Customer Reviews

Blues On The Bayou

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are 3 wonderful Lucille instrumentals on this disc, starting with the haunting BB's Theme. Them aside, Blues Man should have been a hit; I'll Survive - one of BB's favourites - is the nearest we're likely to get to one more anthem from The King. It's certainly his late-career signature tune although BB purists will bemoan the fact that there is not a version of The Thrill is Gone on this disc.

This disc is BB's best outside of the analogies and live performances. He thrives on technology here - this disc is a must for BB fans who want new, great music at its technical best.

BB says he has never made a perfect album. Maybe so, and he knows the faults better than me, but this one is pretty good!

At the time of this recording, BB King was 73 years old. He and his road-tested band cut these tunes in Lafayette, LA. Overall, "Blues on the Bayou" is as pleasant as an ice-cold Jax on a lazy summer day. This is a good, accessible CD to expose novices to the blues. But it is a little too refined. One reviewer aptly describes "Blues on the Bayou" as blues from the decanter, not the bottle. True - this ain't RL Burnside or Howlin' Wolf. But it is light years better (and more sincere) than anything that poser Slowhand has done since Cream disbanded. Plus, how can you not like the grandfatherly BB? If only I am half as cool as The King when I'm 73.

This is the greatest blues album ever! Mastered by the greatest blues performer ever, BB King. This album has such an easy feel to it. The band is so together and BB, well, what can you say about the man, the performer, the singer, the guitar player. Words can't describe him. He's a national treasure and proves it on this disc and so many others he's cut over his great career. It always makes me upset when they give the title of "superstar" to some of these no talent bums who permeate today's music industry. BB truly is a superstar and proves it every time he plugs in Lucille and open's his mike with that wonderful, powerful, soulful voice. Long live the King!

While reviewing B B Kings music Muddy Water. My elderly relative was so delighted to here some music she used to listen to in her younger years. Cousin Hazel, replied to me that she used to be one of his fans. His music put a bright light on her face. Being Handicapped and not able to see. While listening to his greastest hits you really could not tell the different. BB Kings, live forever in one of his 76 year old fan.

Best At Being A King B,B, KING
from your fan
Nancy

Recorded in four days with his regular road band, "Blues On The Bayou" includes no duets, no guest stars, and no unintentionally funny cover versions of pop songs. Just fourteen B.B. King originals, a version of T-Bone Walker's "Mean Old World" which King shamelessly credits to himself, and a loose and relaxed approach.

B.B. King produced this album himself, for the first time in his 50-year career, and the result is pretty good, although "Blues On The Bayou" is somewhat slicker and more polished than I would have liked (but then again, King never aspired to be Muddy Waters).

Among the best songs are the slow, soulful "I'll Survive" (definitely NOT the Gloria Gaynor single, but rather a discreet rip-off of Tampa Red's classic "It Hurts Me Too"), the swinging "Shake It Up And Go" (which is actually a slightly altered take on "Bottle Up And Go"), the funky instrumental "If That Ain't It I Quit", and the slightly jazzy "Good Man Gone Bad", which features some excellent piano playing by keyboardist James Toney.

I would certainly have preferred a bit more grit and a little less of the very synthetic sounding organ and the equally synthetic string orchestra, and the many slow songs all sound more or less alike, but that's contemporary blues for you, I suppose.

If your idea of what electric blues should sound like is Howlin' Wolf and Elmore James, stay FAR away from this album.
But if you prefer your blues from the decanter rather than the bottle, you'll probably like it just fine.

Shuffle tunes Tell Me Baby, Mean Old World and Broken Promise are worth the money by themselves, and if you don't "get" those, you're dead or you should be shopping for something other than blues records. What a band. What grooves. What definitive blues guitar. What singing. What production. There are a couple of less-than-perfect endings on this collection, but so what? They could have gone back and prettied them up, but they didn't because the point of this project seems to be that there is no substitute for good, live music.

Blues on the Bayou is the 18th BB King album I own and it is my favorite. This album shows what he's always been about: great music from a great guitar player and singer with a great band. "I'll Survive" is my favorite and anyone who's followed BB will agree with every word and note of this tune. In this day and age, it's nice to hear from an artist who isn't holding anything back. Music is supposed to be about feelings, especially the blues, and this album feels right.

Great guitar solos with a mix of gospel in his songs. Great music to listen to with superb back up musicians. This is a great example of what you get when you see B.B. in person.

Having spent my first four decades worshipping rock,
my ear has been wandering of late. I've tried jazz,
it's just not me. I've tried classical, what a
snooze. But I stumbled across BB's brand of blues
this past year, and I gotta tell ya...I'm a BIG fan!
This CD in particular has struck a chord with me so
large that I have been buying copies of this for all
my friends...there's not a looser on here, folks.
If blues appeals to you at all, give this one a chance.

i've heard of the KING, but never actually listened to b.b.king's albums before. This is the first 'blues' album i bought (and 1st b.b.king album ever) ...and i love it !

So intoxicating it is, listening to Riley King making love to Lucille. Many of the tunes in BOTB may sound similar in the opening guitar riffs, but on extended listens, they are actually different. Very well made album, this. His supporting band is doing a superb job of 'supporting' him, instead of drowning him off with their own instruments. King's vocals are especially nice, with fine control (at his age!) and with the occasional 'authoritative' growls in other sections. Cool! The physical length of the CD is long enough to keep you whetted with superior 'blues' music, so it is Value For Money.

The CD is got is a "Made in the E.U." version. Dunno about the other country's pressings, but i perceive this CD to be a little 'bass-heavy', overall. I had to touch the 'bass' knob to lessen a little of the low frequencies (i almost always listen to my music on the 'tone-defeated' setting). Cud anyone who has the non-E.U. pressing comment on the sound/recording quality?

GREAT BLUES CD. Highly recommended.