BB King - Live At Montreux 1993

King of the blues holds court in Switzerland

The blues will never die as long as BB King keeps fingering his fretboard – and with a full tour schedule pencilled in his diary for 2009, the 83-year-old blues guitar maestro shows no sign of hanging up his faithful Lucille (that’s the name of his Gibson guitar) for life in a retirement home. As part of his imminent world tour, the man born Riley B King is due to play the Montreux Jazz Festival this July – it’s a venue he knows intimately, of course, having played there many times before.

To coincide with his upcoming appearance, Eagle has released a DVD of his 1993 Montreux performance. For blues aficionados, it’s tantamount to a feast – King’s supremely expressive guitar playing, with its acerbic tone and heavy vibrato, has never sounded better. His voice, too, which is raw and earthy, is in good shape – King sings every word as if his life depended on it. The maestro’s ably backed by a tightly-drilled eight-piece band, which includes saxophonists Walter King and Melvin Jackson, trumpeter James Bolden and organist James Toney. The 17-song set includes versions of Let The Good Times Roll, Caldonia, Since I Met You Baby and climaxes with King’s big 1970 crossover hit, The Thrill Is Gone. Blues to die for.

3 stars 3 stars 3 stars

Eagle | EREDV715

Reviewed by Charles Waring
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