serious 12 bar blues "When You Walk Out the Door". His version of Jimi's "Red House" is adequate and would've been much better had they increased Albert's guitar volume and given him a killer tone like on his early records, or even just simply turned down his reverb and told the horn section to calm down . Such a shame! If anyone had the perfect credentials to perform "Red House' then it would've been Albert King who had been such a HUGE influence on Hendrix.
But if you're an avid Albert King aficianado then this one is still worth getting just for posterity sake.
It's a very difficult session to track down though especially on CD.
By  P.J. Le Faucheur.
**
01. Stop 5:10
02. Bluesman 3:58
03. Don't Let Me Be Lonely :30
04. When You Walk out the Door 6:45
05. Problems 4:44
06. Our Love Is Going to Win 6:44
07. Trouble 4:29
08. If You Got It 3:04
09. Red House 5:34
**
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