B.B. King - Blues Is King

Originally on Blueswax

By 1967, King had refined his singing and guitar style (which were always intertwined) to a fine point. What was just beginning to emerge during this period was King the showman, the singer with a story to tell his audience; sometimes a sad story, sometimes an angry one, occasionally even a downright mean one. Nowhere was this more apparent than in live performance. Here he's captured in concert in Chicago, home of the blues and the ideal place to testify to the congregation. From "Tired of Your Jive" to "I Know What You're Puttin' Down" to the unequivocal "Baby Get Lost," B.B. lets his audience in on the ups and downs of romance in no uncertain terms, both through his impassioned vocals and characteristically stinging guitar. The effect is both cathartic and awe-inspiring.