Live at the Regal [Live]

Live at the Regal [Live]

Editorial Reviews
<"b00005yeht7580"> Amazon.com essential recording
Heralded as one of the greatest live blues albums ever recorded, this set catches the singer-guitarist as his star was in ascent: in 1964 playing Chicago's answer to Harlem's Apollo Theater--the Regal. King's performance is visceral. He sings so hard that gravel flies even in his clearest high notes. And his trademark single-note guitar lines are sharp and steely, matching his voice with trembling vigor. He offers early hits like "How Blue Can You Get," "Worry, Worry," and "You Upset Me Baby" to what's essentially his adopted hometown crowd (by his own account, King had already played the theater hundreds of times). They give him a hero's welcome. In fact, the audience's screaming enthusiasm is distracting. But rarely has a love-fest of this magnitude between a performer and fans been documented. --Ted Drozdowski --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

<"b00005yeht5228"> From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD
Midway through the show at Chicago's Regal Theatre on November 21, 1964, the foremost blues guitarist articulates a series of patented licks with all the conviction of a hellfire preacher espousing the word. Someone in the audience cries out, "That's B. B. all right I" Damn straight. That November evening belonged to the former Memphis disc jockey all the way, for his masterfully nuanced singing, for his warm, sparkling guitar tones, and for those galloping single-note runs; for his refashioning... read more --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.