B.B. KING - Completely Well 1969

B.B. KING - Completely Well 1969
BLS-6037

Blues

The first thing that amazes me about this album is that no one has given it a review. I figured that this album would be a staple in anyone's album collection (especially you blues fans!). Right from the start, B.B. tells the listener that he is gonna rock your socks off. "So Excited" comes roaring into your speakers and gets your toes tappin'. Throughout the album, B.B. does a great job of playing some upbeat blues ("You're Losin' Me" and "Confessin' The Blues") mixed with some slow ballads ("Key To My Kingdom" and What Happened"). Not only do you get an all-out blues jam with "You're Mean" but you also get one of the greatest blues songs of all time with "The Thrill Is Gone." This song is what the blues is all about and it sounds wonderful with strings in the background. All I have to say is put your CD player on 'repeat' when this song is playing. From beginning to end this album is extremely satisfying!
**
One of B.B. King's first pop-inclined efforts, this CD features the support of rock- and blues-raised session players. King's progeny, in a sense. Keyboardist Al Kooper is the most notable, but it's guitarist Hugh McCracken who engages the master in a six-string duel on the jam "Cryin' Won't Help You Now/You're Mean." The album also contains King's breakthrough hit "The Thrill Is Gone." King didn't particularly enjoy the tune when he recorded it. But when he returned to the studio the next day to hear the strings that were added to sweeten its chorus in his absence, he was as taken by the transcendent, majestic sweep they lent his performance as the rest of the world was soon to be. Indeed, his visceral vocal and stinging guitar leads define the bittersweet aftertaste of lost love. While the sheen of the hit's production stands out among this album's cuts, the unvarnished emotion of its lyrics is what the blues is all about. By Ted Drozdowski.
**
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, All Music Guide.
**
Bass- Gerald "Fingers" Jemmott
Drums- Herbie Lovelle
Guitar- Hugh McCracken
Guitar, Vocals- B.B. King
Piano, Electric Piano, Organ- Paul Harris
**
A1. So Excited 5:34 
A2. No Good 4:35 
A3. You're Losin' Me 4:54 
A4. What Happened 4:41 
A5. Confessin' The Blues 4:56 
B1. Key To My Kingdom 3:18 
B2. Cryin' Won't Help You Now 6:30 
B3. You're Mean 9:39 
B4. The Thrill Is Gone 5:30 
**

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B.B. KING - Live and Well 1969

B.B. KING - Live and Well 1969
BLS 6031

Blues

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, All Music Guide.
**
Five late-1960s studio tracks and as many recent concert takes add up to a solid outing. "Why I Sing the Blues," utilizing contemporary studio players who spare no energy, was a R&B hit in edited form in 1969. This was the first of several King albums produced solicitously by Bill Szymczyk.
By Frank John Hadley.
**
"Live and Well" features a blend of concert material from the late '60s with tunes recorded in the studio. The material is not uniformly brilliant, but there are enough high points, both in B.B.'s singing and his playing, to make this a worthy release.
The best of the live material is the menacing "Don't Answer the Door," which King shouts over a pulsing organ line and punctuates with some wicked guitar licks. "Sweet Little Angel," a staple of his songbook, is also great, especially vocally. B.B's still one of the best blues singers around, and on "Angel" he shows off the power and sense of vulnerability he can deliver simultaneously.

There are a couple of clunkers in the live offerings, however. "Please Accept My Love" has another strong vocal, but the tune is hampered by sappy lyrics. "Just a Little Love" is a sing-along that doesn't offer a whole lot musically or lyrically.

The studio work includes a genuine classic, "Why I Sing the Blues," which is surely the definitive statement on that subject. King here is again in complete command as he storms through verse after powerful verse and unleashes some of his best solos on the record, if not ever. "I Want You So Bad" is a dark blues, mournful in the way that his hit "The Thrill Is Gone" was. Again, not all of the studio material is as strong as these two tunes, suggesting that King wasn't completely on his game for this date.

Still, there are plenty of good moments on the recording, making it a good representation of B.B.'s late '60s work, when he was working toward crossover status.
By  Tyler Smith.
**
Sonny Freeman- (Drums),
Hugh McCracken- (Guitar),
Al Kooper- (Piano),
Patrick Williams- (Trumpet),
B.B. King- (Vocals),(Guitars)
Lee Gatling- (Saxophone),
Charlie Boles- (Organ),
Herb Lovelle- (Drums),
Val Patillo- (Bass),
Gerald Jemmott- (Bass),
Paul Harris- (Piano).
**
A1. Don't Answer the Door  
A2. Just a Little Love  
A3. My Mood  
A4. Sweet Little Angel  
A5. Please Accept My Love  
B1. I Want You So Bad  
B2. Friends  
B3. Get off My Back Woman  
B4. Let's Get Down to Business  
B5. That's Why I Sing the Blues
**

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B.B. KING - Kansas City [Blues Nº1] 1972

B.B. KING - Kansas City [Blues Nº1] 1972
1996 Issue.BA001
Blues

This is pure blues, in 1972 B. B. King was in great shape and this is the recording of a memorable concert. It kind of feels like you're there, in Kansas City while you're listening to this record; King talks to the public, he introduces, joking, his great musicians and plays wonderfully his guitar Lucille. A record that no blues lover should be without.
**
This album is a masterpiece and deserves much greater acclamation. It captures B.B. King's guitar playing at its finest and cements his position as a guitaring legend to anyone in doubt. The sensational playing in this album defines the concept of 'soulful' playing.

To my disappoint, I usually find that B.B. King's albums are drowning in backing orchestration, with too much percussion and too many brass instruments. The arrangements in this album however, are much simpler and the lack of backing instruments allows B.B. King's guitar playing and epic singing to dominate. A simplified approach gives a record a much more soulful feel, which is much more suiting than the usual jovial big-band sound which I find inappropriate for the genre (unfortunately there are still 2 or 3 songs on the album where this style is used, including the introduction - so don't be put off straight away). Every track on this album is great and features something unique.

I believe that this is one of the most underrated albums of all time and I am shocked that this is its first review. I would rank it in my top five. B.B. King himself said that he thought 'Live at the Regal' was not his best work, despite its major success. I wonder if he had 'Live in Kansas' in mind when he said that. (I personally think that the only track of any worth on Regal is 'Worry, Worry')
If you are a fan of B.B King or an aficionado of soulful Blues in general, then you must undoubtedly buy this album.
**
01. Introduction 3:29
02. The Thrill Is Gone 5:04
03. Sweet Little Angel 5:11
04. Nobody Loves Me But My Mother 4:50
05. Guess Who 3:51
06. King's Shuffle 3:17
07. Outside Help 7:38
08. I've Got A Mind To Give Up Living 5:31
09. Ain't Nobody Home 7:23
**

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B.B.KING - Lucille 1968

B.B.KING - Lucille 1968
BLS-6016

Blues 

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.
**
Bass- David Allen 
Drums- Jesse Sailes
Guitar- Irving Ashby
Organ- Maxwell Davis
Piano- Lloyd Glenn
Saxophone- Bob McNeely (tracks: A2, B2 to B4) , Bobby Forte (tracks: A1, A3, A4, B1, B5) , Cecil McNeely (tracks: A2, B2 to B4)
Trombone- John Ewing (tracks: A2, B2 to B4)
Trumpet- Mel Moore (tracks: A2, B2 to B4)
**
A1. Lucille 10:10 
A2. You Move Me So 2:10 
A3. Country Girl 4:20 
A4. No Money No Luck 3:45   
B1. I Need Your Love 2:15  
B2. Rainin' All The Time 2:52 
B3. I'm With You 2:39 
B4. Stop Putting The Hurt On Me 2:55 
B5. Watch Yourself 6:00 
**

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B.B. KING - Lucille Talks Back 1990

B.B. KING - Lucille Talks Back 1990
1990 Issue. MCAD-22023

In the tradition of The Skipper and Gilligan and the Lone Ranger and Trigger, B.B. King never performs without his faithful sidekick, his guitar Lucille. And as with most close working relationships, they developed a simpatico over the years to the point where they became totally inseparable. B.B. has just such a relationship with Lucille. He lets her finish his thoughts, as in his trademark call and response on "Everybody Lies A Little" and "No Money, No Luck."

Sometimes he lets her do the talking for him, as on the titular instrumental. On LUCILLE TALKS BACK, they also get a little funky, as was the style back then (listen to the wah-wah guitar on "Breaking Up Somebody's Home" and the syncopated bass line on "I Know The Price.") They must be doing something right, as the audience's reaction on the live track "Gambler's Blues" bears out.
**
B.B. King- (Vocals, Guitar, Piano);
Milton Hopkins, Jess Daniels- (Guitar);
Brooker Walker, Bobby Forte- (Sax);
Joseph Burton- (Trombone);
Edward Rowe- (Horns);
James Toney- (Organ);
Ron Levy- (Keyboards, Synthesizer);
John Starks- (Drums);
Marcus Barnett- (Percussion).
**
01. Breaking Up Somebody's Home 2:58
02. Everybody Lies A Little 3:43
03. I Know The Price 3:06
04. Lucille Talks Back 2:25
05. Slow & Easy 3:04
06. Gambler's Blues 4:44
07. No Money, No Luck 3:44
08. Hold On (I Feel Our Love Is Changing) 4:09
09. To Know You Is To Love You 8:30
10. I Like To Live The Love 5:57
**
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B.B. KING - Live in St. Quentin 1990

B.B. KING - Live in St. Quentin 1990

Blues

Much gutsier than the REGAL album, this is in harmony with the patrons as King plays to a different audience; the inmates of one of America's toughest prisons. King devotes a lot of his time every year performing to prisoners, and he coummunicates on this album without patronizing them. This is a fairly predictable set but the high level recording (presumably to block out any obscenities) makes it one of his most exciting live albums. Songs he has played a thousand times sound fresh and energetic, notably "Everyday I Have The Blues" and "Let The Good Times Roll."
**
B.B. King- (Vocals, Guitar);
Leon Warren- (Guitar);
Walter King, Edgar Synigal- (Sax);
James Bolden- (Trumpet);
Eugene Carrier- (Keyboards);
Michael Doster- (Bass);
Calep Emphrey- (Drums).
**
01.Introduction
02.Let The Good Times Roll
03.Every Day I Have The Blues
04.Whole Lotta Loving
05.Sweet Little Angel
06.Never Make A Move Too Soon
07.Into The Night
08.Ain't Nobody's Business
09.Thrill Is Gone
10.Peace To The World
11.Nobody Loves Me But My Mother
12.Sweet Sixteen
13.Rock Me Baby
**
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B.B. KING - Live by Request 2003 (Avi)

B.B. KING - Live by Request 2003 (Avi)

Blues

Filmed in New York City, this concert from blues maestro B.B. King shows exactly why he is so revered in the blues and rock world. Talented guitarist Jeff Beck joins King for three songs, providing the perfect counterpart to the legendary singer. Originally aired on the A&E Network on A&E's Live By Request, B.B. King and special guest Jeff Beck electrify New York City with all-time favorites.
**
The great bluesmen are almost all gone now, which is reason enough to celebrate this performance by B.B. King. King's guitar playing and singing no longer burn with the fire he displayed on, say, the immortal Live at the Regal album (after all, he was nearly 78 when this 83-minute show was recorded in New York for A&E in June 2003), but the man hasn't lost his touch--and neither has Jeff Beck, who joins him for three tunes. Beck, who continues to play with remarkable invention and dexterity, may even upstage the master--but he's doing it with licks he learned from B.B. himself. The repertoire, as expected when folks (including Willie Nelson and Tony Bennett) are calling up and asking for their favorites, is filled with King classics ("The Thrill Is Gone," "Sweet Little Angel," "Let the Good Times Roll"), as well as a couple from his '03 album, Reflections.
By Sam Graham.
**
01. Let The Good Times Roll
02. Sweet Little Angel
03. Bad Case of Love
04. Night Life
05. Neighborhood Affair
06. Exactly Like You
07. Guess Who
08. The Thrill Is Gone
09. Rock Me Baby
10. Key To The Highway
11. When Love Comes To Town
12. Caldonia
13. I'll Survive
14. Payin' The Cost To Be The Boss
**
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B.B. KING - The Great B.B. King 1960

B.B. KING - The Great B.B. King 1960

Blues

Part of Ace's on-going series of mid-price releases based on B.B. King's original Crown LPs. The Great B.B. King LP was released in 1960 to coincide with his big R&B hit 'Sweet Sixteen', and was comprised of a potpourri of his recordings from ...    Full Description1952-1960. As on other reissues, Ace has added eight bonus tracks from the vaults, six of which have never been reissued in any format. The song 'Bim Bam' also makes its debut - this is the controversial recording which B.B. didn't like at the time because it was in the jiving ''rock 'n' roll'' style! ACE. 2005.
**
01. Sweet Sixteen
02. (I’m Gonna) Quit My Baby
03. I Was Blind
04. What Can I D AKA Just Sing The Blues
05. Some Day Somewhere AKA Someday Baby
06. Sneakin’ Around
07. Ten Long Years AKA I Had A Woman
08. Be Careful With A Fool
09. Whole Lotta’ Love AKA Whole Lot Of Lovin'
10. Days Of Old
**
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B.B.KING - Live 2008

B.B.KING - Live 2008

Blues

It has been estimated that blues great B.B. King has played more than 10,000 shows in a career spanning nearly 60 years. Whenever the King of the Blues has carried his venerable guitar Lucille onto any stage at any time, the performance has become an unforgettable classic--and on occasion has been immortalized on some of the greatest live albums ever issued. Yet in 2006, he marked a first when he recorded a live album at two of his own clubs, B.B. King's Blues Club in Nashville, Tennessee on October 26/27 and in Memphis on October 29/30. The best of these memorable concerts are now presented in both the DVD and CD formats as LIVE! (Geffen/UMe), released February 19, 2008.

For the two-hour-plus DVD, the concerts were taped in high definition video and mixed in 5.1 Surround. Bonus material includes a behind-the-scenes “making of” feature and a special message from King to his fans. To fit on a single CD, the audio disc features 12 of the DVD’s 18 songs.

On LIVE!, backed by his remarkable touring band, B.B. lays down quintessential performances from his signature tune “The Thrill Is Gone” to “When Love Comes To Town,” the song that introduced him to a new generation in the late 1980s, to Big Bill Broonzy’s “Key To The Highway,” for which he teamed with disciple Eric Clapton in 2000. He also performs a pair of songs he has never before recorded--the standards “You Are My Sunshine” and “When The Saints Go Marching In.”
B.B.’s band opens the show on the DVD sans King with “Manhattan Blues” and “Two I Shoot.” During the concert, the musical icon revives his ‘50s and ‘60s R&B hits “Rock Me Baby,” “Don’t Answer The Door” and “Why I Sing The Blues” plus other B.B. gems from that era such as “A Whole Lot Of Lovin’,” “Ain’t That Just Like A Woman,” “Bad Case Of Love,” “I Need You So,” “Darling, You Know I Love You” and “All Over Again.” Along with the early ‘70s hit “Guess Who” is “Blues Man” from the late ‘90s.
King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, becoming one of the first artists so honored. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked him #3 among the “100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time.” In 2006, he was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest honor awarded to a civilian; his 1964 album Live At The Regal was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame; and he won his 14th Grammy Award, for Best Traditional Blues Album for B.B. King & Friends: 80, which celebrated his 80th birthday the previous year. He has won eight previous Grammys in that category and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. “The Thrill Is Gone” is also in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Whether live at the Regal, San Quentin, the Apollo, or a B.B. King’s Blues Club, B.B. King rules over the blues.
**
01. Mr. King Comes On Stage
02. Why I Sing The Blues
03. I Need You So
04. Bad Case of Love
05. Bluesman
06. When Love Comes to Town
07. All Over Again
08. You Are My Sunshine
09. Rock Me Baby
10. Key To The Highway
11. Thrill Is Gone
12. When The Saints Go Marching In
**
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B.B. KING, Pat Metheny & Dave Brubeck-Move To The Groove 1999

B.B. KING, Pat Metheny & Dave Brubeck-Move To The Groove 1999

Blues

This album is simply perfect, it introduced me to jazz and blues, it has some of my Dave Brubeck's preferred performances.JUST BUY IT.
By André Capaverde Kugland.
**
B.B.King- Main Performer
Pat Metheny- Main Performer
Dave Brubeck- Main Performer
Heath Brothers;
The Heath Brothers was a jazz group formed in 1975 by brothers:
Jimmy- ( Saxophones),
Percy- (Bass),
Albert "Tootie" Heath- (Drums)
Stanley Cowell- (Piano)
Tony Purrone- (Guitar) and
Jimmy's son Mtume- (Percussion) joined the group later.
**
01. Introduction (:49)
02. Move to the Groove (7:26)
03. Lover Man (7:31)
04. Blue Rondo a la Turk (7:22)
05. Ol' Bill Basie (6:40)
06. Thrill Is Gone (5:15)
07. Guess Who? (5:56)
08. Paying the Cost to Be the Boss (6:17)
**
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B.B.KING & Bobby Bland - Together For The First Time, Live 1974

B.B.KING & Bobby Bland - Together For The First Time, Live 1974
Label: Mca

Blues

If you enjoy the live blues scene, you'll love this piece. You can almost feel the ambiance of a dimly lit, smokey blues club. Poor yourself a mellow bourbon,light up a fine cigar and enoy a laid back evening with the legendary blues of Mr. B.B. King & Bobby Blue Bland. The bond of these two long time friends is obvious in their free-flowing dialog and makes for a comfortable evening of easy listening. This release has been somewhat overlooked throughout the years.....
Share it with your friends.
By  Loose Bruce.
**
01. Three O' Clock Blues B.B. King 3:25
02. It's My Own Fault Bobby Bland 4:14 
03. Driftin' Blues Bobby Bland 5:08  
04. That's The Way Love Is Bobby Bland 3:55 
05. I'm Sorry Bobby Bland 9:53 $0.99 
06. I'll Take Care Of You Bobby Bland 3:49 
07. Don't Cry No More Bobby Bland 2:42 
08. Don't Answer The Door Bobby Bland 3:49 
09. Medley: Good To Be Back Home Bobby Bland 14:07
10. Everybody Wants To Know Why I Sing The Blues Bobby Bland 6:18 
11. Goin' Down Slow B.B. King 5:12  
12. I Like To Live The Love Bobby Bland 6:02
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