NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2008 (Billboard) — In the wake of Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, John Mellencamp and all that's come before, T Bone Burnett is on such a producing roll that his presence threatens to eclipse the artist(s) he's working with. But that's hardly the case on B.B. King's first new studio album in three years. Burnett's concept for the 12-track set -- to have the 82-year-old King revisit songs he played at the very beginning of his career -- plays out in an inspired outing that finds King replacing the fire of his youth with a confident authority. King laces lyrical solos and fills into every song, a list that ranges from Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean," T-Bone Walker's "I Get So Weary," Big Bill Broonzy's "Backwater Blues" and the Mississippi Sheiks' "Sitting on Top of the World." The tricks aren't new, but the old dog still has plenty of bite left. ... >
full story
Subscribe
Print
Email
Bookmark
