Albert King - I’ll Play the Blues for You Review

Relaxed and confident, Albert King’s I’ll Play the Blues for You was released on Stax in 1972. The Concord Music Group has remastered the album, adding four previously unreleased bonus tracks. King’s vocals and especially his soulful guitar leads define supple smoothness. The Bar-Kays and The Movement provide low-intensity funk backing, aided by The Memphis Horns. All things considered, not an earth-shattering work but a consistently fine one.
The lengthier tracks are the best, including the title track and especially the simmering “Breaking Up Somebody’s Home.” King’s solos on the latter are economical, yet absolutely drip with feeling. Buried in the liner notes is the claim that the song, released as a single, dented Billboard’s R&B Top 40– only surprising because it wasn’t a bigger hit. Later in the album, King covers the Marvin Gaye smash “I’ll Be Doggone,” a fun jam marred by some phony-souding audience overdubs (as alleged in the liner notes)....full text It's not as if Albert King hadn't tasted success in his first decade and a half as a performer, but his late-'60s/early-'70s recordings for Stax did win him a substantially larger audience. During those years, the label began earning significant clout amongst rock fans through events like Otis Redding's appearance at the Monterey International Pop Festival and a seemingly endless string of classic singles. When King signed to the label in 1966, he was immediately paired with the Stax session team Booker T. & the MG's. The results were impressive: "Crosscut Saw," "Laundromat Blues," and the singles collection Born Under a Bad Sign were all hits. Though 1972's I'll Play the Blues for You followed a slightly different formula, the combination of King, members of the legendary Bar-Kays, the Isaac Hayes Movement, and the sparkling Memphis Horns was hardly a risky endeavor. The result was a trim, funk-infused blues sound that provided ample space for King's oft-imitated guitar playing. King has always been more impressive as a soloist than a singer, and some of his vocal performances on I'll Play the Blues for You lack the intensity one might hope for. ...full text Considered the crown jewel in King's considerable catalog, I'll Play The Blues For You is widely recognized as one of the seminal albums in the blues, influencing artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Roy Buchanan. Originally released in 1972, the album has received 24-bit remastering, a fresh set of liner notes courtesy of music journalist and blues historian Bill Dahl, and the addition of four previously unreleased bonus tracks.
King recorded I'll Play The Blues For You in the spring of 1972, working with bassist James Alexander and drummer Willie Hall - the remaining members of the Bar-Kays - who were also members of Isaac Hayes' backing band the Movement, along with guitarist Michael Toles. The Memphis Horns with Wayne Jackson were brought in to spice things up a bit, and the resulting album was both contemporary and traditional, the performances firmly rooted in the blues but incorporating elements of Stax's trademark funk and soul in creating a fresh and electrifying sound....full text