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BLUES & GOSPEL
| AL KING | Forevermore 4601 | Blues Master | ● CD $14.98 |
| 15 tracks, 41 mins, highly recommended Though
not a familiar name, Al King (aka Alvin K. Smith) was an excellent West
Coast blues singer with a smooth but powerful vocal style. He was an
excllent songwriter too, often taking familiar sayings and turning them into
blues songs - Think Twice Before You Speak (with the classic line "I
ain't no dentist/ But I'll get your teeth out free")/ Everybody Ain't
Your Friend/ Don't Put Off For Tomorrow and others. He also covers a
couple of Lowell Fulson songs Reconsider Baby and Blue Shadows
and makes them all his own. These recordings were made between 1964 & '68
for the Shirley, Flag and Sahara labels. He is accompanied by excellent
small bands and what elevates his recordings from excellent to outstanding
is the incredible guitar playing of Johnny Heartsman - a truly talented and
innovative musicians. A few of the tracks are listed as being unissued but
they show up in the discography as being issued. Remastering could be a
little better but is generally very good and there are informative notes by
Chris Biehler. (FS) |
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| AL KING | Forevermore 4604 | It's Rough Out Here | ● CD $14.98 |
| First album of new material by West Coast
singer King in over 30 years. |
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| ALBERT KING | Ace CDCHD 827 | More Big Blues | ● CD $18.98 |
| 22 tracks, highly recommended A most welcome
reissue featuring all the sides made by this great and influential singer
and guitarist for Robert Lyons' Bobbin label in St. Louis between 1959 and
1963. Albert first came to national attention with his 1961 recording of the
great Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong which was picked up for
distribution by King Records and became an R&B hit. King subsequently bought
all the masters of Albert's Bobbin recordings and his contract in 1963 and
cut one forgettable session with him (not included here). Although he had no
other hits for Bobbin his performances are consistently fine with powerful
emotional vocals and searing slashing guitar that influenced generations of
blues guitarists. A great collection of slow intense burners and rocking up
tempo numbers with a fine band. There are three previously unissued
alternate takes included. Sound quality is superb and there are notes by the
indefatigable Ray Topping. Wonderful and invaluable music. (FS) ALBERT KING: Blues At Sunrise/ Blues At Sunrise (previously Unreleased)/ Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong/ Dyna Flow/ Got To Be Some Changes Made/ I Get Evil/ I Walked All Night Long/ I'll Do Anything You Say/ I've Made Nights By Myself/ I've Made Nights By Myself/ Just Plain Blues (oo-ee Baby)/ Let's Have A Natural Ball/ Need You By My Side/ Old Blue Ribbon/ Oo-ee Baby/ This Morning/ Time Has Come, The/ Time Has Come, The (previously Unreleased)/ Travelin' To California/ What Can I Do To Change Your Mind/ Why Are You So Mean To Me/ Why Are You So Mean To Me (previously Unreleased) |
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| ALBERT KING | Atlantic 8213 | King Of The Blues Guitar | ● CD $11.98 |
| Great! The cream of the crop from Albert's
first Stax LP, with 6 bonus tracks for a total of 17 high-voltage cuts. Many
of these mid-60's numbers, like Laundromat Blues/ Oh Pretty Woman/
Crosscut Saw/ Born Under A Bad Sign are electric blues classics. The
rest, especially - Personal Manager/ I Almost Lost My Mind/ As The Years
Go Passing By/ Cold Feet/ You're Gonna Need Me are just super, and
certainly to be counted among King's most memorable sides. (MB) ALBERT KING: As the Years Go Passing By/ Born Under a Bad Sign/ Cold Feet/ Crosscut Saw/ Down Don't Bother Me/ Funk Shun/ I Almost Lost My Mind/ I Love Lucy/ Kansas City/ Laundromat Blues/ Oh, Pretty Woman/ Overall Junction/ Personal Manager/ The Hunter/ The Very Thought of You/ You Sure Drive A Hard Bargain/ You're Gonna Need Me |
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| ALBERT KING | King Blues KBCD 471 | Mean Mean Blues | ● CD $8.98 |
| ALBERT KING: I Need You By My Side/ I Walked All Night/ I've Made Nights By Myself/ Just Plain Blues/ The Time Has Come/ This Morning/ Travelin' To California/ Why Are You So Mean To Me | |||
| ALBERT KING | King 852 | The Big Blues | ● CD $9.98 |
| ALBERT KING | Rhino 75703 | The Very Best Of Albert King | ● CD $11.98 |
| Excellent 16 track collection featuring some
of Albert's best sides from throughout his career ALBERT KING: Answer To The Laundromat Blues/ Blues Power/ Born Under a Bad Sign/ Breaking up Somebody's Home/ C.O.D./ Cadillac Assembly Line/ Cold Feet/ Crosscut Saw/ Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong/ I'll Play the Blues for You, Pt. 1/ Laundromat Blues/ Let's Have a Natural Ball/ Oh, Pretty Woman (Can't Make You Love Me)/ Overall Junction/ Personal Manager/ That's What The Blues Is All About |
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| ALBERT KING | Stax 8513 | I'll Play The Blues For You | ● CD $12.98 |
| ALBERT KING: Angel Of Mercy/ Answer To The Laundromat Blues/ Breaking Up Somebody's Home/ Don't Burn Down The Bridge/ High Cost Of Loving/ I'll Be Doggone/ I'll Play The Blues For You/ Little Brother | |||
| ALBERT KING | Stax 8517 | Lovejoy | ● CD $12.98 |
| Reissue of 1970 album - somewhat more
commercially oriented than his previous Stax albums with quite a few songs
written by blues/rock singer Don Nix. ALBERT KING: Bay Area Blues/ Corina Corina/ Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven/ For The Love Of A Woman/ Going Back To Iuka/ Honky Tonk Woman/ Like A Road Leading Home/ Lovejoy, ILL./ She Caught The Katy And Left A Mule To Ride |
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| ALBERT KING | Stax 8522 | Years Gone By | ● CD $12.98 |
| 11 cuts including Killing Floor/You
Threw Your Love On Me Too Strong/Sky Is Crying. |
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| ALBERT KING | Stax 8534 | The Lost Session | ● CD $12.98 |
| An excellent previously unissued set of
recordings that were only recently discovered in the Fantasy vaults. This
album features 10 songs recorded in 1971 produced by British blues
interpreter John Mayall who also plays on this album. The rest of the band
is a mixture of jazz and blues musicians including sax players Clifford
Solomon and Ernie Watts and trumpeter Blue Mitchell who appear on a few cuts
and jazz drummer Ron Selico. The drumming, in particular, with its
syncopated rhythms gives the recordings a jazz flavor that is rarely heard
in Albert's work. His singing and playing, though fine, are a little more
restrained than usual which might explain why it wasn't originally issued. ALBERT KING: All The Way Down/ Brand New Razor/ Cold In Hand/ Down The Road I Go/ Money Lovin' Woman/ She Won't Gimme No Lovin'/ Stop Lying/ Sun Gone Down/ Sun Gone Down/ Tell Me What True Love Is |
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| ALBERT KING | Stax 8536 | I Wanna Get Funky | ● CD $12.98 |
| Reissue of Stax 5505 from 1974. Albert was in
fine form on a selection of blues and soul flavored items with fairly luish
arrangements featuring the Barkays, The Memphis Horns, vocalgroup Hot
Buttered Soul and, on a couple of tracks, The Memphis Symphony Orchestra.
However this is, for the most part, integrated effectively with Albert's
solid blues vocals and mighty string bending. It includes a remake of one of
his first hits Crosscut Saw, a superb version of the minor key soul
ballad Walking The Back Street & Crying plus Playing On Me/ Flat
Tire/ Travelin' Man/ That's What the Blues Is All About, etc. ALBERT KING: 'Til My Back Ain't Got No Bone/ Crosscut Saw/ Flat Tire/ I Can't Hear Nothing But The Blues/ I Wanna Get Funky/ Playing On Me/ That's What The Blues Is All About/ Travelin' Man/ Walking The Streets And Crying |
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| ALBERT KING | Stax 8546 | Blues At Sunrise | ● CD $12.98 |
| Those relentless vault-probers at Fantasy
Records have provided us with a newly discovered live tape from the 1973
Montreux Jazz Festival, and it is amazing. Aside from the previously issued
For The Love Of A Woman this disc is an all killer, no filler,
King-sized thriller. Potent vocals throughout, and when he makes that guitar
talk you better hold on to your beret and listen up good. Nobody wrings as
much emotion out of an amplified wire, and on this day he was ON, boy; we're
talkin' about slash and burn playing with a level of inventive genius that
other recordings only hint at. The recording (by Swiss radio engineers) is
less than perfect but who cares - this music is the real deal and the ticket
is a steal. (MB) ALBERT KING: Blues At Sunrise/ Don't Burn Down The Bridge/ For The Love Of A Woman/ I Believe To My Soul/ I'll Play The Blues For You/ Little Brother (Make A Way)/ Roadhouse Blues |
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| ALBERT KING | Stax 8556 | Wednesday Night In San Francisco | ● CD $12.98 |
| See review under Stax
8557 below. ALBERT KING: Born Under A Bad Sign/ Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong/ Don't You Lie To Me/ Got To Be Some Changes Made/ Personal Manager/ Watermelon Man/ Why Are You So Mean To Me |
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| ALBERT KING | Stax 8557 | Thursday Night In San Francisco | ● CD $12.98 |
| An energetic live pair, recorded in the
summer of 1968 during King's first headlining engagement at The Fillmore.
Albert was riding high on the crossover success of Born Under A Bad Sign,
and Stax was quick to notice his appeal among the hippies, dispatching a
recording crew to document the event. The result was the classic Live
Wire Blues Power LP. The remaining tracks languished in the vaults for
whatever reason (although certainly not for any musical shortcomings),
finally surfacing here after 20 years. Volume 1 has I Get Evil/ Personal
Manager/ Born Under A Bad Sign/ Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong
and more. Volume 2 issues You Upset Me Baby/ Stormy Monday/ Everyday I
Have The Blues/ Crosscut Saw among others. Sharp performances from his
peak blues period. (MB) ALBERT KING: Crosscut Saw/ Driftin' Blues/ Everyday (I Have The Blues)/ I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town/ I've Made Nights By Myself/ Ooh-ee Baby/ San-ho-zay/ Stormy Monday Blues/ You Upset Me Baby |
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| ALBERT KING | Stax 8560 | I'm In A Phone Booth Baby | ● CD $12.98 |
| 9 tracks, 38 min., recommended. Big Al is in
a phone booth with a truck load of love waiting to get his broom dusted. But
just in case, he brought along his guitar so he'd have someone to talk to.
The conversation is good. (Bet the strings get nervous when he picks up his
"Flying V.") Steve Douglas and Cal Lewiston add their brass attacks to keep
things stirred up on Your Bread Ain't Done/ Firing Line/ Brother Go Ahead
And Take Her and others. But check the total running time. Haven't the
fine folks at Fantasy ever heard of reissuing two LPs on one disc? (JC) ALBERT KING: Brother, Go Ahead And Take Her/ Dust My Broom/ Firing Line/ Phone Booth/ The Game Goes On/ The Sky Is Crying/ Truck Load Of Lovin'/ You Gotta Sacrifice/ Your Bread Ain't Done |
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| ALBERT KING | Stax 8570 | The Blues Don't Change | ● CD $12.98 |
| 11 tracks, 43 min., good. This originally
surfaced as an LP entitled The Pinch - either they wanted to sell the
same stuff twice, or correct the sexist offenses of the original cover, or
both. Anyway, here 'tis, with no liner notes, two nice pics of Albert, and a
whole lot of southern-fried soulful blues circa 1974. The disco-fied remake
of Oh, Pretty Woman dates this session, as do the female background
vocals of "Hot Butter & Soul" and King's processed guitar tone. But if you
don't mind your blues a little on the Memphis funky side, there's plenty to
enjoy here, including a haunting I'm Doing Fine, the solid
instrumental King Of Kings, and just plain good songs like The
Blues Don't Change/ Firing Line/ I Can't Stand The Rain. (MB) ALBERT KING: Ain't It Beautiful/ Feel The Need/ Firing Line/ I Can't Stand The Rain/ I'm Doing Fine/ King Of Kings/ Nice To Be Nice (Ain't That Nice)/ Oh, Pretty Woman/ The Blues Don't Change/ The Pinch Paid Off (Part 1)/ The Pinch Paid Off (Part 2) |
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| ALBERT KING | Stax 8571 | Crosscut Saw - Albert King In San Francisco | ● CD $12.98 |
| The first 7 cuts were originally released in
1983 by Fantasy as San Francisco '83 (#9627), marking the end of a 5
year recording hiatus for the blues giant. But more than that, this album of
standards and originals sounds better than anything King has recorded since.
Backed by a solid and unobtrusive four-piece band, Albert puts new heat in
the Muddy Waters' Honey Bee, and jump starts B.B.'s Ask Me No
Questions. Albert also contributes 2 topical tunes (circa '83) in
They Made The Queen Welcome/ Floodin' In California. Two previously
unissued bonus tracks, versions of Crosscut Saw/ Why You So Mean To Me,
are welcome additions that bring the running time up to 47 minutes. Good
stuff. (JC) |
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| ALBERT KING | Stax 8594 | Hard Bargain | ● CD $12.98 |
| 13 Tracks, 47 min, recommended An excellent
collection of B-sides, alternates and unissued cuts waxed during guitar
legend Albert King's stint at Stax. These tunes are made up of 9 tracks with
the Stax Staff (Booker T. Jones, Issac Hayes, Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn and
Al Jackson, Jr.), 1 with the Muscle Shoals boys, (Barry Beckett, David Hood
& Roger Hawkins) and 1 with the Bar Kays crew (Michael Toles, James
Alexander and Willie Hall). King strikes a hard groove from start to finish,
letting loose with plenty of stinging solos and copious amounts of gritty
urban blues and soul. Excellent liner notes by Lee Hildebrand.
Instrumentals, ballads and raveups as well as a great version of The Sky
is Crying. A must have. (PL) ALBERT KING: Albert's Groove/ As The Years Go Passing By/ Drownin' On Dry Land/ Funk-shun/ Got To Be Some Changes Made/ Heart Fixing Business/ I Believe To My Soul/ I Get Evil/ Overall Junction/ Shake 'em Down/ The Sky Is Crying/ You Sure Drive A Hard Bargain/ You're Gonna Need Me |
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| ALBERT KING | Stax 53317 | Blues Power | ● CD $12.98 |
| 5 tracks - Blues Power/ Sun Gone Down/
Match Box Blues/ Angel Of Mercy/ Born Under A Bad Sign. |
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| ALBERT KING | Thirsty Ear 57129 | Talkin' Blues | ● CD $16.98 |
| 7 music tracks + 4 interview tracks, 56 mins,
recommended The great singer/ guitarist captured live in Chicago in 1978.
His backing group is unidentified but does a fine job as Albert works his
way through some of his most popular Stax sides. He's in good form with
powerful, expressive vocals and lots of his distinctive and influential
soaring and swooping guitar licks. Songs include Born Under A Bad Sign/
Rub My Back/ Blues At Sunrise/ Please Come Back To Me and others. There
are three brief interview segments scattered between the tracks and a longer
3 1/2 minute interview with Albert discussing the influence of Bill Graham
on his career. Excellent sound and nice digipack packaging. (FS) |
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| ALBERT KING | Wolf 120.500 | Rainin' In California | ● CD $16.98 |
| Recorded live in Long Beach, California in
1983 |
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| ALBERT KING WITH STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN | Stax 7501 | In Session | ● CD $16.98 |
| Recommended. A unique meeting between a
master & his most able pupil. The 1st recorded meeting between these 2
legends, done for Canadien TV show In Session 12-6-83, done when Stevie Ray
was just breaking big with playing on David Bowie's #1 hit Let's Dance
& recording his debut LP. Albert was in between his last 2 Fantasy studio
LPs, "San Francisco '83" & "I'm In A Phone Booth, Baby" - in fact, it's
Albert's band from those LPs, Tony Llorens (keys), Gus Thornton (b), Michael
Llorens (d) that backs the 2 guitar slingers on these 7 tunes. Highlight is
the 15 minute title tune, which Albert recalls recording at the Fillmore
"with Janis & Jimi", & has Stevie do his best Hendrix imitations. The tunes
range from covers (Call it Stormy Monday/ Don't Lie To Me) to King
tunes (Match Box Blues/ Overall Junction), even Stevie's new hit
single Pride & Joy. (GM) |
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| ALBERT KING/ LITTLE MILTON | Stax 4123 | Chronicle | ● CD $11.98 |
| 6 Albert King cuts and 7 from Little
Milton. ALBERT KING: Angel Of Mercy/ Breaking Up Somebody's Home/ Can't You See What You're Doing To Me/ Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven/ I'll Play The Blues For You/ That's What The Blues Is All About/ LITTLE MILTON: Behind Closed Doors/ If That Ain't A Reason/ If You Talk In You're Sleep/ Let Me Back In/ That's What Love Will Make You Do/ Tin Pan Alley/ What It Is |
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