- Purchase a product from the Music Store sold by Amazon.co.uk and receive £1 to use on an album download in our MP3 Store. Here's how (terms and conditions apply)
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Special Offers and Product Promotions
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. The Thrill Is Gone | |||
| 2. Paying The Cost To Be The Boss | |||
| 3. Don't Answer The Door | |||
| 4. I Like To Live The Love | |||
| 5. How Blue Can You Get? | |||
| 6. Why I Sing The Blues | |||
| 7. Chains And Things | |||
| 8. To Know You Is To Love You | |||
| 9. When Love Comes To Town - U2, B.B. King | |||
| 10. Playin' With My Friends - B.B. King, Robert Cray | |||
See all 16 tracks on this disc
| |||
| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. Help The Poor | |||
| 2. So Excited | |||
| 3. Broken Heart | |||
| 4. Ghetto Woman | |||
| 5. Ain't Nobody Home | |||
| 6. Darlin' You Know I Love You | |||
| 7. In The Midnight Hour | |||
| 8. Into The Night | |||
| 9. My Lucille | |||
| 10. The Blues Come Over Me | |||
|
See all 18 tracks on this disc
| |||
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
This two-disc set's jewel-case comes embossed with King's gold-inked signature, presumably a seal of approval for this bountiful summation of his MCA years. Beginning with B.B.'s work for ABC in the mid-1960s (the label was later swallowed up by MCA), the compilation moves through B.B.'s cream-flared 70s output, then proceeds to sew up the 1980s. The title's promise is fulfilled within this given time-period, but King's first 15 recording years are missing, as are examples of his very successful 90s work. Massed strings add drama to "The Thrill Is Gone", "Paying The Cost To Be The Boss" swaggers with crisp horn feints, "Why I Sing The Blues" is a prime example of the extended funky vamp, these 60s cuts invariably swamped with eerie guitar reverb. The 70s provided an evocative canvas for exaggerated gesture, strings and electric piano infusing the moody "Chains & Things", B.B. picking funky figures throughout "Ghetto Woman". The synthesised piano and rock-ballad melody of "Into The Night" typify his 80s flirtations with the mainstream, while 1974's collaboration with Bobby Bland set a precedent for later collaboration with U2 and Gary Moore. Tracks are chronologically jumbled, but the closing six-song run of live numbers provides a flaming finish. --Martin Longley
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
He really is the king of the blues!,
By A Customer
This review is from: His Definitive Greatest Hits (Audio CD)
Having been fortunate enough to attend many of BB Kings concerts in Glasgow and Edinburgh, I always wished that he would do an album such as this one.I have numerous King albums containing different songs, but this really is one single collection of his lifes work. The album has his signature on the front under the words "this is music I enjoyed playing" and I can assure you it is music you cannot fail to enjoy hearing. From track 1on disc 1 "The Thrill is gone" to track 18 on disc 2 "Rock me baby" I was enthralled by this ageless masters talents. The album features Bobby Bland, U2, Bob Cray and Gary Moore and includes a number of live recordings of his best work. I cannot commend this album highly enough, it will become a collectors item I'm sure.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fair Summation Of His ABC/MCA Period,
By
This review is from: His Definitive Greatest Hits (Audio CD)
As this collection of previously-released material does not go back beyond 1964, and BB King's first single came out in 1949, the claim that this represents his definitive greatest hits is a little contentious. However, although BB King featured heavily in the R&B charts throughout his highly successful early years, it is a surprising fact that, apart from two appearances at the bottom end of the US Top 100 in 1957, he had not been troubled by the hit parade before 1964. In 1962 BB King signed with ABC and appeared thereafter on their ABC Paramount, Bluesway and ABC labels. After they were taken over by MCA, his records appeared on that label, and these recordings are all taken from these periods, the most recent being Playin' With My Friends, with Robert Cray, taken from 1993's Blues Summit album. He had released little after that at the time of this compilation's release in 1999, instead concentrating on touring and performing. Most of the songs chosen here were A-sides of singles, although some of these are in their lengthier album format. Quite a few others are taken from live performances, thus representing some earlier material recorded for other labels as well as showcasing contemporary material in an electric live setting. BB King achieved his greatest mainstream success during this period and the price we have to pay is that alongside genuinely thrilling and innovative pieces such as The Thrill Is Gone there are a few too many bland-outs and celebrity guest appearances from Gary Moore, Leon Russell, Bobby "Blue" Bland and Dr John, which perhaps are not needed on a "best of" from an artist of the statuure of BB King. The U2 collaboration When Love Comes To Town was a Top Ten single in the UK and so its inclusion was mandatory, and it is a great record. Now nearing eighty years of age, BB King is the greatest living blues legend, and this is a fair summation of his ABC/MCA years, if such a mighty output can be reduced to just two discs (it can't). If you enjoy this you owe it to yourself to go on to buy at least one companion piece representing his earlier years on the RPM and Kent/Crown labels
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
His Definitive Greatest Hits,
By
This review is from: His Definitive Greatest Hits (Audio CD)
This double album of BB Kings music offers a great introduction to his music and to the blues in general.
This has a mix of studio and live tracks although I would've preferred more of the latter and starts off with one of my favourites, `The Thrill is Gone' which has some amazing guitar playing, a wonderfully soulful feel and BB's melancholy soaked vocals. `Help the Poor' is another favourite and the track that open the second disc, I simply adore the horns which compliment things perfectly. Any compilation will have it's advocates and detractors, but I personally enjoy the running order of tracks on offer here and feel it gives a good taste of what BB is all about, which is all we can hope for really. You get some sublime guitar playing, searing blues and some classic tracks all in one place, well worth checking out. Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
