Customer Reviews

B.B. King - Greatest Hits

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This is an extremely brief single-disc summary of B.B. King's MCA output beginning with his first single for the label, 1963's "How Blue Can You Get?" through his pairing with Robert Cray on "Playin' with My Friends" from 1993's Blues Summit all-star recording. Among the many highlights are two tracks ("Every Day I Have the Blues" and "Sweet Little Angel") from the essential Live at the Regal, "The Thrill Is Gone" (which went to No. 15 in 1970, making it the highest charting blues song ever on the U.S. pop charts!) and the chilling "When Love Comes to Town" with U2. While condensing 30 years of music onto a single disc is an impossible task, this makes an excellent primer for novice fans on a budget. RECOMMENDED [Note: Last November MCA released the 2-disc B.B. King Anthology. It includes EVERY song on Greatest Hits, plus an additional 18 songs. For a few extra bucks, this would be the album to get instead.]

The only reason that I can think of as to why no one has bothered to review this cd is because those of us who are fans already have most of the tracks on here. But for those of you who have only recently seen the light and have become BB fans and don't know where to start, this is the perfect cd for you. This cd was put out only recently, and it does a great job of covering BB's older songs as well as some from the more recent "Blues Summit". This is far superior to the way-too-short "Best of BB King" LP that we were stuck buying until this one came out. All but three or four of the songs on "Best of.." are covered here also. The point is, if you are only going to buy one BB King album (and may I ask WHY???). this should be it. In my opinion, every one of these songs, especially the incredibly durable blues classic "The Thrill is Gone", belong in everyone's music collection. Once you check this one out, you will immediately want to get into some of his other albums, of which I would recommend "Completely Well", "Back In The Alley", and of course the new one, "Blues On The Bayou". Do yourself a big favor and buy the cd, you're gonna love it.

This BB King quote, stated to David Ritz, was his conclusion to why he chose to play and sing blues over his other love, gospel music. "A gospel song would get me a pat on the head," he said. "But a blues would get me a dime." The blues earned King not only more than his share of dimes, but a spot among music's seminal performers and teachers. Despite Ritz properly mentioning that King's music was too blue for rock and roll or soul during his early career, he has become as much a caretaker of rock's traditions as of the blues themselves.

This one-disc collection, even at 16 songs, seems too little space for BB King's prolific, quality output, especially after 1992's expansive "King Of The Blues" box. But "Greatest Hits" timed to King's most recent rock-oriented successes: his "How Blue Can You Get?" sampled on a pop hit, his U2 collaboration, his Robert Cray duet on "Playing With My Friends" (from "Blues Summit," among the 90s best blues releases), even "Paying The Cost To Be The Boss" covered by Pat Benatar! With remarkable liner notes and references to original ABC/MCA LPs (nearly all in print), "Greatest Hits" is a sampler tour through BB King's immense, classic blues catalogue.

It's also another chance to hear King with much better sound, courtesy of compiler Andy McKaie (who handled MCA's exceptional Chess blues compilations) and Erick Labson's remastering. It freshly paints Johnny Pate's production on 1964's seminal "Live At The Regal" tracks, King's 1969-70 string of of rockin' blues hits ("Why I Sing The Blues," the original "Thrill Is Gone"), even overlooked gems like Doc Pomus/Dr. John's tailor-made "There Must Be A Better World Somewhere."

What "Greatest Hits" shows most is King's guitar playing and vocal economy; no melismatic vocal trills or guitar hyperspace, even live where crowds needed pleasing. Instead, King's solos in "I Like To Live The Love" and "Don't Answer The Door" press the melody forward, and his underrated vocals show occassional collaborator Bobby Bland's strong "Sinatra Of The Blues" influence. King shared (or at least impressed) these traits on his most recent collaborator, Eric Clapton, and here does with just-enough help from friends like Joe Walsh and Leon Russell (on Russell's "Hummingbird") and Stevie Wonder (on "To Know You Is To Love You..")

"Greatest Hits" is THE King album for casual fans or those who enjoy his rare spins on classic rock or oldies radio. Blues fans wanting to dig deeper should pick up any of the original LPs, including "Live At The Regal," "There Must Be A Better World Somewhere," "Indianola Mississippi Seeds, " or the Bobby Bland collaborations. "Greatest Hits" covers quality ground quickly, and thus remains an essential one-stop blues shop.

This certainly isn't everything you could ever want from the Beale Street Blues Boy, but it does give the first-time listener a pretty accurate idea about what to expect from B.B. King. For better or worse.

His excellent and highly influential 50s singles are missing, which is a shame, especially since some of those were actually sizable hits and this compilation has the audacity to call itself "Greatest Hits".
There are lot of great moments here anyway, like the swinging "Paying The Cost To Be The Boss", the epic "Why I Sing The Blues", and the slow burner "How Blue Can You Get" among them, and they sit next to two cuts from King's highly succesful "Live At The Regal" album, an excellent "Sweet Little Angel" and a hideous "Every Day I Have The Blues" which falls miles short of Memphis Slim's potent original ("Nobody Loves Me").

And there are just too many mediocrities on this album. B.B. King experimented with some sort of pop-blues fusion in the 70s and 80s, and the compilers have included "To Know You Is to Love You", "I Like To Live The Love" and "Hummingbird" from that unfortunate era. The duets with Robert Cray on "Playin' With My Friends" and rock group U2 on "When Love Comes To Town" are not much more uplifting, and too much of this material was recorded well after King's prime.

If you like B.B. King at his most pop-friendly, you will probably enjoy this compilation. If you like him at his grittiest, you will certainly be disappointed. May I suggest the new "Ultimate Collection" instead.

BB King: Greatest Hits is a tremendously wonderful Blues CD. It has all the music you could expect. It's too bad my family has only one BB King CD. But now knowing how good BB King is, I'm going to collect more. So if you like BB King, you'll LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this.

This collection shows the awesome power of B.B. and his lady Lucille. A long time fan of the King of blues it was nice to see such a colorful collection of his best. It is a must hear for all blues lovers young and old.

Make no mistake, having this is better than owning no B.B. King at all!! But before you get this CD, you should also consider "Live at the Regal", or "Live at Cook County Jail", or even "Blues is King", each of which are live performances where "The King of Blues" really shines doing what he does best...playing the blues. This Greatest hits collection features some inferior pop songs and crossover performances which makes it, IMO, less enjoyable and not as essential as the live recordings.

A nice compilation of this blues legend. Some catchy lyrics and strong guitar solos exist throughout this collection. The first seven songs are strictly three chord blues progressions which can be a bit tiresome for some audiences. However, the catchy lyrics make you pay attention to such gems as Paying The Cost To Be The Boss, How Blue Can You Get?, and The Thrill Is Gone.

The next few tracks have a more varied arrangement and get away from the standard three chord progression. BB King gets funky in spots and the use of strings and horns in the background add a nice touch. The duets with Bono and Robert Cray are quite good. A nice intro to this legend, indeed.

B.B. King is the most influential blues guitarist of all time. B.B. is the real deal for so many reasons, and this greatest hits complination is the very best. The first two tracks are taken from Live At Regal one of the best live B.B. King recordings including Every Day I Have The Blues, and Sweet Little Angel. Some other known tracks for the early listner are The Thrill Is Gone, and Hummingbird those are both two tracks that really stand out. Their is a track called Playin' With My Friends (with robert cray), and When Love Comes To Town(with U2). I highly encourage anybody to try this bb. king's greatest hits complination. I also would highly recomend Live At The Regal!

Later in life I`ve discovered the power and energy of B.B.King, and amazed I`ve become his fan. This is a good sample of his style and tempo, and no matter he gets old, his quality remains intact.