My Kind Of Blues – B.B.KING****

You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now/Mr Pawn Broker/Understand/Someday Baby/Driving Wheel/Walking Dr Bill/My Own Fault Baby/Cat Fish Blues/Hold That Train/Please Set The Date

Legendary blues singer and guitarist B.B. King recorded My Kind Of Blues with only bass, drums and piano for accompaniment, taking him out of his usual big band setting.

“Sweet, big hearted blues from BB. His voice sounds so amazing here its untrue, he is easily one of the blues greatest vocalists. Side A is just stunning, but the whole set is really enjoyable and is one of the finest examples of King playing with a sparse accompaniment.”

“BB’s kind of blues is the kind you listen to with a smile on your face. He is always injecting humour into his music. Taking the worst moments of his life with a light-hearted stride. When he opens his mouth and sings those words he simply cannot hide his big heart.”

“BB is in top form here. If you’re looking for some early to mid period BB this is the one to get.”

“This, to my mind, is the greatest B.B. King album. It is very sparse, relative to his other albums. Mostly, it's recorded with a backing combo of just bass, drums and piano (and very occasional backing horns) and the result is that it's the true 'essence' of B.B. King, just him with the backing band. On most of his other albums, the production is much more 'layered', with a heavy dose of a 'big band' sound, and you just don't get to hear the man himself and see what he can do when he really stretches out on his guitar. This album is a real rarity and expresses the true essence of his art.”

“This 1960 album has a laid-back club feel that features piano up front in the mix. It was the first electric US blues album I heard that said it was the real deal."

“Unlike most of his albums from this period (which are mostly collections of singles), this was recorded in one session. The result is a masterpiece: a sparse, uncluttered sound with nothing to mask King's beautiful guitar and voice.”

“If you are new to BB (there may be some out there), this serves as a primer.”