Blues On The Bayou Review

07/13/2005 6:30 AM, AMG


King made his debut as producer with this album released in October, 1998. He employs the most basic of ideas for this project: record an album of B.B. King tunes, with B.B. King's regular road band, under B.B. King's supervision. Keeping it loose, relaxed and focused, B.B. cut this album in four days down at a secluded studio in Louisiana and came up with one of his strongest modern day albums in many years. No duets, no special guests, just King and his road warrior band, playing his songs with him producing the results -- no overdubs, just simple, no nonsense blues done like he would do them onstage. The result is a no-frills, straight ahead session that shows that B.B. might be have been 73 at the time of this date, but still had plenty of gas left in the tank. Tracks like "I'll Survive," and the jumping "Shake It Up and Go," "Darlin' What Happened," the minor keyed "Blues Boy Tune," and the instrumental "Blues We Like," and the closing "If That's It, I Quit" show him stretching out in a way he has seldom done in a studio environment and the result is one of his best albums in recent memory. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide