#499: B.B. King – Live in Cook Country Jail (1970)

Another backhanded tip to Chicago in this album, as Cook County Jail, the largest in the US, is situated southwest of the city in one of the roughest parts of town. Someone in Google has helpfully reviewed it: "Best sleep I ever had, gotta come and visit soon."

The album opens with an introduction, but not of King. Instead a female announcer points out the sheriff and a chief justice of the state courts. Unsurprisingly these names are met mostly with boos, setting up a strange and awkward start to there album. But within moments, King is jamming away and only every once in a while, as cheers rise up from the audience, do you think about the fact that the fans are all prisoners.

Admittedly, B.B. King mostly conjures up "The Thrill Is Gone." And blues is always a genre that I think about exploring but never seem to do. It always seems to be a PBS concert special that you flip by. I know, I know, some music fans are reaching for their smelling salts. But I do love jazz and so I found a lot to love in this album. I was struck by how jazz-like this album is, with its wandering jams, trilling piano, and lazy drums. I'm not a huge fan of live albums but King's interactions with the crowd, like calling out the ladies and the fellas in the middle of "Worry, Worry," are appealing... at least until he starts telling the guys not to beat their ladies. Good advice? I'm not sure I'd want to listen to the banter every time but it's better than most.
Short, sweet and fit my mood for a sunny-but-under-the-weather Saturday afternoon.

Rating: 7.5/10

Would listen to if: Need a some jammin' background music or some moody road trip music.

Favorite tracks: "Please Accept My Love," "How Blue Can You Get," "The Thrill Is Gone"

Notes:

• If, like me, you're most familiar with B.B. King's later work (namely, the ever-present versions of "The Thrill is Gone," you'll be struck by how young he sounds here. I'm always intrigued by the development of singer's voices over their careers (see Joni Mitchell for a prime example).
• Track #3, "How Blue Can You Get" was sampled in Primitive Radio Gods' "Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth" which I originally thought was a Moby song. Here the original here and the sample here.