B.B. King Live at the Regal (Greatest Hits Live) ( vinyl LP )

Release date19-08-2004 ( originally released in 1965)

2004 EU reissue vinyl LP

Widely considered by blues experts to be one of thefinest live blues recordings. Classic live recording from the late great blues legend B.B. King captured on November 21, 1964 at the Regal Theater in Chicago and originally released in 1965. 

Live at the Regal showcases King's penchant for not only playing the guitar and singing, but also entertaining. King treats an enthusiastic audience here to a collection of some of his greatest uptown blues hits including "Every Day I Have The Blues" and "Sweet Little Angel." 

Live at the Regal was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress and Rolling Stone ranked it #141 on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. King on the iconic recording: “...that particular day in Chicago, everything came together.”

Tracks:
A1 Every Day I Have The Blues
A2 Sweet Little Angel
A3 It's My Own Fault
A4 How Blue Can You Get
A5 Please Love Me

B1 You Upset Me Baby
B2 Worry, Worry
B3 Woke Up This Mornin'
B4 You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now
B5 Help The Poor

B.B. King is not only a timeless singer and guitarist, he's also a natural-born entertainer, and on Live at the Regal the listener is treated to an exhibition of all three of his talents. Over percolating horn hits and rolling shuffles, King treats an enthusiastic audience (at some points, they shriek after he delivers each line) to a collection of some of his greatest hits. The backing band is razor-sharp, picking up the leader's cues with almost telepathic accuracy. King's voice is rarely in this fine of form, shifting effortlessly between his falsetto and his regular range, hitting the microphone hard for gritty emphasis and backing off in moments of almost intimate tenderness. Nowhere is this more evident than at the climax of "How Blue Can You Get," where the Chicago venue threatens to explode at King's prompting. Of course, the master's guitar is all over this record, and his playing here is among the best in his long career. Displaying a jazz sensibility, King's lines are sophisticated without losing their grit. More than anything else, Live at the Regal is a textbook example of how to set up a live performance. Talking to the crowd, setting up the tunes with a vignette, King is the consummate entertainer. Live at the Regal is an absolutely necessary acquisition for fans of B.B. King or blues music in general. A high point, perhaps even the high point, for uptown blues.