Top Blues Albums Of All Time - Part 1

This was Albert King’s second studio album and is seen by many as the single recording which modernised the blues and brought the genre to a whole new audience. As a Stax Atlantic record, the album has an overall Soul styling to it and backing band - Booker T and the MGs ensured its pop chart success.

Albert King’s unorthodox approach to playing is most evident on this record. His approach to playing ‘upside down’ with the treble strings facing upwards gave him ferocious string bending and vibrato; unheard in his contemporaries. His choice of phrasing is often influenced by his use of alternate tunings (much disputed but often C-F-C-F-A-D). As a listening guitarist, this gives a whole new take on lead playing and King’s ideas translate very well into standard tuning. He is also famed for his very ‘vocal’ approach to his solos on this recording.

His much-coveted tone on the album comes from his trademark Gibson Flying V in combination with a unique choice of solid-state acoustic guitar amps. It’s worth noting that King favoured very, very light gauge strings and played with his thumb. He had 2 main Flying Vs - a ’59 model and a 60s V. The latter was lost and in the 1970s King moved over to a V style custom guitar built by guitar maker Dan Erlwin. He also shifted over to Roland Jazz Chorus amps; another reason this album is a chance to hear Albert King at his purist, tone-wise.

Along with some of BB King’s most dynamic and soulful playing; it is the irreverent atmosphere of this gig which sets this album apart from other live recordings. Filmed and recorded on Sept 10th 1970 to an audience of 2117 inmates; BB is in full Bluesman charisma mode and connects with the audience in a way unrivalled by so many players of the day. His frequent vocal interaction with the prisoners and their rowdy reactions adds grit and integrity to the tracks.

The timing of the album coincides with a period of King’s playing which encompasses his well seasoned soulful phrasing with his still present youthful fire and flare - the opening solo on ‘How Blue Can You Get’ is the perfect example of this and a great reminder of how essential touch, space and timing is in your lead playing.

Much on BB’s tone is in his fingers, as they say, but gear wise he is using a combination of his favourite Lab series L5 solid state 2x12 amps and Fender Twin Reverbs. Obviously his signature Gibson ES-335 ‘Lucille’ strung with 10. - 0.54. is his guitar of choice. The name ‘Lucille’ was given to his guitar following a performance at which two men burnt down the club whilst the band were playing. Following his escape BB discovered that the two men in question had set fire to the venue during a dispute over a woman named ‘Lucille’ and the rest is history.

Leading on from his appearance at Cook County, BB King founded a foundation for the advancement of inmate quality of life with attorney F.Lee Bailey. By 1990 King had performed at over 50 prisons and is was frequently vocal about his empathy for those in the American prison system, stating that his life very nearly saw him end up in the same circumstances. The political fallout of ‘Live at Cook County Prison’ directly spurned a reform in prisoner welfare; during the album’s recording TV interviews were conducted with some prisoners who had been awaiting trial for over a year.

Interesting fact: the prison hired a large contingent of retired boxers and ex-fighters as additional security for the gig as trouble was expected.

The album came in at number 27 of Rolling Stone Magazine’s ‘Greatest Albums Of All Time’ list and is a definitive compilation of Johnson’s recordings; giving blues fans the best way to hear why Robert Johnson is still heralded as the original pioneer of Blues guitar.

These recordings are a masterclass in unaccompanied acoustic blues guitar. Johnson’s time feel and rhythmically ‘dangerous’ groove combined with incredibly vocal slide fills are sure to give you inspiration. Robert would famously break the beat, drop 1/8 notes play with the measures, often resulting in an 11 and 13 bar blues!

Only 3 photographs are known to exist of Robert Johnson (these only surfaced after 1970) so it’s hard to have a definitive answer on the equipment with which he played and recorded. However, images show Robert holding both a Gibson L-1 (circa 1929) and a Gibson L-00 (1935-36). It is this level of mystery and absence of official records of Johnson which have, in part, given rise to the mythology surrounding his virtuoso guitar skills. His year-long disappearance is factual and, prior to his departure, Robert was known as a distinctly average guitarist and performer. He re-emerged as a jaw droppingly different player, leaving his previous critics stunned and began fuelling the rumours of supernatural intervention. We can take this, however, as an indication of what a single year of intense practice can do for your playing!

If you’d also like to make a fabled ‘deal with the devil’ to improve your skills then it is suggested that the famous site is the Mississippi intersection of Highway 61 and 49 (although the ‘crossroads’ sung about by Robert Johnson is thought to be entirely metaphorical!)

This is Wolf’s debut album and features a collection of his singles from 1951-59. His fiery harp playing and signature raspy vocals are an excellent source of inspiration for your blues phrasing but it is the guest guitar work of Howlin Wolf’s right-hand man Hubert Sumlin which is of most interest to us guitarists. Sumlin’s lead work and fills are rhythmically daring and he experiments with speedy, jagged lines coupled with creative use of silence. His jazz influence and musical education are very evident and the guitar work on this album is not typical of the era. Howlin Wolf famously sent Hubert to study at Chicago Conservatory Of Music where he studied under members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra giving him a musical breadth unseen in other blues guitar players of the day. Hubert Sumlin comes in at number 43 of Rolling Stone Magazine’s ‘100 Greatest Guitarists’ list.

Gear wise; we know Sumlin favoured Kay guitars and his trusty 1956 Les Paul. He ran through an early echoplex into a Wabash amp equipped with 15” speakers. Tonally; he was an advocate for using your fingers and thumb in place of a pick, string that the switch made an instant improvement to his tone, allowing him to play more soulful and expressively.

Did you know that the man himself, Howlin Wolf didn’t begin his musical career until the age of 40? Up until this point, he was a farmer and often discussed crops and farming methods when meeting new musicians. Proof, if needed, that age is no factor in striking out as a musician!

Guitarist Hubert Sumlin died in 2011 at the age of 80. His manager and home carer remember his final words; he asked for his guitar.

So there we have it; some inspiration to get your ears and fingers in a playing frame of mind! Plus a few fun facts to impress your friends with!