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His Definitive Greatest Hits
 
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His Definitive Greatest Hits [Box set] [Double CD]

~ B.B. King
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
Price: £4.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Audio CD (19 April 1999)
  • Number of Discs: 2
  • Format: Box set, Double CD
  • Label: Universal / Island
  • ASIN: B00000JARA
  • Other Editions: Audio CD
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,688 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  Music > Blues > Memphis Blues
    #3 in  Music > Blues > Instruments > Electric Guitar
    #9 in  Music > Blues > Delta & Country Blues

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Disc: 1
1. The Thrill Is Gone - B.B. King, Bill Szymczyk, Joe Zagarino, Paul Harris, Hugh McCracken, Gerald "Fingers" Jemmott, Herbie Lovelle, Bert DeCoteaux
2. Paying The Cost To Be The Boss - B.B. King, Johnny Pate, Lou Zito, Hobart Dotson, John Browning, Henry Boozier, Pluma Davis, Lawrence Burdine, Johnny Board, Barney Hubert, Duke Jethro, Leo Lauchie, Sonny Freeman
3. Don't Answer The Door, Parts 1 & 2 - B.B. King, Johnny Pate, Duke Jethro, Leo Lauchie, Sonny Freeman
4. I Like To Live The Love - B.B. King, Dave Crawford, Earl Young, Ronnie Baker, Norman Harris, Roland Chambers, Eli Tartarsky, Larry Washington, Stevie Wonder, Charles Mann, Ron Kersey
5. How Blue Can You Get? - B.B. King, Sid Feller, Maxwell Davis, Kenny Sands, Carl Adams, Lawrence Burdine, Vernon Slater, Jerome Richardson, Charles Brooks, Leo Lauchie, Sonny Freeman
6. Why I Sing The Blues - B.B. King, Bill Szymczyk, Paul Harris, Hugh McCraken, Gerald "Fingers" Jemmott, Herbie Lovelle
7. Chains And Things - B.B. King, Bill Szymczyk, Jimmie Haskell, Carol King, Bryan Garofalo, Russ Kunkel
8. To Know You Is To Love You - B.B. King, Dave Crawford
9. When Love Comes To Town - Jimmy Iovine, U2, B.B. King, Shelly Yakus, Rob Jacobs
10. Playin' With My Friends - B.B. King, Dennis Walker, John Hampton, Robert Cray, Skidd Mills, Kevin Hayes, Jim Pugh, Richard Cousins, Robert Murray
See all 16 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. Help The Poor - B.B. King, Sid Feller
2. So Excited - B.B. King, Bill Szymczyk, Joe Zagarino
3. Broken Heart - B.B. King, Sidney A. Seidenberg
4. Ghetto Woman - B.B. King, Ed Michel, Joe Zagarino, Jimmie Haskell, Gary Wright, Jim Price, Mac Rebennack, Klaus Voormann, Ringo Starr, Jim Gordon
5. Ain't Nobody Home - B.B. King, Ed Michel, Joe Zagarino, Jim Price, Bobby Keys, Doctor Ragavoy, John Uribe, David Spinozza, Klaus Voormann, Jim Keltner, Joshie Armstead, Tasha Thomas, Carl Hall
6. Darlin' You Know I Love You - B.B. King, Sidney A. Seidenberg
7. In The Midnight Hour - B.B. King, Ira Newborn, John Landis
8. Into The Night - B.B. King, John Landis, Ira Newborn, Edward Greene, Randy Kerber, Jim Cook, Neil Stubenhaus, Steve Watson, John Hobbs
9. My Lucille - B.B. King, Ira Newborn, John Landis
10. The Blues Come Over Me - B.B. King, Stewart Levine, Sidney A. Seidenberg, Daren Klein
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

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars He really is the king of the blues!, 16 Mar 2000
By A Customer
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.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Fair Summation Of His ABC/MCA Period, 19 Nov 2004
By Laurence Upton (Wilts, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
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
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best., 3 Jul 2007
This is simply the best value BB King cd on the market. Brilliant!
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1.0 out of 5 stars I never received this item or a refund!
I purchased this CD via Amazon. It did not arrive. I received an e-mail from the seller explaining that I should be refunded by Amazon not them. Read more
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