Albert King Born Under A Bad Sign CD

Personnel includes: Albert King (vocals, guitar); Joe Arnold (horns); Isaac Hayes (piano).
Booker T. & The MG's: Booker T. Jones (piano); Steve Cropper (guitar); Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass); Al Jackson, Jr. (drums).
The Memphis Horns: Wayne Jackson, Andrew Love (horns).
Recorded at Stax Recording Studio, Memphis, Tennessee between March 1966 and June 1967.
Personnel: Albert King (vocals, guitar); Steve Cropper (guitar); Joe Arnold, Andrew Love, The Memphis Horns, Wayne Jackson (horns); Isaac Hayes, Booker T. Jones (piano); Al Jackson, Jr. (drums).
Audio Remasterer: George Horn.
Liner Note Authors: Deanie Parker; Michael Point.
Recording information: Stax Recording Studio, Memphis, TN (03/03/1966-06/09/1967).
Photographer: Jim Marshall .
Albert King recorded a lot in the early '60s, including some classic sides, but they never quite hit the mark. They never gained a large audience, nor did they really capture the ferocity of his single-string leads. Then he signed with Stax in 1966 and recorded a number of sessions with the house band, Booker T. & the MG's, and everything just clicked. The MG's gave King supple Southern support, providing an excellent contrast to his tightly wound lead guitar, allowing to him to unleash a torrent of blistering guitar runs that were profoundly influential, not just in blues, but in rock & roll (witness Eric Clapton's unabashed copping of King throughout Cream's Disraeli Gears). Initially, these sessions were just released as singles, but they were soon compiled as King's Stax debut, Born Under a Bad Sign. Certainly, the concentration of singles gives the album a consistency -- these were songs devised to get attention -- but, years later, it's astounding how strong this catalog of songs is: "Born Under a Bad Sign," "Crosscut Saw," "Oh Pretty Woman," "The Hunter," "Personal Manager," and "Laundromat Blues" form the very foundation of Albert King's musical identity and legacy. Few blues albums are this on a cut-by-cut level; the songs are exceptional and the performances are rich, from King's dynamic playing to the Southern funk of the MG's. It was immediately influential at the time and, over the years, it has only grown in stature as one of the very greatest electric blues albums of all time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The giant left-handed guitarist was no stranger to the recording studio by 1966, but Albert King had still to make his mark with the record-buying public. When he linked up with the cream of Stax's Memphis musicians, including Booker T. And The MGs and the Memphis Horns, that connection was made. "Laundromat Blues", "Oh, Pretty Woman" and "Crosscut Saw" set the scene for "Born Under A Bad Sign" and "The Hunter", which quickly found their way into the repertoires of Cream and Free. The convolutions of his guitar style were perfectly complemented by the trademark Stax funk rhythms. The team went on to make many more singles and albums, none of which could surpass the achievements of their first meeting.