"B.B. King - The Ultimate Collection"

My familiarity with B.B. King was of a passing nature prior to yesterday. I knew of the man--knew he was a name in the blues, that he was a great blues guitarist and an immediately-recognizable voice in the genre. I knew he'd done a song with U2, "When Love Comes to Town" (still one of my favorite U2 songs). I knew he was well-known for Lucille, his guitar. That was really about all I knew.

God, are my eyes open now.

The Ultimate Collection is a 21 song sampler of King's entire career, ranging from his '50s work to his '60s and '70s heyday, and his latter-day works as the reigning king (dare I say) of the blues. All his best-known songs are here, including the aforementioned tune with U2 and "The Thrill is Gone."

King's guitarwork is some of the smoothest and clearest I've ever heard. His solos and leads are crisp, precise, and impecable. The man knows exactly what sound he wants that guitar to make, and damn if Lucille doesn't comply every time. There's no sloppiness or rough edges to the music--everything is precise and carefully orchestrated for maximum effect.

This include's King's voice, which is a precision instrument just like Lucille. Control is the key for both--in the case of his guitar work, this means the control he has over every note he coaxes from the strings. In the case of his voice, this is the sense that he barely has his emotions in check, that they threaten to overwhelm him at any second. King is one of the best blues moaners out there--he can say more with a wordless syllable than most people can say in an entire paragraph. His voice is evocative and emotive and always teeters on the edge of breakdown but never quite falls over.

The Ultimate Collection is an excellent introduction to King's work. It creates a fairly representative arc of his career, focusing most heavily on his earlier work and thinning out towards the '80s and '90s. King is still a fine musician, as the later cuts prove, but the real joy is in his early work. Besides, the man actually incorporated strings (like violin and cello) into a blues song. Strings, man. You can't tell me that ain't genius.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: B.B. King, "The Thrill is Gone"