B.B. King - Live in Japan (Great Blues Japan/US 1971)

Size: 148 MB
Bitrate: 256
mp3
Ripped by: chrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan SHM-CD Remaster

When BB King landed in Tokyo in March 1971, the Blues legend was riding high on a well-deserved surge in popular acclaim and commercial success. The Thrill Is Gone had become King’s highest-ever charting single the previous year, and as he hit the Sankei Hall stage with his touring band, Live In Cook County Jail was starting a lucrative climb into the US album charts. To avoid harming sales of the latter disc perhaps, his record company decided to release the Tokyo dates only in Japan, leaving America to wait another 28 years. By then of course the LP had become a highly sought-after collectible, and for good reason – the recording captures King and his band in phenomenal form. 

In contrast to …Cook County Jail’s brevity, Live In Japan offers more than seventy minutes of diverse yet consistently outstanding material. Classics such as Sweet Sixteen, The Thrill Is Gone and How Blue Can You Get? are delivered with tremendous passion and clout, while a rare live version of Hummingbird simply takes off on a barrage of ringing notes from Lucille and a fanfare of horns. King’s vocals are magnificent throughout, particularly on Eyesight To The Blind, where he ranges from a bawled holler to a tremulous, breathless gasp with astonishing ease. Several long instrumentals, such as Japanese Boogie and Jamming At Sankei Hall, offer an invaluable snapshot of King’s live improvisational skills, as well as some magical solos from trumpet player John Browning, pianist Ron Levy and King’s long-time drummer Sonny Freeman. While not as widely celebrated as some of his other concert albums, Live In Japan is both an artful and thorough testament to the multi-faceted genius of one of music’s true living legends.

Live in Japan was originally released as a two-LP set in Japan 1971. At the time, King's superb Live in Cook County Jail was a respectable seller for ABC, and the label also planned to release In London -- so ABC felt that because a fair amount of live King albums were coming out in the U.S., it was best to release the Sankei Hall recording only in Japan. But many of King's American fans wanted it anyway, and collectors went out of their way to find imported copies of the double LP. 

Parts of Live in Japan did come out on various U.S. releases, but it was not released in its entirety in the U.S until this 1999 reissue. Backed by many of the same players heard on Live in Cook County Jail, King is in excellent form on spirited, gutsy performances of "The Thrill Is Gone" and "Sweet Sixteen" as well as Sonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight to the Blind," Leon Russell's "Hummingbird," and Peter Chatman's "Every Day I Have the Blues." The instrumentals "Japanese Boogie" and "Jamming at Sankei Hall" give the band a chance to let loose and improvise, and "Lucille" (King's name for his guitar) gets in some passionate, inspired solos. Although Live at the Regal and Live in Cook County Jail are King's most essential live albums, Live in Japan is a fine CD that his fans will definitely want.

Recorded live at Sankei Hall, Tokyo, Japan on March 4 & 7, 1971. Originally released on ABC-Japan (841). Includes liner notes by Andy McKaie. Personnel: B.B. King (vocals, guitar); Earl Turbinton (alto saxophone); Louis Hubert (tenor saxophone); John Browning (trumpet); Joseph Burton (trombone); Ron Levy (piano); Wilton Freeman (bass); Sonny Freeman (drums). 

01."Every Day I Have the Blues" - 2:10 
02."How Blue Can You Get?" - 5:17 
03."Eyesight to the Blind" - 4:03 
04."Niji Baby" - 6:27 
05."You're Still My Woman" - 5:56 
06."Chains and Things" - 5:41 
07."Sweet Sixteen" - 6:00 
08."Hummingbird" - 4:08 
09."Darlin' You Know I Love You" - 4:26 
10."Japanese Boogie" - 9:17 
11."Jamming at Sankei Hall" - 9:35 
12."The Thrill Is Gone" - 5:36 
13."Hikari #88" - 7:57 

1. Link

or

2. Link

.

France EP, releasedate unknown