Customer Reviews

Do The Boogie! : B. B. King's Early '50s Classics

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

 

 

This is perhaps the best single disc overview of B.B.s early 50's material, which also happens to be when B.B. King was at his very best.

"Do The Boogie" collects 20 songs from Riley "Blues Boy" King's 1950s heyday, which was arguably his best period, and certainly his grittiest.

There are plenty of classics here, including "I Got To Find My Baby", "Why I Sing The Blues", "Woke Up This Morning", "When My Heart Beats Like A Hammer", and King's take on "Crying Won't Help You", and his guitar playing is as gritty as it ever was. His style was always more urban than that of, say, Howlin' Wolf or even Muddy Waters, but there are certainly no overly slick blues ballads here, or hideous covers of contemporary pop songs.

This is great West side blues, and there are also a couple of alternate takes here, and a few tough-to-locate items ("Bye Bye Baby", "Dark Is The Night" parts 1 and 2, "Jump With You Baby"), and compiler Ray Topping has gone out of his way to include a number of songs which aren't usually found on B.B. King-compilations.

This album would make a fine companion to one of the many compilations that focuse on King's post-1960 recordings (like "Anthology 1962-98"), and if you add "Live At The Regal" to the mix, you'll have pretty much all you'll ever need from Riley B. "Beale Street Blues Boy" King.
4 1/2 stars - highly recommended.

This is a great CD! I had several of these songs on old 45 RPM records that I found in an ancient record shop in New Orleans many years ago. It is wonderful to hear this material with great audio from master tapes. I especially love the primitive distorted guitar sound as opposed to the slicker sound of B's later albums.

I bought this CD based on my admiration for B.B.'s contribution to U2's "Love Comes to Town." Guess what. I liked "Do the Boogie" better than anything Bono and his lads have done - they knew what they were doing when they asked B.B. to help out. Everything about this CD is great. The generous number of awesome tunes - each one unique and yet a fitting piece in the puzzle.

Frankly, I never heard anything quite like this before. I like Bobby "Blue" Bland's late 50s early 60s songs a lot. This early 50s B.B. sounds similar but even better and more modern. B.B. obviously had very high standards and not just for himself. The whole band sounds great and the other musicians show their very impressive chops. The production values are obviously all there. Yet B.B. didn't whitewash the songs. They still have quite an edge. Only one problem. What could sound as good?

what a great album if you like early blues ,bb had not found his love "lucille" it is such a distinctive sounding guitar, and boy can he play this guitar as good as,you know it is bb as soon as the first guitar note but nicely different,and sound quality early 50's ?superb.worth every penny.

B.B. King has had an exceptional career! Yet, I find it disturbing that current generations do not recognize the reasons for his popularity, and his contributions to music. B.B. King became a standout blues guitarist in the 50's due to his innovative creation/invention of the "bending vibrato;" a staple in any guitar solo today. Not only was he deemed the most advanced blues guitarist on the radio, but one of the fathers of modern guitar soloing. The tracks on this CD are a must for anyone interested in the blues, B.B. King, or history; as they were the beginning of a new era in music. The solo on 'Whole Lotta Love' is the greatest example of his then new creation. I find it sad that you can't even find it on itunes.

If BB King's entire recording catalog consisted solely of the 20 tracks found on this CD he would still be considered one of the greatest vocalist and guitarists ever. Buy this CD, select track 16 and listen to it over and over... then move on to track 17 and do the same. Good Lord!