B.B. King - Live at Montreux 1993 (Blu-ray)

The Live at Montreux concert-DVD/Blu-ray series has added the legendary B.B. King’s 1993 performance to their growing roster. B.B. and his band have been frequent performers over the course of the music festival’s long history, marking his 19th appearance a last week at the 2009 edition. Over the course of 100 minutes, the viewer will see a master showman at work on a Blu-ray disc that is a worthy addition to any music library.

Led by saxophonist Walter King, B.B.’s nephew, the band sounds good as they open the set with a few numbers on their own. Dressed in a turquoise dinner jacket with some type of Asian design on it, B.B. makes his entrance. He picks up his guitar Lucille and immediately makes her sing in the recognizable sweet, sweet tone he is famous for as he caresses her strings.

They play Louis Jordan’s “Let The Good Times Roll,” a jubilant celebration about living life in the moment. The audience shows they are into it by joining the call back on the first chorus. Guitarist Leon Warren gets a solo and is very good. As he does with every member, B.B. always points out a solo performance for recognition from the audience. Keyboardist James Toney gets his own time in the spotlight sandwiched between two B.B. solos on “When It All Comes Down (I’ll Still Be Around).”

B.B. reveals himself to be the consummate professional throughout the night. During “Chains of Love,” he pops a string and rather than get a new guitar or wait until the trumpet solo, he exemplifies the credo “the show must go on” and restrings it, with the help of Walter, all the while continuing to sing and convey the song’s emotion. During another Jordan song, “Caledonia,” he alternates the microphone height between himself and the two sax players who each come to the forefront of the stage for a solo. “All Over Again” is an outstanding instrumental where B.B. shows how well he can play quiet or loud.

As they play “Blues Man,” the lyrics of which sound like a time before B.B. had made it, he and the other guitarists sit on chairs to bring back the early days when he first started in business when he played tiny clubs. The set ends with B.B.’s all-time classic, a fantastic rendition of “The Thrill Is Gone.” The song is so good it almost makes you wish you had a broken heart just so hearing the song could help heal it.

The video is presented in 1080i High Definition Widescreen with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The details of King’s stylish coat and the beads of sweat on the hard-working musicians are clear and distinct, and colors appear consistent throughout. The camera work and pacing of the editing is well done as it allows the viewer to clearly see the band members play, including the framing on close-ups of their fingers. The audio is defaulted to LPCM Stereo, and is also available in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS HD Master Audio. The DTS delivers very good fidelity and the instruments fill the surrounds.

There’s a 15-minute bonus of three songs from a 2006 set, which finds 80-year-old B.B. still doing what he does best, although he informs the crowd he needs to perform from a chair because of his age. The band line-up is slightly altered. There is a new guitarist and bassist. The percussionist is gone and a trumpeter has been added. “Why I Sing The Blues” is repeated from the previous set, but there are two new songs. An up-tempo version of “When Love Comes to Town” that Bono wrote for B.B. and “Guess Who.” Hopefully, this is just a preview of a future release.

If you are a fan of B.B. King or just music in general, Live at Montreux 1993 makes for great viewing/listening. It’s too bad a CD of the set isn’t included, so you could take it wherever the good times rolled.

B.B. King: One Kind Favor

It looks like B.B. King and producer T Bone Burnett have done everyone willing to listen One Kind Favor with their latest release, a new collection covering blues classics from B.B.’s musical heroes. Much like Rick Rubin with Johnny Cash and Jack White with Loretta Lynn, Burnett extracts quintessential B.B. throughout the proceedings and creates a highlight of the year.

They grab you by the heart right from the get-go. It’s hard to keep a lump out of your throat and a tear out of your eye as 83-year-old B.B. requests we “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” on this Blind Lemon Jefferson tune. His solo is so sweet and melodious that it’s hard not to be selfish and hope it will be a long while before “his heart stops beating/and his hands are cold.”

Another T-Bone, Walker, is honored as they cover his “I Get So Weary.” B.B., Chuck Berry, and Jimi Hendrix all give Walker credit as being a major influence on them. A horn section joins the arrangement and B.B.’s voice gets raspy as he sings out in frustration “when my baby's not around.” Next, another Walker is remembered with Lee Vida Walker’s “Get These Blues Off Me.” B.B. presents the flipside to the story as the narrator is the one who has “gone away” because he “can't put up with you.” The tempo is slowed way down, and Lucille becomes even more beguiling. If you allow yourself to get lost in the song, you may notice the lights dim, the smell of cigarettes, and the clattering of ice in a just-finished drink. You’ll want to grab the first woman you see and slow dance your troubles away.

The pace is picked up for Howlin’ Wolf’s “How Many More Years.” The narrator is heading out the door with the music revealing a spring in his step. He’d “soon rather be dead, sleeping six feet in the ground” than to continue being treated so bad. On Oscar Lollie’s “Waiting For Your Call” Lucille sounds plaintive again as we hear another story reversal as this narrator is paralyzed by love, sitting by the phone hoping for a return that likely won’t happen. He doesn’t even care “how many times you have left me/ and you said you never really cared.”

Lonnie Johnson and The Mississippi Sheiks each make two appearances. Johnson’s “My Love Is Down” finds the narrator in an empty home, likely due to his tom-catting around because “instead of listenin’ to me baby, you listen to everything people has got to say.” The piano has a slightly larger presence underneath B.B. on this track. Johnson’s “Tomorrow Night” finds the narrator wondering if the woman who surrenders to him tonight will be with him again. Lucille performs light duty as B.B. opens without her and a sax takes the first solo on the bridge. The Mississippi Sheiks’ songs find the narrators in similar frames of mind. One has to leave his woman but sees “no use in worrying ‘cause ‘The World Is Gone Wrong’” while the other doesn’t worry when his woman leaves because he’s “Sitting On Top Of The World,” an often-covered classic.

The second song that doesn’t deal with affairs of the heart is Big Bill Broonzy’s “Backwater Blues,” a song about people driven from their homes due to five days of rain, which is regrettably timely as images of a waterlogged Galveston, Texas are still fresh from the television news. It’s the longest track on the album coming in at seven and a half minutes.

B.B.’s soulful voice and the sweet sound of Lucille are at the top of their game on One Kind Favor, and leave you wanting for more. Talented musicians, such as pianist Dr. John, drummer Jim Keltner, and bassist Nathan East, back him and together they deliver a wonderful blues album. Hopefully everyone involved will do us a second kind favor.