Which albums to start with BB King's style?

Long time BB King fan here, but I have no idea what his "gem" albums are in terms of his signature style/licks. I'm not talking about his later stuff in the 90s where it seemed like it was all "BB King and Friends" or compilation records (e.g., The Thrill is Gone), rather those formative albums that set the stage for everything else in his long and very productive career. I found this video recently -- this is what I'm thinking of:

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Your wisdom is very much appreciated!! :wink: PS: Don't you just dig the green suits in the band?!!

Give a listen to Live at the Regal and Live at Cook County Jail.

Live At The Regal
Live At Cook County Jail

I was lucky to see him several times in the early 80s - wonderful musician.

Completely Well (1969) is my favorite B.B.King studio album. It's a wonderful, lively recording that lets you hear every subtle nuance.

Cook County Jail

You can't go wrong with Live at the Regal. A master at the top of his game!

You might also consider The Complete Collection, a (kinda inaccurately named) three-disc set of B.B. greatness. It's a survey of his whole career, so it contains some of the more recent stuff, but it's also got plenty of stuff from the late 1960s (including material from Live at the Regal) and the 1970s. It's a good way to immerse yourself in all that is B.B. King. :grin:

How can you be a long time fan and not own Live at the Regal? :confused:

It's OK, we won't tell anyone. :wink:

I actually prefer "Blues is King" to Live at the Regal. Both recorded mid 1960s at the peak of his powers with a stellar band. It features a jaw dropping version of Willie Nelson's "Night Life".

http://991.com/newGallery/B-B-King-Blues-Is-King-534445.jpg

+1 on cook county jail.

I'd just like to say at this juncture that you know you done me wrong, and you'll be sorry someday.

^^^^^^
For that song and the context in which BB first presented it you should go to this record "Completely Well". The big crossover album that followed on from "Live and Well"

Great article on those albums and the changes in BB's career here (http://thebluegrassspecial.com/archive/2011/september2011/bb-king-birthday-feature.html)


http://thebluegrassspecial.com/archive/2011/september2011/imagesseptember2011/bb-completely.jpg

I think one thing you'll notice about B.B.'s earlier stuff is that he uses less gain than he did in later years; there's less of the wailing sustain and compression that characterize his later sounds. I've wondered if his signature guitar omits the ES-355's F-holes because he wanted to play with more gain and volume without worrying about feedback.

One other thing: While B.B. was amazing in the late 1960s, some of his recent stuff is pretty great, too. You owe it to yourself to check out the 2008 album, One Kind Favor, if you haven't. He may be getting on in years, but that album is pure B.B. King, if you ask me.

Me, I love it all. If B.B.'s playing and singing, I'm happy. :grin:

Live and Well (which is part studio, part live) is a favorite on of mine , mainly because of his backup band on this one. Great bass playing.

Don't miss out on the real early stuff with P90's, like this. Man, BB was rockin':

http://www.amazon.com/B-B-King-BB-Boogie-B-B/dp/B003Y57UWE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342614840&sr=8-1&keywords=bb%27s+boogie

I know you said CD, but check out these two youtube videos of BB performing and teaching his style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT2vXZEBsFY&feature=related

A great album of his (from the late 70's or early 80's) is 'Take It Home'. Maybe the best known song on there is 'Better Not Look Down' but every track is fantastic.

Just learn the intro to "How Blue Can You Get" note for note. BAM, you got BB Kings style down pat.

What I love about BB (and Albert) is, he plays then he sings. Doesn't play and sing at the same time. Devote all your mojo into one medium at a time.

I'm a big fan of his groundbreaking '50's stuff on the Kent/RPM/Modern labels. Incredible, soulful guitar playing. This is the stuff that changed lead guitar. He plays all kinds of guitars, too. You can definitely hear tonal differences.
Another fave is as, Chez Deluxe listed, 'Blues is King'. B's mid '60's best.

BB King has been playing the same solo for 60 years... but it sounds SO good...

I'm a big fan of his groundbreaking '50's stuff on the Kent/RPM/Modern labels. Incredible, soulful guitar playing. This is the stuff that changed lead guitar. He plays all kinds of guitars, too. You can definitely hear tonal differences.
According to Wikipedia, B.B. mostly played a Tele on those RPM recordings. I did not know that! Of course, B.B. would sound like B.B. if he played a banjo strung with rubber bands.

BB King has been playing the same solo for 60 years... but it sounds SO good...
What impresses me is how much variety and expressiveness he manages while staying in one position, mostly playing the top few strings.

Personally, I've long loved "Blues 'n' Jazz" from the early '80s. The follow-up, "Six Silver Strings", was awful, though.

Live at the Regal. That is my favorite!

Live in London

According to Wikipedia, B.B. mostly played a Tele on those RPM recordings. I did not know that!

Esquire, to be exact :

I respectfully disagree with wikipedia; If you see pics of B during the period, he plays mostly Gibson hollowbodies. If I understand correctly, recording was shoehorned into B's touring schedule, so I would be suprised if he used the same guitar for 7-8 years; aprox. the period I was posting about. I'm sure some were done with a tele, and the songs done with an Esquire are easy to tell, but the recordings sound like a variety of guitars.
No big deal, B is still the king on any guitar.
There's a couple of cuts available where his amp going bad and sounds like it's about to explode. Extra great tone!

I respectfully disagree with wikipedia; If you see pics of B during the period, he plays mostly Gibson hollowbodies. If I understand correctly, recording was shoehorned into B's touring schedule, so I would be suprised if he used the same guitar for 7-8 years; aprox. the period I was posting about. I'm sure some were done with a tele, and the songs done with an Esquire are easy to tell, but the recordings sound like a variety of guitars.
No big deal, B is still the king on any guitar.
There's a couple of cuts available where his amp going bad and sounds like it's about to explode. Extra great tone!

You know you can't put anything on the internet that is not true. :rolleyes:

Reviving this one a bit. My fav is Live at Cook County-so killing!

B.B. King has been a favorite of mine forever. His style and sound is unique enough that one can generally within a few notes tell it is Mr. King.
I watched slash and B'B' king play together a week or so ago on TV.
Slash sounded a lot like him but without those facial expressions of joy at the sound of certain notes one could tell it was't him. Mind you it IS the only time I have seen Slash smile although I lack in my knowledge of Slash totally.
They way he will start a note by bending a string up 2 full tones while striking it on the bend up, then let it back a tone and hit it again and another tone and hit it again. Every note he plays has feeling.
Definitely 60's and 70's is when he was faster but the uniqueness of his style throughout his career will live on forever. There are full DVD's worth on youtube

BB's playing is very sophisticated, complex and varied. He has an unmistakable sound and some signature licks, but not even close on the "same solo for 60 years" or "learn this intro and you'll have him down pat" comments.

Along with the other gems mentioned here, "Live in Japan" is excellent, because his tone is very steely, clean and strong, not too woolly or muffled like it sometimes sounds to my ears. A true king of blues guitar, alright.

Along with the other gems mentioned here, "Live in Japan" is excellent, because his tone is very steely, clean and strong, not too woolly or muffled like it sometimes sounds to my ears. A true king of blues guitar, alright.

Good call. Also that particular album has a lot of him just cutting loose and jamming with the band, more than on most of his live albums.

Completely Well (1969) is my favorite B.B.King studio album. It's a wonderful, lively recording that lets you hear every subtle nuance.

My favorite too.

Saw some clips where he used a Red 335 he was maybe 30 hard to tell.

I gotta find them again. Awesome.

Live at the Regal
Live from Africa

Those two are really really great!!!!

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Live from Africa is great.

Give a listen to Live at the Regal and Live at Cook County Jail.

Yep. Best place to start, in my eyes.