Customer Reviews

Blues on the Bayou

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Some styles of music are universal and B. B. King's music is indeed universal. It doesn't what matter kind of music you like, you can't help but find youself tapping your feet and groovin' to these tunes. Blues on the Bayou is a really laid back, toe tappin', sittin' up all night jammin' with the boys kind of album. When I listen to this album I can just imagine myself sitting in a smokey blues bar listening to the "king" do his magic with Lucille. The truely great musicians keep on getting better and transcend time with their work.

B. B. said this was a "back to basics" jam "...with my conviction that this current band is my best ever." I would have to agree.

If this cd doesn't make you tap your feet and bang your desktop than nothing will. This is pure BB King at his best. His powerhouse ballads and rocking blues numbers make you want to get up and dance. Highlight songs are "I Will Survive" and "Blues Man", two songs which touch the heart. If anyone plans on starting a BB King collection I highly recommend starting with this one.

B.B. King has been playing the blues for six hundred or so years and has released six million or so albums. The battle for listeners who are trying to introduce themselves to his work is to decide upon which album to make a first acquaintance. "Blues on the Bayou" may not be the greatest, most earth-turning disc the King of the Blues has ever cut, but it sure sounds the best and, after all, if you expect a six-hundred year old dog to teach you some new tricks, it's your problem, not his.

On the other hand, if your love of the blues extends to a couple of Gary Moore compilations and a Jeff Healey live album, "Blues on the Bayou" ought to be some sort of conversion on the road to Damascus for you (if it isn't, you're missing something: most likely, the point).

It is 1998, the King is in his dotage, but he's got a crack band behind him, a seriously funky cat on a soupy, soupy hammond and a production budget to die for, so everything is tight as a drum and crystal clear. His famous Gibson, Lucille, sounds the money, too - but then, she ALWAYS sounds the money. Even in his prime B.B. never cut up the stage with the guitar heroics of some of his contemporaries, always being much happier to float a high E up there, or honk around a bit further down the fretboard all in the most conversational kind of way. It's an avuncular style which hasn't changed, and it suits him more and more as he gets on - he gives his band plenty of room to set up a nice groove.

His chatty vocals set the whole thing off. Just like his guitar playing, B.B. singing is of the blues, but he never sounds unhappy, as if just having a bunch of the guys kicking up a righteous shuffle is enough to chase them ol' blues away. After listening to 45 minutes of this, it's hard to argue with that.

I HAVE COLLECTED EVERY CD A CAN FIND OF B.B.KING HOWEVER, NONEMATCH THIS ONE. BREAKAWAY FROM THE STUDIOS MORE OFTEN AND GIVE US MOREOF BLUES YOUR WAY. I'LL BE PATIENTLY WAITING FOR THE NEXT CD, I'VE ALREADY WORE OUT TWO COPIES OF BLUES ON THE BAYOU.

Having spent my first four decades worshipping rock,
my ear has been wandering of late. I've tried jazz,
it's just not me. I've tried classical, what a
snooze. But I stumbled across BB's brand of blues
this past year, and I gotta tell ya...I'm a BIG fan!
This CD in particular has struck a chord with me so
large that I have been buying copies of this for all
my friends...there's not a looser on here, folks.
If blues appeals to you at all, give this one a chance.

This is a great blues CD. BB's guitar tone and playing is simply magnificent. So easy to listen to. Please if you like blues get this CD. You can see why this guy is a legend.

Every time I listen to B.B. King's "Blues on the Bayou" I get hungry for Memphis barbecue ribs. B.B.'s syrupy and drippy voice, the band's hot and spicy guitar licks, fat and meaty bass lines, sharp and tangy horn and piano accompaniments make for a delectable listening experience. Each time I finish listening to the CD I find myself with a grin on my face, reaching for a toothpick and a moist towelette.

One of the best blues guitarist b.b. king still goes on playing.His new album includes 15 wonderful song. This album opens with three perfect song "Blues Boys Tune","Bad Case Of love" and "I'll Survive". He is 73 but still one of the bests like Stevie ray vaughan,John lee hooker,Carlos Santana etc... UFO blues-rock 'zine

Just plain fantastic. This thing will knock your socks off, from the drive of "Bad Case of Love" to the plaintive "Blues Man." B.B. has outdone himself this time-- he wrote all the songs, he and Lucille performed them perfectly. Most important, this is the first album he produced himself-- and the recording quality is superb. You've never heard B.B. King (or his great band) like this. Buy it. Change your life.

I've always liked B.B. King's music ever since I was a kid when I'd catch him on TV periodically. He just seemed genuine in his playing and the style and sound was something that appealed to me personally. So I started to collect some of his music in the late 70's after I got out of college.

Then I had the privilege of seeing him perform "live" twice in the mid 90's while I lived in Spokane, WA. His love of the music and his joy in bringing it to you was palpable. The thrill was definitely not gone for Riley B. King.

So I started to revisit his catalog and I came across Blues On The Bayou. The reviews were sterling across the board, but what attracted me to this particular disc out of all 15 or so that I have was that he used his ROAD BAND in the studio. For many artists, this is not standard practice. They use producer chosen studio folks for their recording sessions. This is one reason that mainstream music coming out of Nashville has that "sameness" to it - it's all the same guys playing in different configurations behind a variety of artists. The music might as well come off the end of a conveyor belt coming out of a factory for all the originality it displays.

Well, not in this case. First thing they did here was use a little recording studio somewhat off the beaten track. This is good strategy because it eliminates the distractions over the course of the days given over to recording. There's just pretty much you and the music and so you can get deeper into it as you attempt to find the best sounds in recording it. In the case of this disc, it paid off in spades.

The choice of songs fits the title and the musicianship is top notch across the board. If you like lively, smooth sounding blues, you can't go wrong here. Sample the various tunes and I dare you to tell me I'm wrong....