A little commentary on this section, there are three Kings in blues - B.B., Freddie, and Albert. B.B. King is by far the most known, his works are the most easily found, and he's well known outside blues circles as well. While his importance to the blues is unquestioned, the box set falls short here giving him his own disc without a least showcasing Albert King or Freddie King, who could have been their own disc, or if you had to choose just two of the three, B.B.'s volume should have been split with Albert King who was an important artist through the 50s and 60s. I can only hope the reason we don't have anything from either of the other two Kings is due to licensing and not omission.
Back to the music..
B.B. King
Riley B. King is one of the best guitarist, in and out of blues, out there. His style and influence on modern guitar players is unmistakable. Born in Mississippi, B.B. King eventually made his way to West Memphis Arkansas where he built a following for his guitar playing on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio show. Eventually getting gigs and then his own show where he was known as the Beale St Blues Boy, then Blues Boy, and finally B.B., and thus his stage name came into being. The other legend around King is his guitar Lucille. Playing a show in Arkansas the concert hall burned down after two men fighting over a woman (named Lucille) overturned the kerosene barrel heating the place and burning it down - King had to run back in to rescue his guitar after escaping. He named his guitar Lucille as a reminder not to do things like run into burning buildings or fight over women. He made a few recordings in 1949 that didn't chart, he didn't start becoming a wider influence until the 1950s, and 60s, within the R&B community. He gained an even wider audience opening for the Rolling Stones in 1969, cementing his place as a very wide influence across multiple genres.
Luckily enough most of the music here is early recordings, which are lust slightly harder to find today. A good selection of fast boogie rhythms and slow ballads is here too. You miss out on some of his later expertise with the guitar, but he's still far above most even in the early days. This really is modern blues guitar at its best, twenty solid tracks
Luckily enough most of the music here is early recordings, which are lust slightly harder to find today. A good selection of fast boogie rhythms and slow ballads is here too. You miss out on some of his later expertise with the guitar, but he's still far above most even in the early days. This really is modern blues guitar at its best, twenty solid tracks
Little Walter
Moving to the other iconic blues instrument, the harmonica. Credited as not just one of the greatest harmonica players, but one of the greatest innovators with the instrument. It's been stated he was the first musician to purposely use electronic distortion, pushing his amplifiers to create sounds and timbres not known from a harmonica before. Chances are if you listen to a Chess Records release in the 1950s with a harmonica sideman (backing), it's Little Walter. To me Little Walter is one of the iconic modern blues harmonica sounds, deep and lively. Born in Louisiana, Little Walter moved to Chicago in 1945 at age 15, and began playing. He died young, at age 37, from a blood clot, as the official story goes. The theory is a minor fight he got into the night before, plus numerous fights over the years, finally caught up to him. Most of his recordings are from the 1950s. In the 60s he recorded very little, toured Europe a few times, but alcoholism and a short temper took him out of popularity.
Listening to these tracks you can almost hear the amplifiers straining. Unlike the clean, stripped sounds of early harmonica like Sonny Boy Williamson and other pre-WWII musicians, this harmonica is loud, out front. Walter is able to pull sounds, and style, from the instrument like none before him. Sometimes it's loud enough to come across as part of the horn section, sometimes it's much clearer. A great massive blues sound, I love it. Even for such a short recording time, Little Walter had an impressive catalog to pull from, and you can hear why they dedicated an entire volume to this innovator.
Next Week, Lightnin' Slim, J.B. Lenoir and the eternal Leadbelly.
Moving to the other iconic blues instrument, the harmonica. Credited as not just one of the greatest harmonica players, but one of the greatest innovators with the instrument. It's been stated he was the first musician to purposely use electronic distortion, pushing his amplifiers to create sounds and timbres not known from a harmonica before. Chances are if you listen to a Chess Records release in the 1950s with a harmonica sideman (backing), it's Little Walter. To me Little Walter is one of the iconic modern blues harmonica sounds, deep and lively. Born in Louisiana, Little Walter moved to Chicago in 1945 at age 15, and began playing. He died young, at age 37, from a blood clot, as the official story goes. The theory is a minor fight he got into the night before, plus numerous fights over the years, finally caught up to him. Most of his recordings are from the 1950s. In the 60s he recorded very little, toured Europe a few times, but alcoholism and a short temper took him out of popularity.
Listening to these tracks you can almost hear the amplifiers straining. Unlike the clean, stripped sounds of early harmonica like Sonny Boy Williamson and other pre-WWII musicians, this harmonica is loud, out front. Walter is able to pull sounds, and style, from the instrument like none before him. Sometimes it's loud enough to come across as part of the horn section, sometimes it's much clearer. A great massive blues sound, I love it. Even for such a short recording time, Little Walter had an impressive catalog to pull from, and you can hear why they dedicated an entire volume to this innovator.
Next Week, Lightnin' Slim, J.B. Lenoir and the eternal Leadbelly.
No comments:
Post a Comment