Top Artists – Albert King

Albert King – I’ll Play The Blues For You

More Albert King

More Electric Blues

  • Big, rich and relatively smooth, here are the wonderfully breathy vocals and Electric Blues energy that are missing from the reissues (including, no doubt, any and all Heavy Vinyl ones)
  • Mint Minus Minus throughout – about as quiet as we can find these vintage Stax pressings
  • 4 stars: “…the combination of King, members of the legendary Bar-Kays, the Isaac Hayes Movement, and the sparkling Memphis Horns was hardly a risky endeavor… The result was a trim, funk-infused blues sound that provided ample space for King’s oft-imitated guitar playing.”

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Albert King – King of the Blues Guitar

More Albert King

More Soul, Blues, and R&B

  • An original Atlantic copy with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER on both sides
  • Forget whatever dead-as-a-doornail Heavy Vinyl pressing they’re making these days – the Tubey Magic, size and electric energy of this vintage pressing simply cannot be beat
  • Marks in the vinyl are the nature of the beast with these early pressings – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • “These 17 tunes come from King’s most fertile period, his 1966-68 tenure at Memphis’s Stax Records…. King’s ripe and mellow vocals are a perfect match for the soul-drenched music while his dramatic string bends leap out.” — Marc Greilsamer

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Albert King / Born Under a Bad Sign – Where Are All the Clean Copies?

A Record We May Never Shootout Again

Some records were just too much work to find, too expensive to buy.

This is one such album. Our last shootout was in 2007!

The link above will take you to many more.

This original Stax LP has AMAZING sound. You could not make this record sound any better. We really liked the Sundazed copy of this record until we heard this bad boy. It MURDERS the Sundazed! It has more life, energy and natural presence.

We always suspected that a good original pressing would be better than the Sundazed but we had no way of knowing since all the copies we ever saw were beat to death. This is the first clean copy of this record I’ve seen in 20 years.

The sound is RICH and FULL with lots of texture to the guitars. It’s very natural sounding and full-bodied.

Like many of these old Stax pressings this record would benefit from a bit more extension on the top end. If you can add a a click of treble the sound will be even more out of this world.

One of the all time great electric blues albums — a Must Own for fans of the genre (more…)

Albert King – Born Under a Bad Sign on Mediocre Sundazed Vinyl

Sonic Grade: C

Commenting about the first Hot Stamper pressing of this album ever to come our way, we noted:

This original Stax LP has AMAZING sound. You could not make this record sound any better.

We really liked the  Sundazed copy of this record until we heard this bad boy. It MURDERS their pressing!

It has far more life, energy and presence than the Heavy Vinyl pressing.

We always suspected that a good original would be better but we had no way of knowing since all the copies we saw were beat to death.

Albert King – Years Gone By

  • Incredible sound throughout for this original Stax pressing with both sides earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades 
  • Both sides here are big, full-bodied and lively with lots of Tubey Magic and a huge bottom end
  • “With Booker T. drummer Al Jackson producing, the set includes such staples as “You Threw Your Love on Me Too Strong,” “Wrapped up in Love Again,” and a powerful version of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor.” For fans of King’s guitar work, the inclusion of the instrumental workouts on “You Don’t Love Me” and “Drowning on Dry Land” are a special bonus…” – All Music, 4.5 Stars

This vintage original Stax pressing has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records can barely BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing signs of coming back. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to “see” the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with the band, this is the record for you. It’s what vintage all analog recordings are known for — this sound. (more…)

Albert King – Live Wire – Blues Power

  • An outstanding copy of this Must Own Live Blues album, with Double Plus (A++) sound for both sides
  • Accept no substitutes – no reissue of the album can ever give you the energy, size and you-are-there presence that’s on this disc
  • Mint Minus to Mint Minus Minus – finding these originals with top quality sound and surfaces this quiet is not getting any easier
  • “Live Wire/Blues Power is one of Albert King’s definitive albums. Recorded live at the Fillmore Auditorium in 1968, the guitarist is at the top of his form throughout the record — his solos are intense and piercing… he makes Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man” dirty and funky and wrings out all the emotion from “Blues at Sunrise.””

This is one of the all time great live Blues albums. THIS IS BLUES POWER! (more…)