King of the Blues Guitar

From top to bottom this album is a delight - there isn't a single slack moment on this record. Albert's singing (especially on "The Very Thought of You") is as sweet as a choir of angels, his guitar as dirty and funky as Hell itself. Add in Booker T and the MGs (just listen to Al Jackson Jr an "Cold Feet" - stunning)and you have one of the greatest blues compilations in existence.

Charles Shaar Murray in his book "Blues on CD" said that if he were rating CDs on a five star basis then this album would get a six. It is truly indispensable for anyone with even a passing interest in the blues.


Oh, Beautiful Blues   March 17, 2007
Wilf (Gloucester, England)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful


I'm listening to this CD as I write this review, having recently received it through the post. I had decided that Albert King was under-represented in my CD collection and did some research into what my next purchase of his music should be - isn't the Internet a great tool for expanding your knowledge of music!! Having read all the reviews below, and after listening to the available samples, I made the decision that this CD was The One!

Well well well well well!! My goodness me! What can I say? Ecstasy by ear!.....!.....!

I have quite a good selection of blues CDs, with favourite artists including (oldest acquaintances first) Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, BB King, Howlin Wolf, Robert Johnson, Johnny Guitar Watson, Lightnin Hopkins, Leadbelly, Freddie King, Son House, T Model Ford, RL Burnside etc (and even one or two white guys!). Indeed I've been listening to the blues for 17 years or so, and reckon that I've got as good an ear for the blues as any (or many). I suppose that what I'm trying to get across is the notion that, after many years of digging great blues, and being familiar with a large number of blues CDs, I'm in a reasonable position to make informed comparisons and offer an opinion.

And, in my opinion, 'Albert King: King of the Blues Guitar' is without question one of the best compilations that you are likely to come across.

That's not to say, necessarily, that I love Albert's music any more (or any less) than that of any of the artists above. In the best blues tradition, Albert's contribution to the genre is unique, an entirely personal body of work. But rather, that this CD, from start to finish, is almost uniquely good in its consistently very high-standard track selection.

Consequently, its difficult to pick tracks out as particular stars, although my initial listenings might highlight 'Oh, Pretty Woman', 'Crosscut Saw', 'Born Under A Bad Sign' and 'Cold Feet'. But every single other track is also delightful, and in no way mere filling between the good 'uns.

For anyone unfamiliar with Albert King, suffice it to say that he is a guitar great, whose 'sound' is a distinctive combination of spiky-but-sweet-and-mellow-at-the-same-time, backed up by a very good voice that's rich, mellow and soulful. And, like all the very best blues masters, he possesses an exquisite 'touch'.

The only things one might consider as standing between this CD and perfection are: as mentioned elsewhere, the mastering, which, on the odd track (eg the beautiful 'Kansas City'), drowns Albert's guitar in the accompaniment or pushes it into the background, and; the quality of the recording, which is not nearly as good as it could or should be (including the odd 'click' or two), but is not an insurmountable problem for those who would rather hear this record than NOT hear it.

I'm inclined to the view that a remastering and a clean-up would be a good thing, and that Atlantic Records should realise that this material is easily important enough to merit some serious attention from the tech boffins (and that the dreadful album cover DESPERATELY needs a total makeover - ideally by whoever did the artwork for 'Jimi Hendrix: blues' or 'The Rainbow Bridge Concert'). However, one could argue that the current mastering simply has the effect of shifting the flavour of this CD a little, away from the 'searing' end of the spectrum towards the 'mellow' end (not necessarily a bad thing). And that the somewhat woolly recording lends an aura of 'heritage' and a patina of 'authenticity' - after all, woolly sound quality is hardly a rarity in blues recordings!

Either way, this is a truly delightful album, rich with beautiful, funky, soulful blues and is a great testament to a great artist. Thankyou Albert, and to you and your mates, Booker T.


no snap, no crackle, no pop...CD quality is fine   August 29, 2009
D. Shellock (London)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Having listened to this CD on a mid-range system - Arcam amp, Cambridge Audio CD player and Mission speakers - and with Sennheiser cans - which, unfortunately due to to financial constraints, are hardly high-end system separates - I really can't understand what so many of the reviewers of ths CD are complaining about. The sound is not exactly great but really is hardly worth complaining about...I've heard plenty worse transfers to CD..in particular, there really are no crackles, pops or snaps... I don't know what versions are being sent to Serbia or elsewhere but I'd be happy to record my copy of the CD to any format you'd like and return to you...
I don't think there's much need to comment on the quality of the actual music as it just flies....classic was and will ever be... and just imagine how ec, jimi and so many others were inluenced by this
All i would say if anything the sound quality deteriorates slightly on the "bonus" tracks....but they are a more than welcome addition to my old vinyl copy of "Born under a Bad Sign"...
in short, my CD version ....and , i hope, yours too ...offers all the bite, sustain and attack you'd want from Albert's classic guitar sound, making this an absolutely classic album....


The "Born Under A Bad Sign" album - and more   April 12, 2009
Docendo Discimus (Vita scholae)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is not a compilation, but rather an expanded Atlantic edition of Albert King's Stax LP "Born Under A Bad Sign" from 1967.
"Born Under A Bad Sign" was Albert King at his most inspired, and most influential, too, a blueprint for young white guitarists like Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and even Jimi Hendrix and Joe Walsh. And it's no wonder; it was an immensely strong and unusually varied collection, spanning swaggering R&B, passionate soul-blues, mid-tempo hardcore blues grinds, and smouldering slow numbers.

"King Of The Blues Guitar" brings together all 11 tracks from the original LP, and combines them with six of King's excellent non-LP singles from the same period, everything presented in the order in which it was actually recorded.
The 1966 sides "Overall Junction" and "Funk-Shun" are both instrumentals, and very good ones, too, but both were left off the original "Born Under A Bad Sign". Here they are, though, along with four more late-60s recordings which were cut by King and Booker T & the MGs shortly after the release of the "Bad Sign" LP.
The half-spoken '68 sides "I Love Lucy" and "Cold Feet" aren't really musical heavyweights, but they're good enough, and "You're Gonna Need Me" and "You Sure Drive A Hard Bargain" are particularly satisfying, tough blues numbers with a couple of great vocal performances by King. And those horn charts? Perfect!

It must be said that this disc can't quite match the 2001 version of the "Born Under A Bad Sign" CD (the digipack) as far as fidelity is concerned, and the digipack edition is notably louder, which is nice, but the difference is nearly as great as some audiophiles claim, and this
is actually an excellent way to get all of "Born Under A Bad Sign" and an extra handful of early Stax sides at no additional cost!

This is Albert King at his best, some of the finest 60s blues and soul-blues you'll ever hear. Superbly played and exquisitely arranged, and the addition of the six non-LP singles actually make for an even stronger and bluesier set than the original "Born Under A Bad Sign" album.
Highly recommended!


Six stars at least!   July 25, 2008
G. E. Harrison (Cheltenham)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This CD is essentially Albert's mid-60s record "Born under a bad sign" - one of the classic electric blues records - with the addition of the Stax singles "I love Lucy" "Funk shun" and "Cold feet" and a couple of others. All his classics are here that were recorded by many others in the second blues boom - "Pretty woman", "The hunter", "Crosscut saw" and of course the song "Born under a bad sign" itself. At the time in the 60s many of my friends were into soul and didn't like blues but they liked this record, which is blues you can dance to.

Albert was probably the most limited of the Kings (B.B. and Freddie) both as a guitarist and a singer but what he does he does wonderfully well - a powerful, relaxed voice and a screaming, sinuous guitar weaving in and out of the melody. All this over the funky soul strut of the Stax rhythm section and the Memphis horns. Six stars at least!!!