 B.B. King As a genre, blues has few sincere devotées in the Loud Bassoon camp. Most of us enjoy the blues in theory but have been stymied by so-called classic albums that turn out to be as exciting as back-to-school clothes shopping. Wait a minute, that probably just confused half the potential readers. What I'm trying to say is, sure, the blues is cool, but I'm bound to fall the hell asleep when I can see the chord changes coming twenty minutes in advance. You shouldn't be able to accurately predict what a song will be like from its title (with the exception of "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose," which writes itself). Take it Home is a B.B. King album for people who don't want a B.B. King album. A) It's not live, and B) it does not contain "The Thrill is Gone," so there's some good karma right away. Better still, it's 1979 B.B. King, after the classic years but before the 80s resurgence capped by "When Love Comes to Town" with U2. It may have been an attempt at cash-in commercial success, but holds up incredibly well as a truly great, non-boring blues album. B.B. is backed by the Crusaders, who provide a funkier feel (and more than three chords) than the average B.B. King album. The songs are all good, and the only lameness is the running time – it's like toward the end of the 70s record execs were trying to revert to the 30-minute album (perhaps the fault of Kiss). But then, I'd rather a solidly great 30 minute album than a middling 42 minute album with a few filler tracks thrown in. Perhaps the ideal album length is 35 minutes – what do you think on this topic? The disc opens with "Better Not Look Down," which offers the unusual scenario of the Queen of England asking B.B. for advice, and reinforces the notion of B.B. as a great performer. I tend to think of him as a sort of Chuck Berry, rehashing the same two notes over and over for forty years, but in fact, B.B. has been able to forge a more or less consistently interesting career through all the musical climates of the rock era, and this song in particular demonstrates why people revere the man. (See B.B.'s shitty moments, such as the recent Deuces Wild, for a demonstration of why just as many people don't revere the man.) Other highlights include "Same Old Story (Same Old Song)," one of my two or three favorite B.B. King songs (now that I think of it, I actually don't have any favorite B.B. King songs other than the ones on this album. I think this CD is rose-tinting some of his other, more tired stuff for me), and "A Story Everybody Knows," another great B.B. speak-sing thing. Gets a bit close to Robert Cray territory (that's not meant as "good"), but doesn't go too slick. The title song, which closes the album, is a fairly anthemic gospel-tinged tune that U2 wouldn't be able to muster up even if someone made them wipe those goddamn smirks off their leprechaun-sucking faces. Great stuff, without any forced grandeur, like Michael Bolton would do. Slippery Memphis guitars, punchy horns, smooth backing vocals, and then there's B.B. Recommended for anyone ever burned by albums by: Tower of Power, Little Feat, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Big Twist & the Mellow Fellows, Popa Chubby, etc. For Pete's sake, haven't you goons learned yet that if it's white, it's crap?!
Review by Yellowhead |