King of the Blues Guitar
King of the Blues Guitar
Artist: Albert King
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These 17 tunes come from King’s most fertile period, his 1966-68 tenure at Memphis’s Stax Records. Stax chief Jim Stewart had been reluctant to sign blues artists because he felt straight blues wouldn’t mesh with Stax’s patented Memphis soul. Ironically, the fusion of King’s sharp guitar wails with the dynamic rhythms of Booker T. & the MGs–the Stax house band–was what set King apart from other bluesmen. The unique blend produced classic after classic: Booker T. Jones’ rolling piano propels “Laundromat Blues”. Al Jackson’s drum shuffle supports “Crosscut Saw”. The driving horns of Andrew Love, Wayne Jackson and Joe Arnold accentuate “Born Under a Bad Sign”. King’s ripe and mellow vocals are a perfect match for the soul-drenched music while his dramatic string bends leap out. –Marc Greilsamer
terrible soundThe music we can hear on this cd does not deserve this terrible remastering presented here. The sound is unclear, dark and blurred. Some tracks also contain clicks and pops which (at least where I come from) makes the cd technically incorrect. So in spite of the great songs selection, I am forced to rate this item three stars only. If I wanted to listen to click and pops, I would keep my old record player and listen on the vinyl. These are the kind of clicks that I can remove, so I don’t know how nobody heard that (assuming that there IS someone who’s checking the final product). And then they wonder why people “burn” CDs!!?
Yes indeed!
This is an excellent overview of Albert King’s beginning days with Stax Records and house band Booker T. & the MGs, along with The Memphis Horns. What this offers is the entire landmark Born Under a Bad Sign album which is considered by many to be the definitive urban Blues album. Atlantic packaged that album with some bonus material that is just as great.
King was without a doubt the most prolific Blues guitarist of his generation, and his sound spawned more imitators than even B.B. King. The remastered Rhino CD The Very Best of Albert King is the place to go to get the full effect of Albert’s Blues power. His guitar doesn’t stand out here near as much, but this is really a showcase for not only King’s soulful string bending, but for the MGs’ superior ensemble playing. It took the greatest Soul band in the world to be the most perfect band any Blues singer could ask for. Multi-instrumentalist Booker T. Jones will dazzle the listener with the most impressive technically and stylistically Blues piano work I’ve ever heard. And with King’s producer and drummer Al Jackson, Jr. leading the way, these are some of the greatest records ever made - whatever the genre’.
“If you don’t dig this, you got a hole in your soul!”
I honestly cannot believe that possible sexist lyrics on a blues album is a cause for concern. In any case, most of the time it’s poor Albert getting the blues from mean, mistreatin’ women. (In Laundromat Blues his woman is meeting her lover at the local laundromat - women eh?)
From top to bottom this album is a delight - there isn’t a single slack moment on this record. Albert’s singing (especially on “The Very Thought of You”) is as sweet as a choir of angels, his guitar as dirty and funky as Hell itself. Add in Booker T and the MGs (just listen to Al Jackson Jr an “Cold Feet” - stunning)and you have one of the greatest blues compilations in existence.
Charles Shaar Murray in his book “Blues on CD” said that if he were rating CDs on a five star basis then this album would get a six. It is truly indispensable for anyone with even a passing interest in the blues.