Albert King - Born Under a Bad Sign
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Artist: Albert KingBrand: KING,ALBERT
Edition: Music CD
Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2002-06-18
Music Label: Stax
Soundtracks:
- Born Under A Bad Sign
- Crosscut Saw
- Kansas City
- Oh, Pretty Woman
- Down Don't Bother Me
- The Hunter
- I Almost Lost My Mind
- Personal Manager
- Laundromat Blues
- As The Years Go Passing By
- The Very Thought Of You
Music reviews of Born Under a Bad Sign
Music Review: Albert King's Classic Album
Rating: 5 Stars
Albert King is my favourite Bluesman in history. This was the LP that made his name. However, it is not his best. He went on to become the most influential Blues player of all time and one of the most influential guitarists of all time. His live sets and early seventies records are produced better, sound better and the tunes are longer (as Blues should be!). This album, like his King Records LP "The Big Blues" was a compilation of the first singles and early session work King had done when he signed with Stax Records in 1966. Stax felt that it had to capitalise on the renewed interest (especially by young white kids) in Blues music. King's actual first "real" LP was the Al Jackson, Jr. produced "Years Gone By" in 1968.
Albert Nelson King had come to Memphis in the mid-1960s with a record deal instigated by Jim Stewart's sister. He was not looking for a Bluesman-Stax was a soul label. THE soul label! Albert had a great name as a live performer in East St. Louis and occaisionally Memphis and Chicago. His set for King and Bobbin Records had sold well, but not great. His first hit had been "Don't Throw Your Love On Me Too Strong" (Later attempted live by the non-vocalist Mike Bloomfield) and that was in 1961.
Albert signed with Stax and like with gospel queen Aretha Franklin, they didn't know what to do with him! This album is series of singles that had been released from sporadic sessions. It features straight blues, covers, rock and roll, pop and funky soul. Albert showcased his ability to synthesize the blues genre which is what he did!
The title track, which has been covered by so many people (eg, Cream, the worst version! and Robben Ford, great!) Was done in one take (althought there are a few versions-one released in Europe). Albert (who didn't read music) just plugged in and overdubbed his voice and guitar. This was the tune that put funk and soul into blues- it fused rock. soul and funk- which is what the British players had been trying to do- but couldn't- let's face it the real Blues is BLACK AMERCIAN MUSIC- anything else is a copy or a sub-genre like Eminem- is he really hip hop or is he white trash rap!!!! This tune is so important that its initial meaning, as a horoscopic blues in the vein of hippie-dom at the time and "The Age of Aquarius" stuff of the sixities, is TOTALLY LOST. No one thinks of the Zodiac when they listen to this!! Hence the cover of this CD is totally meaningless to most Blues fans. My old Dad once thought the album was called "Friday the 13th"!!!!
The first tunes that had been cut at Stax were "Laundromat Blues" written by Sandy Jones, who also wrote "Walking the Back Streets and Crying" (for Little Milton, but Albert's version on "I Wanna Get Funky" is far better). This tune has been done as a test for Albert and was done live in one take!!at his first session-it blew people away! Especially his double stopped bend solo, fantastic! The other tune "Overall Junction" was done mono and included on the better and later compilation "King of the Blues Guitar" the LP that started Staxes demise through Atlantic records. This was his blazing instrumental that can't be copied and set the tone of his unique bending style (like Albert Collins type of impossible to recreate playing).
I first heard my favourite cut "Crosscut Saw" in 1966 in New York during an intermission at the Cafe Au Go Go (my teenage hangout!). This tune came on with the wild bends and suggestive lyrics-unreal!!! I had to have it! It is interesting that this tune was released as single even with a damaged 4-track tape track (the vocal one!), What creative control- would that happen today- when half of recording is done with digital computer virtual tracks- oh my! But this is one of Albert's great songs, one that made his name. In 1990 I saw him at a club in Sydney and shouted out "Crosscut Saw" between songs and he played it!!! Although it was the Wednesday Night Live at the Filmore version- which had just been released!
"Kansas City" was a cover and a tune he did a lot in clubs. His opening riffs in this one is some of his best playing on the whole record- what phrasing and tone. The solo gets a bit buried in the mix. Oh, Pretty Woman, one of Albert's most famous tunes was never released as a single, although there are many covers of it and Albert played with Gary Moore on his hit version of it in 1990. "Down Don't Bother Me" is one of the two shortest tunes Albert ever recorded (the other being "If The Washing Don't Get You The Rinsing Will" on Years Gone By. It has the same fantastic tone as "Laundromat".
The Hunter, written by Booker T and the MG's was a later hit for Ike and Tina Tuner (who did heaps of covers). The best version of this tune has only been released in Japan, it was only re-discovered in the 1990s. I also love "Finger On the Trigger" Albert's answer to this tune on the Funky London CD. This version is the most poppy, hit single type of tune on the LP and is a bit over produced. It wasn't a big hit.
The Very Thought of You and I Almost Lost My Mind are two tune that are usually bagged. However, they showcase Albert's singing ability (how many Bluesmen white or black could do this- imagine Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters or Eric Clapton singing like this!). They were used in his shows to slow things down a bit and have a break from the guitar solos. But speaking of solos- Personal Manager is the signature tune on this LP- Not Born Under! This was the best solo he ever did and most creative for the time on record. Like Eric Clapton's famous solo on John Mayall's "Have You Heard", which was recorded at about the same time. It is his moment of glory in the world of music. There was a single released of this tune -WITH NO SOLO, but the whole tune was included on the LP (which is long and that's why there are 11 and not 12 tracks- ah, the days of vinyl!!!) This solo can be too much for non-guitar players or only marginal blues lovers! As Jack Black says in the movie "School Of Rock"- you have to be Hard Core- that applies to Personal Manager.
By contrast "As the Year Go Passing By" has a sub-dued solo and I have always felt a bit disappointed in this lovely minor key blues classic- however the other version, released on the "Hard Bargain" CD and the European great value CD "Years Gone BY-Plus", is much better!
That's the set. That's the classic compilation that changed music history and saved the Blues end in the 1960s from becoming rock, soul or in the early 1970s-country! It kept the blues genre as a Soulful Fragment (as Buddy Miles would say). In this way Albert went on to record tunes such as the Talking Blues "Cold Feet" which became the grandfather of soulful rap and hip hop of the 1990s. Get this classic CD. There are many versions of it. My favorite is the Gold Disc Version released through Rhino (UDMC 577). But any will do!
Description of Born Under a Bad Sign
No Description AvailableNo Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: KING,ALBERT
Title: BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN
Street Release Date: 06/18/2002
Genre: BLUES
Born Under a Bad Sign dates back to a time when albums were collections of singles, and when singles, designed for radio and jukebox play, seldom ran more than three and a half minutes. That limitation meant that artists had to make an impact quickly and firmly. In blues, the tendency of songs to go on a bit had to be curbed to produce performances with punch and point. There are few better examples of this process in action than Albert King's 1960s tracks like "Crosscut Saw," "Born Under a Bad Sign," and his story of hot whispers during the hot-wash cycle, "Laundromat Blues." With his thick voice and no-nonsense guitar, King brought absolute blues credibility to the well-made commercial single, and even tracks that were recorded purely for the album, like the aching slow blues "As the Years Go Passing By," became classics. Reissued with the original funky cover art, Born Under a Bad Sign is one of the foundation stones of a blues collection. --Tony Russell
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