B. B. King: The Modern Recordings

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Detailed Information

  • Label: Ace, 1950/1951
  • Order number: 6128371
  • Release date: 25.3.2002

Disk 1 von 2

  1. 1 Mistreated woman Start
  2. 2 Mistreated woman Start
  3. 3 B.B. Boogie Start
  4. 4 B.B. Boogie Start
  5. 5 The other night blues Start
  6. 6 The other night blues Start
  7. 7 The other night blues Start
  8. 8 Walkin' and cryin' Start
  9. 9 Walkin' and cryin' Start
  10. 10 Walkin' and cryin' Start
  11. 11 My baby's gone Start
  12. 12 Don't you want a man like me Start
  13. 13 Don't you want a man like me Start
  14. 14 Questionnaire blues Start
  15. 15 B. B. blues Start
  16. 16 B. B. blues Start
  17. 17 B. B. blues Start

Disk 2 von 2

  1. 1 A new way of driving Start
  2. 2 Fine looking woman Start
  3. 3 Fine looking woman Start
  4. 4 Fine looking woman Start
  5. 5 Shake it up and go Start
  6. 6 She's dynamite Start
  7. 7 She's a mean woman Start
  8. 8 She's a mean woman Start
  9. 9 Hard workin' woman Start
  10. 10 Hard workin' woman Start
  11. 11 Pray for you Start
  12. 12 Pray for you Start
  13. 13 3 o'clock blues Start
  14. 14 That ain't the way to do it Start
  15. 15 That ain't the way to do it Start
  16. 16 She don't move me no more Start

Product Information

When B. B. King went into Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording And Sound Services sometime in July of 1950, he was another relatively unknown blues singer and guitarist. He had already cut two 78s for Bullet Records that did not register. So maybe it was not surprising that the name on the label of the first acetate was Bee Bee King. Almost a year later he cut for the last time at MR&SS, as the Bihari brothers went into dispute with Phillips. The final session of 1951 was cut (on new fangled tape) at the YMCA in Memphis, and ironically produced his first hit record, 3 O'Clock Blues.

That is just an outline of what is on this double CD. It documents the early years of what was to become the longest running career in the blues. With the distinct advantage of having the original acetates we have been able to piece together the original sessions. A vast amount of research has been carried out to produce the nearest thing to a definitive understanding of these sessions and this is very much part of the package.

But it is the audio that is the big surprise. Going back to the original 16" acetates where possible, our engineers at SML have pulled out a sound that has probably never been heard before. Sure at times you have to put up with some swish and some crackle, but the reward is that you are sucked into the original room in which the recordings were made. The sheer openness and presence of the sound is remarkable, and detail and even instrumentation can be heard with a clarity unmatched in previous issues. Of the Phillips' recordings all but five sides are drawn from the original discs.

Don't be put off by the repeat takes either as each one has a life of its own, with changes in breaks, phrasing and even lyrics.

There are eight takes that have never been issued before in any form and many that haven't seen the light of day since they came out in the 1970s. Finally the band is hot and the young Blues Boy is in top form, starting were he continued with a broad understanding of the blues and all of its vagaries. An education for the mind and body.

EUR 21.99

EUR 19.99*

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