ALBERT KING: The Big Blues

Standing well over six feet and weighing in at around 250 pounds, it’s no surprise that Albert King earned the nickname “The Velvet Bulldozer.” Standing on stage with his Gibson Flying V, named Lucy, King cut an imposing visual figure. After a few abortive recording attempts, King scored a #14 R&B single on King Records with “Don’t Throw Your Love on Me So Strong” in 1961. The song captured the distinctive call-and-response style between King’s voice and guitar, a direct extension of his gospel roots and it was included on his debut album, The Big Blues. Backed by a razor sharp band, which included Ike Turner on piano, King showed an authoritative command of ballads, rumbas and mid-tempo shuffles. It was a sound honed in countless club gigs, a “vivid sound” as the LP jacket rightly proclaimed. To restore this sound to its royal splendor, Sundazed sourced this reissue from the original King mono master tapes. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Record Technology, Inc. (RTI) in Camarillo, CA, this resurrected LP boasts breathtaking sound. Nothing less would have been worthy of one of the most important albums in the blues pantheon. All hail King Albert!

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