King of Blues: 1989 (CD - 1988)

Personnel includes: B.B. King (vocals, guitar); Al Kooper (various instruments, guitar); Trade Martin (various instruments, background vocals); Jerry Williams (various instruments); Steve Cropper (guitar); Joseph Malignaggi, Ethel Abelson, Ann Barsk, Maura Giannini, Anthony Posk, Carmel Malignaggi (violin); Robert Magnuson (alto & tenor saxophone); Ronald Cuber (baritone saxophone); Lou Marini, Tom Scott, Marty Grebb (saxophone); Alan Rubin (trumpet, reeds); James Pugli (trombone); The Muscle Shoals Horns (horns); Carson Whitsett (keyboards); Ray Griffin (bass); James Robinson (drums); Rodney Kelly, Jimmy Hotz (programming); Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt, The Jim Gilstrap Singers (background vocals).

Producers include: Jerry Williams, Al Kooper, Trade Martin, Frederick Knight.

Engineers include: Chris Green, Richard "Fast Fingers" McIntosh, Rick Delana.

Personnel: B.B. King (vocals, guitar); Roger Rhoads (vocals, strings, horns); Jim Gilstrap (vocals); James Christian "Jimmy" Hotz (guitar, programming); Michael Spriggs, Michael Toles, Riley King (guitar); Maura Giannini, Joseph Malignaggi, Ethel Abelson, Anthony Post, Ann Barsk, Carmel Malignaggi (violin); Alan Rubin (reeds, trumpet, horns); Randy Brecker (reeds, horns); Marty Grebb, Tom Scott (saxophone); Robert Magnuson (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Lou Marini (tenor saxophone); Ronnie Cuber (baritone saxophone); James Pugli (trombone); Muscle Shoals Horns (horns); Swamp Dogg (keyboards, drum machine, drum programming, background vocals); Clayton Ivey, Ernest Williamson, Carson Whitsett (keyboards); James Robinson , Mick Fleetwood (drums); Rodney Kelly (programming); Tomasine Anderson, Joe Amato, Alfredo Rios, Chris Mancini, Luci Martin, Jewel Bass, Alfa Anderson, Stevie Nicks, Trade Martin, Bonnie Raitt, Catherine Henderson (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Doug Conroy; Trade Martin.

Audio Remixers: Courtney Branch; Tracy Kendrick.

Recording information: Ardent Studios, Memphis, TN; Media Sound Studios, New York, NY; Memphis Sound Studio, Memphis, TN; Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Muscle Shoals, AL; Slammer, N. Hollywood, CA; Village Recorder, L.A., CA.

Over-glossed R&B tracks, heavy doses of keyboards and drum programming are an ideal way to make albums for the pop charts, but for B.B. King, they are tools of disaster. Lyrically and vocally the album holds up rather well. But King's signature guitar sound is often overshadowed in favor of synthesizers, rendering the tracks useless. Thankfully there are a few exceptions to this: "Lay Another Log on the Fire" and "Take Off Your Shoes" are solid tracks where King simply does what he does best, sing the blues and wails on Lucille. While collectors might need this for their collection, they will most likely scoff at the ridiculous arrangements; casual fans can skip this one altogether. ~ Curtis Zimmermann

KING OF THE BLUES was an attempt to contemporize B.B. King by smoothing off all the edges of his sound and using lots of synthesizers along with a number of well-known names to help accomplish this goal. Half of the songs were produced by noted '80s songwriter Jerry Williams who brought in plenty of drum machines and guests like Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and Steve Cropper on songs such as "Can't Get Enough" and "Standing On The Edge." Williams even frees King up from Lucille down to focus his great vocals on "You've Become A Habit To Me" by handling all the programming and keyboards himself. The legendary Al Kooper drops in as a producer/multi-instrumentalist on "Let's Straighten It Out" and a radically rearranged version of "Drowning In The Sea Of Love." King does end up cutting loose, slicing through the slick production of "Lay Another Log On The Fire" by squeezing out some particularly tasty licks and adding some swing to the vocal chorus of "Business With My Baby Tonight." minimize