Customer Reviews

Ultimate Collection

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Well Rhino Records has a history of excellence. They always release quality products which are mastered to the highest standard. This Albert King two-disc set is no exception. I have been an Albert King fan for 40 years and unless you make your own CD, from your own collection (I have over 200 AK CDs from US, Japan, UK, Europe, Australia!)This is the set you should own.
The production is great, the notes are excellent and the track selection is, good (I'll discuss that separately!) and even the photography is excellent!

Well this set was released after the unfortunate death of King in 1992 (the end of 1992). It remains the greatest tribute to him as it includes cuts from each section of his career; King and Bobbin Records, Coun-Tree, Stax, Tomato and Fantasy! It was and remains the only way to get Kings rare Coun-Tree sides like "Lonesome"! And they are great! They are worth the entire price of the set!

The set consists of a journey through the career of Albert King. With openers such as "Natural Ball" and "Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong" (which actually comes from a Billie Holliday track!) it moves on to the rare Coun-tree sides. From here we go the Stax and almost the entire "Born Under A Bad Sign" LP of the 1960s-the one in which Albert made his name. It also includes tunes from the "King of the Blues Guitar" LP. We also hear "Blues Power", cuts from "Lovejoy" and other Stax LPs. There is an interesting and strange edited version of "Angel Of Mercy" not found anywhere else (actually it's disturbing and is the low spot in the collection).

The Tomato cuts like "Cold Women with Warm Hearts" and "Cadillac Assembly Line" add another dimension to the collection. The lone Fantasy track "Phone Booth" ends the compilation. This set was also put out in another abridged collection called "The Very Best Of Albert King" which is also excellent. The best and rarest of King's sides including "Left Hand Woman" and single versions of "Wrapped Up In Love Again" and "Breaking Up Somebody's Home" are to be found only in the Stax UK compilation "Blues For You" only in the UK.

Albert was a unique musical treasure. He was always under appreciated and the fact that this collection is hard to get (I have 3 copies, from 1993, I knew this would happen!). If you only have one Albert King CD, this should be it. I hope Rhino will re-issue this collection soon.

Albert King is one of my all-time favorite bluesmen and guitarists. Although probably not as well known to the average person as B.B. King or even Freddie King, Albert King is as influential if not more so than these other two blues guitar greats. During the late 60's and early 70's Albert King became famous enough to play concerts at rock venues like the Fillmores East and West with Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Allman Bothers Band and others. Among the well known players influenced by Albert King are Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Jimmy Page, Mick Taylor, Paul Kossoff, Rory Gallagher, Johnny Winter, Peter Green, Mike Bloomfield, Joe Walsh etc. Stevie Ray Vaughn was once quoted as saying his biggest influences on guitar were Albert King, Jimi Hendrix and his brother Jimmie Vaughn. This 2 cd remastered compilation contains tracks from 1954 to 1984 for a variety of record labels. There are some early period rarities from the Coun-Tree label which are very hard to find. Arguably his best material was recorded for Atlantic and Stax. Some of his more famous songs which were covered by some of the guitarists mentioned above are included in this set. "Laundromat Blues", "Crosscut Saw", "Born Under A Bad Sign", "You're Gonna Need Me" and "The Hunter" among others are examples. He was a master of string bending and his playing was always funky and soulful. He also had a deep and powerful singing voice. His sideman on the recordings during the Atlantic and Stax years included Booker T. & the MG's, the Memphis Horns, the Bar-Kays and others. Some of my favorite cuts other than those mentioned above include "Oh, Pretty Woman", "Cold Feet" "You Sure Drive A Hard Bargain" & "I'll Play The Blues For You". There were a few of my favorites like his covers of "Killing Floor", "Matchbox Blues", and songs such as "Wrapped Up In Love Again", "Heart Fixing Business", "That's What The Blues Is All About", "Truckload Of Lovin" and "Floodin' In California" which I wish they would have included. I think these were left off in favor of making the set more representative of a wider variety of time periods and recording labels. However chances are if you buy this set you will become addicted to his playing and search out his individual albums. This 2 cd set is a highly desirable introduction to the music of Albert King. Fans of blues and great guitar playing will enjoy this set.

This collection of Albert King is incredible. It is the perfect mixture of Blues, Rock and Funk. His playing on these CDs, especially the live tracks, really hits you in the gut. If you buy this CD it will be money well spent for one of the greatest innovators in blues that there ever was.

This is the one Albert King CD to own. All of his classics are here. The booklet is nice, but not too wordy, and the sound is fantastic. It is easy to see how he influenced Hendrix, Clapton and all the other rock guitarist that played the blues. King is a left handed wizard and it's all heard on these two CD's.

This is a good set for those fans who do not own any CD's of the great Albert King. I bought this set used for the pre and post Stax releases. I would advise purchasing individual CD's that really show how great King was. I would advise purchasing the following cd's:

I Wanna Get Funky
I'll Play the Blues for You
Lovejoy
Live Wire / Blues Power
Thursday Night at the Fillmore West
Wednesday Night at the Fillmore West
In Session with Stevie Ray Vaughn

These albums, in my opinion, are a better option since these were recorded in his prime ( exception with Stevie!). All the tracks on these CD's are great!

The set above covers pre and post Stax releases that are just not as good as the Stax years. However, it covers his entire recording career. It is a good start, but one will find himself yearning for his awesome Stax releases ( 1966 - 1974).

There are several Albert King-compilations on the market, but most of them are single-disc CDs and focus only on his output with one particular record company.

"The Ultimate Collection" is a complete overview of King's entire career. Rhino Records usually know what they're doing when they assemble box sets and greatest hits-compilations, and this one is no exception.
Among the 39 tracks are almost every song from King's greatest album, "Born Under A Bad Sign", and the many (many!) highlights include the funky "Crosscut Saw", the slow burners "As The Years Go Passing By" and "Down Don't Bother Me", the soulful "Born Under A Bad Sign", and the powerful late-60s classics "Laundromat Blues" and "The Hunter".

Albert King's earliest recordings are being short-changed a little bit, but any artist with a career as long as his will certainly have some great cuts left off of a two-disc, 38-song collection, and this one truly contains his very best work.
If you're looking for a succinct introduction to the soulful, urban electric blues of Albert "King" Nelson, turn to "Born Under A Bad Sign", one of the greatest blues albums and one that captures the full scope of his skills as well as anything. But if you want a comprehensive career overview, this is what to get. Rhino's single-disc "Blues Masters: The Very Best Of Albert King" is very good as well, as is the expanded version of "Born Under A Bad Sign" titled "King Of The Blues".
But this one is better. 4 1/2 stars - highly recommended.

GREAT POWERFUL Music that Crosses Many Styles&Yet has that Signature Albert King SOund.Not Only a Must but it's A Treasure.Hearing This Man Perform.His Tone&Groove Never Let Up.It Hits The Soul.

This by now quite rare compilation is a gem & if you get the chance to buy it then do so, It is by far the best Albert King compilation available & includes tracks from every era. This compilation though is not fully comprehensive & would have benefited from a 3rd disc, though that should not put anyone off buying this, a good idea is to buy this & the Stax compilation "I'll Play The Blues for You" which contains 14 songs that are not included on this set.

Rhino does another spectacular job. In this case, they covered a career from 1954 when he changed his name to King and named his guitar Lucy to 1992 when Albert died from a heart attack. Rhino compiled all his best songs (39 of them including such classics as Laundromat Blues and Born Under A Bad Sign) from many labels and left out the crap such as his over-produced mid-70's period and Elvis tribute albums. There is a 50 page booklet that tells the whole story with lots of interviews with band mates and club owners. I found it interesting that he was left-handed and played a right-handed guitar upside down and backward with no pick. After listening to this collection, I can safely say that King had more influence on Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn than any other guitarist.

Everything Albert plays is heavenly! He was the MASTER!