Customer Reviews

B.B. King: Live

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I own many BB King concert DVD's from over the years. I have also been fortunate enough to see Mr King live in concert twice over the past three years. This concert recording totally captures the magic that happens at a BB King show. It shows his solid and tight band, his interaction with the audience, and his mucial talent/gift of guitar and singing that he still holds at the age of 82 years young. This DVD capitalizes on all of the modern recording technology available including the fantastic camera angles with cranes and hand helds. Plus, this is the first concert showing the band members names on the screen and how long they've played with Mr King. Also, I liked how just about each segment also titled which club and date they were showing us. In recent years, A & E released "Live By Request" and The Jazz Channel recorded and released a live concert by BB King and they were both fantastic, but "Live" is the total package of great use of technolgy, engineering, camera angles, audience response, and capturing the mood of actually being there. If you're a BB King fan or a blues fan, don't hesitate to order this DVD and the companion CD. If you're not, do it anyway! You won't regret it.

Upon seeing BB King perform recently in Altoona,Iowa,I was impatient to order his latest DVD. Finding it online was easy,the vendor shipped it quickly and I have watched it with great pleasure.Filmed in the fall of 2007 from his night clubs in Nashville and Memphis,the audience reaction and professionalism of the recording crew to BB's genuine desire to entertain was an unqualified success. Special features on the dvd enhance the content and are something not to be missed. I would rate it with five large stars for this Blues Master at 82 and still going strong....An exceptional value.....Jazzman joe

This is a must have for the ultimate B. B. King fan. He is one of our last living treasures, so to have one of his latest concerts is a treat!

This DVD is B.B. Kings most recent live recorded performance. It was recorded at B.B's Memphis and Nashville clubs. At eighty-one years old Mr. King is a musical marvel. He doesn't miss a beat and seamlessly integrates his music, his band, and his amazing voice. And by virtue of this stalwart fusion, he literally holds the enthusiastic live crowd in the palm of his hand. The selections on this DVD combine songs from both sides of B.B.'s menu of blues. The tunes range from soothing mellow blues to rocking blues. Just when you think B.B. can only relax you, a rumbling blue thunder that starts deep inside his chest culminates in a growling rocking blues eruption. There are also some nice horn solos by his band and B.B. shows he can still bend those strings the way electric blues strings were meant to be bent. I saw B.B. interviewed on CNN last night (2/18/08) and the reporter asked him; out of all his songs in his long career which song did he feel he was most identified with? B.B. said: "I'll tell you a secret, just between you and me, if you don't tell anyone. (Remember this is on national TV.) It's "THE THRILL IS GONE". But the secret is that I play it different every time I play it!"

Included on this release along with "THE THRILL IS GONE" are other old favorites such as "WHEN LOVE COMES TO TOWN" with B.B. sharing with the audience some inside info about the creation of that song. He also records "YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE" and "WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN" for the first time ever. I recommend this CD to people of all age groups and all types of music lovers. B.B.'s talent and performance on this DVD bridges all generations and genres. I truly believe Mr. King has found the "BLUES-FOUNTAIN-OF-YOUTH" and when the last song on the DVD "WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN" plays you're ready to jump in line and follow his parade wherever it may lead!

This is a superior DVD in sound, video and content, with the concert running nearly 2 hours. The transition between the four shows is done very well. This DVD was put together with a lot of love for the fans. B. B. King wanted this to be the best of the best - Perhaps a legacy... The guitar work is blazing and his band is great.

It cracked me up when he kept having problems with his bow tie and asks for assistance from the crowd to help remove it (He never misses a step during the on-going song). The young man that helped puts out his hand for the tie but B. B. King hands it to the young lady a few seats down.

All of the songs are well done. My favorite - Well - Do you know U2?

I liked the 2 special features too, with a 15 minute making of the DVD (More than just technical details - some history too), and a 10 minute message from B. B. King to his fans. He seems to realize time is creeping up on him and mentions Lucille will not be buried with him, but wants her at the grave-side.

Also, B. B. King mentions the song See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (By Blind Lemon), but it is not on this DVD - The song appears on a re-issue of the 2009 Soundstage show in Chicago (Credits indicate filmed in 2008), which is a one night performance. The title is noted as B.B. King: Live (2009) - ASIN: B004USUOUE.

Hope this helps. j

This is B.B.King & his great touring band up close & personal. B.B. has great interaction with the audience. He was 81 years old when this was filmed at his club in Nashville on October 26 & 27, 2006, and at his club in Memphis on October 29, & 30, 2006. B.B.King is not only one of the best blues musicians ever, he is also a pure Southern Gentleman. He tells stories about his early years, growing up on a Mississippi plantation, and driving a tractor in the fields. He said he had been wanting to do an up-close and personal concert like this for quite some time.

Note: This is all electric blues, the band is fantastic, you get horns, keyboards, another guitar player, bass player, & the whole works bascially. Of course, B.B. has his trusty companion "Lucille" as his electric guitar, and man can he play.

I'm not sure of the running time, but this is a full-length concert, put together very well. B.B. is very sharp in this dvd. The music is outstanding.

This concert includes the song "When Love Comes To Town". He explains that the Rock Band U2 & Bono wrote that song for him. It is included in U2's Rattle & Hum DVD, with B.B. performing with U2.

At the end of the concert, B.B. throws out handfulls of guitar picks, and even passes out soviniers.

This is one GREAT show from beginning to end.

I do believe this is the best blues concert dvd that I've seen.

Thanks!!!

I lived in Nashville & had seen Mr. King several times at his place there. I also went to Memphis with some friends & saw him there too. Over the years I have seen & heard Mr. King sevsral times, even once at the Exit Inn in Nashville. So I am well aquainted with him, his Band & his music. This DVD shows him at Memphis & Nashville. While the quality of both sound and video could have been better, the DVD shows Mr. King doin' what he does best. Playing & talking to the people that love him!!! With that being said I suggest that if you don't have this DVD, you need to add it to your collection. You want be sorry!!!! Peace & Love, ~Billy~

Bought it as a gift for my dad ,watched it with him and we really enjoyed it.This definitely BB's best performance yet.I would recommend this dvd to anyone looking for a gift for a blues fan or even themselves!

First, let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of B.B. King as a person, a singer, and a guitar player. I think that he has done a great deal to popularize the Blues and spread it all over the globe. He is to electric Blues what John Hammond is to Country Blues; they are both ambassadors. When I saw B.B. perform live in September of 2000 at Jones Beach Arena on Long Island, New York, it was B.B.'s 75th birthday concert, also featuring Buddy Guy and the wonderful Corey Harris. That night, B.B. gave an excellent performance. His singing was strong and his guitar playing was beautifully crafted. Unfortunately, this dvd finds B.B. in very bad shape, partially because he has aged a lot, partially because he spends a lot of time talking with the crowd and cutting off songs instead of performing, partially because the setlist is poor, partially because his guitar playing is sparse, and partially because his voice has most definitely weakened a great deal in the last five years. Again, I admire the man for all he has done for the Blues, I'd love to meet B.B. in person and talk with him, and I will always cherish that amazing concert I saw eight years ago. Unfortunately, as an enormous Blues fan and aspiring Blues historian, I have no other choice but to review this dvd as if I had never heard of B.B. King (in other words, eliminating any prejudices); evaluating and assigning a certain number of stars to this release by using my ears only, and not my strong admiration for B.B. King. In the future, I hope to hear and see some better releases from Mr. King, and I also hope that he records some new music with his band, and not with guest artists.

This is just very sad. Like old boxers, singers need to know when to hang it up too. The voice is a rasping skeleton of what it used to be. The King has been running on fumes for over 25 years now. It's time to put it to bed B.B. Your concerts are a traveling travesty. Seriously, all these "Legends" tours are just a big marketing shams for suburbanites with nothing better to do.