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



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001)

Image
 944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001) Studio Album - World Music About the Act: Manu Chao is a French-Spanish musician of Spanish descent who grew up on the outskirts of Paris. In the mid-80s he was in a Spanish/English rockabilly group called Hot Pants. In 1987, with his brother and cousin he founded the band Mano Negra, combining punk and world music influences and playing on the Paris Metro. This band took off and had 4 studio albums. In 1995 Manu "went solo", forming the band Radio Bemba Sound System to be his backing band. The punk elements were less prominent, but he started to make music that "replicates the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures". He has been really popular in parts of Europe.  About the Album: This album was Manu Chao's second studio album as a "solo" artist. In Spanish, the name means "Next Station: Hope", after a real station on the Madrid Metro. The album reached top 10 slots ...
Read more

840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990)

Image
 840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990) Compilation (double) - Girl Group (Soul/Bobby Soxer/Do-Wop) About the Album: This is a highly acclaimed compilation in 2CDs by Rhino Records. It's the sort of thing that in this country you might expect to see at 3.99 in a Garden Centre. My History with this Album: None Review: There are not many multi-artist compilations in this series for reviewing. There is not information about it on Wikipedia, but the reception seems to have been positive. It is choc-full of hits with a smattering of lesser-known songs, and it's hard not to imagine Grease or similar situations - girls with cardigans and white socks, listening to the juke box while sipping milkshakes in the drug store. On one level it's a fun collection of songs that you could use to feel nostalgic, or as the music for a themed party. On another level it's kind of like a cultural artefact. I feel honour-bound to describe it, even though if I drop ...
Read more

843 Chambers Brothers - The Time has Come (1967)

Image
 843 Chambers Brothers - The Time has Come (1967) Studio Album - Psychedelic Soul About the Act: The Chambers Brothers are an American Psychedelic Soul band from LA, who were formed in 1954 and are still going. They were at heart four brothers, but I think they have now all left the band.  About the Album: This was their debut album (12 years on from forming as a band), and it spawned their most successful single Time Has Come Today. My History with this Album: None. I had never heard of the Chambers Brothers before this list. Review: I am not an American, nor a Social Historian, but I think I can accurately claim that in 1960s America there was a certain separation between the Black community and other communities. As a result of this, and for marketing reasons, the idea of music that was created with a Black audience in mind was an actual thing. I'm not sure if today we would be quite so sure about what constitutes "Black Music", but then, I think, they were generally q...
Read more