B.b.king

B. B. King, Friends, ABCD 825.

Well, the thrill is gone. If B.B. don't feel it, the human on the receiving end of the speakers won't either, bet on it. As so often, so sadly happens, B.B. has gone the way of many a deserving, hugely talented, and generally unrecognized black artist who tires of dues-paying and decides to throw a ready-to-wear strait-jacket of commercial potential onto his aching bones. In The King's case it's been a long time coming, culminating in an AM breakthrough earlier this year.

On Friends we hear Memphis horns, Philadelphia strings, Las Vegas production and virtually no blues. It's all dough and no nut. Drop this bomb and check out the early stuff on the Bluesway or Kent labels.