B.B. King’s Latest–Do Yourself a Favor

by John Moses in Album Reviews, Concert Reviews, Editorials, Musician Reviews, Opinion Posts

There must be something about the blues that keeps its disciples young. B.B. King turned 83 last September (16th). I saw him last June at the Chicago Blues Festival, when he headlined the festival on a rainy Sunday night. We were getting soaked, but the crowd kept growing, right up until show time. He walked onto stage very slowly and he performed sitting, as he has for a few years. Old age might make walking difficult, but it hasn’t silenced his booming blues growl and it sure hasn’t weakened his guitar skills.

King shows those undiminished powers on his most recent CD, “One Kind Favor.” After several so-so albums with “guest stars” to try to make B.B. relevant to younger audiences, it’s a relief to have an album with B.B. as the star, backed by great musicians like Dr. John, Jim Keltner, and Nathan East.

B.B. King has always played a more urbane blues–more Memphis than Chicago, but perfectly at home in either place. Here, he splits the difference and mixes deeper blues and jazzier blues. A few of the tunes, like the first cut, “See That My Grave is Kept Clean,” take on a New Orleans flavor, partially due to Dr. John’s keyboards and the swinging brass.

His voice is especially strong throughout and his guitar playing is flat-out masterful. Check out his performance on “Get These Blues Off Me” and see if he doesn’t sound like he’s 43 instead of 83. When he sings, “I’m so tired of worrying,” it’s not a toss off line. You know he’s wrung out. He’s saying it from the gut, and you feel it. He hasn’t sounded this strong on record in years.

“Waiting for Your Call” is a blues love song that will make you want to grab someone and slow dance. This is the kind of blues that makes you want to sway. His guitar solo is perfect, playing off his vocal and heightening the emotion.

And, the rest is just as great. That’s why B.B. King recently won a Grammy Award for this album, his 15th Grammy.

This is about as close to blues album bliss as you can get. We’re not worthy.