BB King - Blues Is King (12 tracks) +Album Reviews

The best, just the best

09/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"B.B. King has produced some wonderful live recordings; no surprise from an artist who performs as much as he does. His "Live at the Regal" is usually cited as the greatest, but in my opinion "Blues is King" is better and more exciting (although "Live at the Regal" is also a great recording). The performances here are blazing, and the guitar sound is achingly beautiful. I bought my first copy sometime in the late 1960s, one of the first blues albums I ever purchased. After thirty years, I still get a chill when B.B. says "we're going to do our best to try and move you tonight...if you like the blues, I think we can." Oh yeah, he can."

It'll make your speakers sweat

09/01/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I discovered this one about the time it came out on vinyl and bought it without really knowing the strength and passion it represents. I've always preferred it to his other live recordings including 'Live at the Regal'. There's something special about BB with a live audience. It'll make your speakers sweat."

Best B.B. performance , but WORST SOUND. Shame on you Univer

Highway 61 Revisited | Dallas, TX USA | 02/03/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Some 20 years after this was sloppily mastered for CD, we are still without a proper sonic upgrade with additional material recorded at the show/s.

Universal should go back to the original 3 or 4 track remote tapes and remix them and include previously unissued material.

The performance is wonderful, but the frequent drop outs, poorly executed tape edits and extremely thin, shrill mastering on the current edition is truly depressing.

Why is B.B. King's greatest live performance completely ignored by Universal and left in this terrible state?"

Hello MCA: Remastered Deluxe Edition needed here!!!

Wah Wah | CA USA | 11/20/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I LOVE/HATE this CD!!!

I LOVE the songlist, Duke Jethro's B-3, Bobby Forte's sax, and B.B's overall performance, which makes this perhaps his best live CD. That's saying a lot considering the other live examples from his prime...Live At Cook County Jail, Live In Japan, Live At The Regal...all of which have been remastered.

I HATE the sound of this CD. As others have so rightly pointed out, the hollow, shrill sound of this makes it hard to put up with. It's just that the performance is quite simply B.B.'s best live CD.

Is anybody at MCA Records listening? What we need here at a minimum is a lovingly made remaster. An Expanded Deluxe Edition Remaster would be a dream come true, giving this release the revered treatment it deserves!!"

BB at his very best!

Denis | NJ, USA | 02/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have heard lots and lots of BB's stuff, both live and on cd's. Everyone who's in any way familiar with BB's work knows what a great live performer he is. But this disc takes the cake, in my opinion. BB works especially hard on this one, both in terms of vocals and guitar work. This disc shows what a truly wonderful guitar player he really is (which I think he is often too humble to fully showcase) and what a talented jazz/blues singer he is. On Track 4 when he's just getting started, he says "we're gonna do our best to try to move you tonight... and if you like the blues, i think we can" and then he starts this intense drive with his guitar and immediately his audiene is wild and hooked. My favorite track is Track 6, called Nightlife. I felt that his guitar work and vocals were especially passionate and heart-felt. "Listen to the blues, people!", he shouts, as he launches Lucille (his guitar) into this absolute mad frenzy for about 20 seconds - one of the most intense guitar drives I've heard him play, and I think he stunned the audience so much that they went absolutely quiet there for a little while. I just wished it was more than 20 seconds because he's such a fine player. What I also enjoyed very much on this album was how he varied the sound of his guitar. Track 12 is the manifestation of that. Excellent guitar work on 12 also, but still not quite the passion of track 6, in my opinion. The groove of track 12 is excellent, though, as well as some of the best vocals I've heard from him - also a different sound for his voice that I haven't heard him use before. Get this album. If you like the blues, you better believe it's gonna move you."

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