Albert King

Albert King – Born Under A Bad Sign (Stereo Remastered) (1967/2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 34:46 minutes | 1,04 GB | Genre: Blues
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Craft Recordings

Albert King recorded a lot in the early ’60s, including some classic sides, but they never quite hit the mark. They never gained a large audience, nor did they really capture the ferocity of his single-string leads. Then he signed with Stax in 1966 and recorded a number of sessions with the house band, Booker T. & the MG’s, and everything just clicked. The MG’s gave King supple Southern support, providing an excellent contrast to his tightly wound lead guitar, allowing to him to unleash a torrent of blistering guitar runs that were profoundly influential, not just in blues, but in rock & roll (witness Eric Clapton’s unabashed copping of King throughout Cream’s Disraeli Gears). Initially, these sessions were just released as singles, but they were soon compiled as King’s Stax debut, Born Under a Bad Sign. Certainly, the concentration of singles gives the album a consistency – these were songs devised to get attention – but, years later, it’s astounding how strong this catalog of songs is: “Born Under a Bad Sign,” “Crosscut Saw,” “Oh Pretty Woman,” “The Hunter,” “Personal Manager,” and “Laundromat Blues” form the very foundation of Albert King’s musical identity and legacy. Few blues albums are this on a cut-by-cut level; the songs are exceptional and the performances are rich, from King’s dynamic playing to the Southern funk of the MG’s. It was immediately influential at the time and, over the years, it has only grown in stature as one of the very greatest electric blues albums of all time.

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Albert King – King Of The Blues Guitar (Mono) (1969/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 34:13 minutes | 729 MB | Genre: Blues
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Atlantic Records

King of The Blues Guitar (Atlantic 8213) is a compilation album by blues guitarist and singer Albert King. It was released by Atlantic Records in 1969 and re-released in CD format in 1989. King of the Blues Guitar essentially combines the entire Stax Records album Born Under a Bad Sign, and six of King’s Stax singles.

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Albert King – Born Under A Bad Sign (Mono) (1966/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 34:17 minutes | 666 MB | Genre: Blues
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Stax

Simply one of the greatest blues choruses ever. It’s screaming: “Life don’t get much harder than this!” The funky, swinging bass line, perforated with defiant, almost haughty guitar licks, is a legendary piece of music. It’s one of those songs that people know as soon as they hear the instantly recognisable introduction – but it’s more likely to be the Cream version that they’ll have in mind. The band transformed the title track from Albert King’s Born Under A Bad Sign into a huge hit, helping the album Wheels Of Fire to the No.3 and No.1 chart positions in the UK and US, respectively, and producing the first ever Platinum-selling double-album.

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