From one of the most renonwned blues legends ever, this album of his greatest hits is awesome. If you love guitar, and blues then check this album out.
July 18, 2006 |  | Influential................ |  |
B.B. King is the most influential blues guitarist of all time. B.B. is the real deal for so many reasons, and this greatest hits complination is the very best. The first two tracks are taken from Live At Regal one of the best live B.B. King recordings including Every Day I Have The Blues, and Sweet Little Angel. Some other known tracks for the early listner are The Thrill Is Gone, and Hummingbird those are both two tracks that really stand out. Their is a track called Playin' With My Friends (with robert cray), and When Love Comes To Town(with U2). I highly encourage anybody to try this bb. king's greatest hits complination. I also would highly recomend Live At The Regal!
December 9, 2004| | | No doubt this guy IS history himself! | |
Later in life I`ve discovered the power and energy of B.B.King, and amazed I`ve become his fan. This is a good sample of his style and tempo, and no matter he gets old, his quality remains intact.
October 20, 2004 | | Too focused on mediocre latter-day material | |
This certainly isn't everything you could ever want from the Beale Street Blues Boy, but it does give the first-time listener a pretty accurate idea about what to expect from B.B. King. For better or worse.
His excellent and highly influential 50s singles are missing, which is a shame, especially since some of those were actually sizable hits and this compilation has the audacity to call itself "Greatest Hits".
There are lot of great moments here anyway, like the swinging "Paying The Cost To Be The Boss", the epic "Why I Sing The Blues", and the slow burner "How Blue Can You Get" among them, and they sit next to two cuts from King's highly succesful "Live At The Regal" album, an excellent "Sweet Little Angel" and a hideous "Every Day I Have The Blues" which falls miles short of Memphis Slim's potent original ("Nobody Loves Me").
And there are just too many mediocrities on this album. B.B. King experimented with some sort of pop-blues fusion in the 70s and 80s, and the compilers have included "To Know You Is to Love You", "I Like To Live The Love" and "Hummingbird" from that unfortunate era. The duets with Robert Cray on "Playin' With My Friends" and rock group U2 on "When Love Comes To Town" are not much more uplifting, and too much of this material was recorded well after King's prime.
If you like B.B. King at his most pop-friendly, you will probably enjoy this compilation. If you like him at his grittiest, you will certainly be disappointed. May I suggest the new "Ultimate Collection" instead.
June 28, 2004A nice compilation of this blues legend. Some catchy lyrics and strong guitar solos exist throughout this collection. The first seven songs are strictly three chord blues progressions which can be a bit tiresome for some audiences. However, the catchy lyrics make you pay attention to such gems as Paying The Cost To Be The Boss, How Blue Can You Get?, and The Thrill Is Gone.
The next few tracks have a more varied arrangement and get away from the standard three chord progression. BB King gets funky in spots and the use of strings and horns in the background add a nice touch. The duets with Bono and Robert Cray are quite good. A nice intro to this legend, indeed. April 1, 2002
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