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B. B. King

“Blues On The Bayou”

MCA CD-11879

B.B. King’s Blues on the Bayou is his effort to get back to the basics. As he explains in his liner notes, the idea was “go to a studio, and, without a lot of fanfare, cut B.B. King songs with B.B. King’s band under B.B. King’s supervision”. This is B.B.’s first studio album in over 14 years done with his touring band, and also marks his producing debut.

Blues on the Bayou represents a departure from his last two recordings, 1993’s Blues Summit and 1997’s Deuces Wild. Those two albums featured B.B. singing his songs with guest artists, and they are probably more for the devoted fan who is familiar with much of his work. Blues on the Bayou, however, is classic B.B. and Lucille. If you know someone who has heard of B.B. but isn’t familiar with his music, give him or her this album and it will offer a great explanation.

The set was recorded at Dockside Studio, in the countryside outside Lafayette, Louisiana (Maurice, LA, to be exact). B.B. says he and the band had a ball recording it, and you definitely get that feeling while listening. It has the feel of an open jam session. B.B. freely features Lucille, and you’ll hear lots of good piano as well. The album contains some new songs and some old ones; some never before released. There’s a good mixture of ballads and more up-tempo songs, along with a couple of instrumentals.

Highlights would include the ballads I’ll Survive, a song B.B. says is his personal favorite and one he wrote back in the 1950s, and Blues Man. If you’ve ever seen B.B. in concert, you will recognize Blues Man. It’s a testament to B.B.’s philosophy about the blues, that it is often stereotyped as down-and-dirty and grimy, when in reality it is often brought forth with much class and style. Other good ballads are If I Lost You (sounds like a 1982 B.B. song called Darlin’ You Know I Love You), and a remake of I Got Some Outside Help I Don’t Need (originally done in 1971).

The best up-tempo tunes would be Shake it Up and Go (sounds like a 1976 B.B. tune called Mother Fuyer), Bad Case of Love, Good Man Gone Bad, and If That Ain’t It I Quit. You may find your feet moving to these!

Phil Kolocotronis