The Very Best of Albert King [Stax]

by Albert King

Overview

A left-handed, self-taught guitar player who played his instrument upside down and backwards, Albert King could wring out guitar leads that were as sharp as razor blades zinging along a telephone line, but he was also a well-rounded musician, having played drums in Chicago for Jimmy Reed and was a good enough singer to have been part of a gospel quartet called the Harmony Kings. But his claim to fame and history will always be his guitar playing, and in particular, the sides he cut between 1966 and 1974 for Stax Records, the best of which are collected here. Stax was known for its funky Southern soul sides, and the blues wasn't really on the table for the imprint when King cut "Laundromat Blues" for them in 1966. The song did well enough that King became Stax's blues division almost single-handedly, releasing classics like "Crosscut Saw" in 1966 and King's signature tune, "Born Under a Bad Sign," written by William Bell and Booker T. Jones, in 1967. All of these are here, along with a slower and funkier remake of "Crosscut Saw" that King cut for Stax in 1974, making this compilation not only a fine introduction to this fiery guitar player, but also a solid survey of his peak years. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	06/19/2007
Label:	Fantasy / Stax
UPC:	0888072302969
Rank:	47197

Tracks

1. Laundromat Blues
2. Oh, Pretty Woman
3. Crosscut Saw
4. Born Under a Bad Sign
5. Cold Feet
6. (I Love) Lucy
7. Blues Power
8. Drowning on Dry Land
9. Tupelo, Pt.1
10. Water
11. Wrapped Up in Love Again
12. Can't You See What You're Doing to Me
13. Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven
14. Angel of Mercy
15. I'll Play the Blues for You, Pt. 1
16. Breaking Up Somebody's Home
17. Playing on Me
18. That's What the Blues Is All About
19. Flat Tire
20. Crosscut Saw

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Albert King   Primary Artist
Roebuck "Pops" Staples   Primary Artist
Booker T. & the MG's   Primary Artist
Steve Cropper   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Rob Bowman   Compilation Producer,Liner Notes
Stuart Kremsky   Project Assistant
Kirk Felton   Remastering
Cheryl Pawelski   Compilation Producer
R.G. Ford   Composer
Jerry Strickland   Composer
Larissa Collins   Art Direction
Arthur Nakata   Design
Rikka Arnold   Project Assistant
David Gorman   Design
Jennifer Peters   Project Assistant
Chris Clough   Project Coordinator
Don Nix   Composer