B.B.KING LIVE: A CHANCE TO WITNESS A LIVING LEGEND OF THE BLUES

B.B.King is one of the most well known blues players to ever live. He’s an artist who took the blues and made them famous, perhaps more so than any other blues performer. This doesn’t mean he is the greatest that ever lived and fans of the blues would tell you so. But he sits high in the ranks of the best. King has made the blues accessible for everyone and for that deserves high praise.

B.B.KING LIVE features King playing on the show SoundStage set in Chicago. The set features the usual SoundStage backdrop with the performers name in red flowing lights and little else. The music is the thing here, not the stage set up. Accompanied by his band, King sits in a chair center stage and plays his guitar, the famous Lucille, like few others ever have or ever will.

The thing about King’s playing is that when first listened to it sounds so simple. These aren’t the fast maneuvering finger romps that have made stars out of people like Eddie Van Halen, these are meticulously played notes that are stretched and strained to offer up an emotional feeling that is known simply as the blues. And King makes each note one that draws up feelings know well to those who have suffered pain.

On occasion in this special King features a guest who he teases and coaxes performances out of as well. For me the biggest surprise was how well actor Terrence Howard sang. I’m not saying I didn’t expect him to be good, just that I’ve never seen anything that would have led me to believe he was this good. The disc also features a performance by singer Solange who King flirts with non-stop as she sings his only major hit song, “The Thrill Is Gone”. Lastly, King brings out guitarist Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi fame to accompany him on several tunes.

The songs aren’t long by any means, but each one is a blues great that King performs better than near anyone. The line up includes the following:

1. Everyday I Have the Blues
2. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
3. How Many More Years
4. Downhearted
5. I Need You So
6. I Got Some Help I Don’t Need
7. The Thrill Is Gone
8. Nobody Loves Me But My Mother
9. Let the Good Times Roll
10. The Thrill Is Gone (performed this time by King)
11. When the Saints Go Marching In
12. Key to the Highway

Kind fans will want to make it a point to add this new blu-ray edition to their collection featuring DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Fans of the blues will want to have this on hand as well. And if you’ve never experienced the blues by a performer like King, then by all means you need to check this one out immediately.