B.B. King, Guess Who (1972)

B.B. King is a legend, of course. But good luck finding a decent studio album from the man – especially these days where all you find is the collaboration rehashes from the last 20 years and the unnecessary stuff from 30-40 years ago. (Stick to the classic live albums and the decent compilations). But right on the cusp of that timeframe is this album – one that I really dig. And one I was pleased to find a nice copy of when we were running the racks of Auckland’s Real Groovy last year (I used to play the album, on CD, when I worked in a music store about 15 years ago). Last Easter we drove from Hawke’s Bay to Auckland and back in one night to see B.B. King live. The concert was wonderful. Sure, he didn’t tear out a lot on the guitar. And he sat and he lost his way with some of the rambling. But he was also 85. And his band was incredible. And he had earned the right to do what he likes – and anyone thinking they were seeing the B.B. King of Live At The Regal must have been an idiot. I loved the experience of seeing B.B. as I said here. It was a huge experience for me. We knew one of the opening acts and thought – rather optimistically (read: foolishly) that we might have the chance to (briefly) meet B.B. King. And given that we would not really have a lot to say – what would you say? – and that also at 85 he might not have a lot to say we decided to run the racks of Real Groovy and I found this great Freddie King album and also this great B.B. King album. It’s got some great tracks on it – and of course it’s a souvenir of the time I got nowhere near getting B.B. King’s signature. But like that mattered. I had a blast that night – about six rows from the front. Bowing down to a legend. Someone who has meant so much to me – through his music – for most of my life.

Sample Track: Guess Who

The Vinyl Countdown is a document of every LP I listen to, brand new discoveries and old-old favourites; extremely pre-loved, previously abandoned or with the shrink-wrap having just been removed it’s all here at The Vinyl Countdown