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Anthology
B.B. King
Anthology
Genres: Blues, Jazz, Pop, R&B
 
The two-disc, 34-track Anthology could be subtitled "The Crossover Decades," for it covers the years when B.B. King (like his "Sweet Little Angel") spread his wings. Spanning the era 1962-1998, the set begins when King was...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: B.B. King
Title: Anthology
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Deja Vu Italy
Release Date: 12/28/2007
Album Type: Import
Genres: Blues, Jazz, Pop, R&B
Styles: Contemporary Blues, Regional Blues, Memphis Blues, Electric Blues, Modern Blues
Number of Discs: 5
SwapaCD Credits: 5
UPC: 076119510419

Synopsis

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The two-disc, 34-track Anthology could be subtitled "The Crossover Decades," for it covers the years when B.B. King (like his "Sweet Little Angel") spread his wings. Spanning the era 1962-1998, the set begins when King was a recording veteran whose renown was confined to the blues ghetto. Applying vocal grit and guitar sting to the dramatic call-and-response of his material, King won rock converts with his Live at the Regal album (represented here by two highlights), climbed the pop charts with the string-laced "The Thrill Is Gone," employed the jazz grooves of the Crusaders and the soul tinge of the Memphis Horns, and even invaded MTV with U2's "When Love Comes to Town." More scattershot survey than comprehensive career summary, this collection isn't as consistent as King's single-disc hits compilations or as expansive as his four-disc King of the Blues box, but it amply documents his staying power. --Don McLeese

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CD Reviews

Excelent Sampler From the King of the Blues
Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 01/01/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)

"For the novice fan on a budget, this is an excellent primer from one of the giants of modern electric blues. It completely duplicates 1998's single-disc Greatest Hits and expands it with an additional 18 songs--all of them gems. This collection begins with his first single for MCA "How Blue Can You Get" from 1963 through "I'll Survive" from 1998's Blues on the Bayou. [The only other track from the Nineties is "Playin' With My Friends," a duet with Robert Cray from Blues Summit. While recent albums like Riding with the King, Making Love Is Good for You and Let the Good Times Roll show that King is still a viable artist, you can't include everything on a two-disc set that covers 35 years!]Short of buying the 4-disc box set King of the Blues, a more economical second purchase would be ACE Records excellent single-disc, 25-track The Best of the Kent Singles to give you a sampling of B.B. King's pre-1963 output. If you're looking for confirmation that B.B. King is truly the King of the Blues, these 34 tracks should be adequate proof. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED"
For Collectors Only
Redgecko | USA | 08/14/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you're a B. B. King collector then this compilation has 3 unique offerings that are noteworthy:1. complete version of Gambler's Blues (90 seconds longer) than found on King of the Blues (4 CD box set). Due to some unfathomable screw-up, the 90 second guitar intro was cut off of the version on the Box Set!! The whole song is on this Anthology collection (also complete version is on Classic Live performances). It is a great live intro.2. long version (7" version) of When Love Comes to Town is on this Anthology. A one minute shorter version is on the King of the Blues box set (recorded without the solo Bono verses). In my opinion, the longer version with Bono doing more singing is better.3. This Anthology has a longer (by 4 minutes) version of Stormy Monday Blues than appears on the album Blues Summit. The Anthology album notes say that theirs is the unedited version but it is actually a different version. If you listen to the part where Albert Collins takes over the vocals, it is obvious that his singing is totally different than on the Blues Summit version. Also note that Stormy Monday Blues was recorded over a 5 day period indicating that multiple takes were done."
WHY SO MANY LIVE TRACKS????
Petri | Slovakia, Middle Europe | 05/10/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)

"First. I love B. B. King' s singing and his guitar playing even more. This is a collection of great performances. BUT, why ARE MOST OF THE TRACKS ON THE FIRST DISC< ALTHOUGH NOT STATED LIVE? Well, all of them are great, but what I expected were the studio versions except from the two numbers culled off Live at the Regal. This is an anthology, it's not entitled "Live Anthology". Plus, there is a nice CD called "How Blue can you get?", which is a live Anthology, so these selections were not necessery, although they are high quality music.

Three stars because of the inclusion of as many live tracks. The music itself is pure five stars, but be careful if you want the studio versions of B. B.'s tracks presented here. You Won't find them here and you may have somewhat strange feelings towards this CD.You can love it for what it does include but be angry too because it's not exactly what you wanted."