Customer Reviews

Great Moments With B.B. King

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

 

 

Compared to other efforts, "Great Moments With B.B. King" is something of a lesser effort. The first half of the album is comprised of intimate, live club performances. The second half are studio tracks. If you love "ol' school" sounding blues then this is for you. Part of the ol' school trick comes from the mixing. Whether live or in the studio, these records are usually mixed to sound as if the drums and bass guitar are in the back of the stage/studio, followed by organ and/or rhythm guitar in the middle, with horns, lead guitar & vocals up front. This album sticks by the ol' school method faithfully and sounds better for doing so. The studio cuts are not as great as the small club performances; the first 5 live tracks are especially mindblowing.

Maybe you've heard the King or Lucille sound better on other albums and you may be right, but the feeling is still overwhelming. This album is authentic, gritty blues from the King that would soon be replaced by the air-tight, blemish-free performances we now know (but love anyway).

.... but it would be nice when, putting together a CD like this, MCA would have at least had the decency to say, on either the cover or the reverse, that the first 9 tracks are from "live" performances. You only get to discover that when you get it home, take off the covering, slap it in the player and listen to it because the insert contains nothing more than a re-listing of the contents. No recording dates, no discography details, no sessionography information.

There are, I am certain, a fair number of collectors who will attest to the fact that, among the legends of Blues, R&B, R&R, Pop and Country/Rockabilly, heading a list of those whose original singles hit versions are THE most difficult to pin down is Riley "Blues Boy" King. That's because no one has re-recorded his hits more than this man. From 1951 to 1992 he chalked up 75 of them on the R&B charts and had 37 of them cross over to various aspects of the Billboard Pop Hot 100, including the "Bubbling Under" charts. And he's probably re-done each of them a dozen times.

This makes it frustrating enough for collectors of original hits, but when you throw out a 23-track volume without any indication either on the outside or inside as to whether any are the original hit versions that borders on false advertising.

The blurb that appears above says these were "originally issued on ABC Bluesway between 1965 and 1967." So, does that mean that the versions we hear of Paying The Cost To Be The Boss and I'm Gonna Do What They Do To Me are the ones issued on BluesWay 61015 and 61018 which charted in early 1968? I can't be certain one way or the other.

Thankfully, this kind of stuff no longer appears on the shelves now that we get classic compilations from the likes of Ace, Jasmine and Acrobat of Great Britain and Bear Family of Germany which all provide copious liner notes and discographies, etc., to go along with their excellent sound quality.

B.B. is just the Man. The bass player on these tracks is like an atomic clock, and the whole band just nails it on every track.
Great CD for anyone looking to learn about the King of the blues.

I only own two B.B. King records. I own this one and his 1982 'Love Me Tender' record. And I enjoy both. This is a simply incredible set to own if you like B.B. Spanning 1965 to 1967, this is one of the finest B.B. sets on the market.

Here, B.B. tackles everything from 'Paying The Cost To Be The Boss' to 'Night Life.' And, it features studio tracks and live tracks mixed together.

Overall, if you are a new B.B. fan, start here. It's a simply incredible set featuring B.B. and his longtime "partner," his guitar Lucille.

Highly recommended for the new B.B. King fan. ENJOY!!!

Mid 1960's B.B. King recordings, half of which are live and the other half recorded in the studio. Good compilation of B.B. music, I know there are a lot of compilation CD's out there that are not of the best quality, but this is one of the better ones. On some of the live recordings, he really makes Lucille sing......................

B. B. King / Great Moments with B. B. King: The title don't lie, this CD is FILLED with great moments with B. B. during 1965 to 1967. This is just TOO GOOD to pass up.
Five Stars