Spring Break
B.B. King mixes the old and new
Madeline Ward
Issue date: 8/28/08 Section: Focus
B.B. King has never been one for vocals, unless the listener likes a rustic sound. With an electric guitar more prominent than he is on the album cover, it's easy to know where King's talent lies. The compositions and arrangements on the album are solid, giving out that traditional blues feeling with crisp recording added for modern effect. The songs and covers speak to his experience, as he goes out of this world.
There is a lot of nostalgia in this work. It could easily be a remastered copy of an earlier forgotten album from the 1950s. If you are looking for a first album, this is a great introduction to everything that has made B.B King great. The set-up also allows "One Kind Favor" to be carved up for any iPod playlist.
The only problem with this album is that it doesn't offer anything new or exciting - but that isn't the point. This album is all about digging around his roots. It's a rare vision of an artist who has been allowed to come full-circle. Every song is a cover from another artist, some of them famous anthems of jazz bars, the others long forgotten, languishing on old LP records in collector's basements. It starts with "See That My Grave is Kept Clean," a solid example of the Nashville sound. The middle tracks are a good choice for easy listening during study hours. However, the last track, "Tomorrow Night," originally recorded by Lonnie Johnson, is an emotional departure.
Madeline.Ward@UConn.edu
There is a lot of nostalgia in this work. It could easily be a remastered copy of an earlier forgotten album from the 1950s. If you are looking for a first album, this is a great introduction to everything that has made B.B King great. The set-up also allows "One Kind Favor" to be carved up for any iPod playlist.
The only problem with this album is that it doesn't offer anything new or exciting - but that isn't the point. This album is all about digging around his roots. It's a rare vision of an artist who has been allowed to come full-circle. Every song is a cover from another artist, some of them famous anthems of jazz bars, the others long forgotten, languishing on old LP records in collector's basements. It starts with "See That My Grave is Kept Clean," a solid example of the Nashville sound. The middle tracks are a good choice for easy listening during study hours. However, the last track, "Tomorrow Night," originally recorded by Lonnie Johnson, is an emotional departure.
Madeline.Ward@UConn.edu
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Lamar Cole
posted 9/02/08 @ 3:39 PM EST
It Ain't Snowing In Memphis
Looking out the window.
Feeling cold inside.
It ain't snowing in Memphis
Chilling to the bone.
Baby by my side.
It ain't snowing in Memphis. (Continued…)
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