997 B.B. King - Live in Cook County Jail

997 B.B. King - Live in Cook County Jail


Live album - Blues




About the Act:

BB King was a Blues singer, guitarist and songwriter whose career spanned from 1942 to 2014, shortly before his death in 2015 at the age of 89. He was born on a cotton plantation in the Mississippi Delta, and was one of the foundational proponents of electric blues, bringing the music to a much wider audience. He is considered a pioneer of the kind of rambling electric guitar soloing that became the hallmark of Eric Clapton and Gary Moore in later years.  His guitar was famously called "Lucille". He was a prolific tourer, averaging 200 shows a year into his 70s. 

About the Album:

One of the wardens of Cook County Jail approached BB King after a concert and persuaded him to come and do a concert for the inmates in the jail, which he did on 10th September 1070. He played in a courtyard to 2,117 prisoners, most of whom were young black men. As he is introduced at the start of the album, the Sheriff and a Judge are also introduced, to a mixture of applause and boos.

My History with this Album:

None

Review:

The sad thing for me is that I have not heard this album before today.  My "home" music genre is Prog Rock, but blues is my number two, and I have for years listened to live albums by Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, Ry Cooder and others, and this form of rambling, slow electric blues warms the cockles of my heart and puts shivers down my spine. This album is a masterwork showcase of slowhand blues, cliche-ed though it may seem.  King's guitar, Lucille has an incredible, expressive tone, as he teases and tickles the notes out of her.  The backing band are just spot on - especially the pianist, and the horn section. I absolutely love it, and if you love slow blues, you will love it too. There is, however, one huge flaw to this album - it's really short, at less than 40 minutes. It really should have been a double album.

8/10



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