King Albert

Of the "Three Kings" of blues guitar - BB, Freddie and Albert - it's Albert I keep coming back to...

BB's career saw most of the rough, but interesting, edges knocked off his playing as he gained mass appeal and Freddie's style just sounds rather generic to me. Albert, however, just seemed to push his playing harder over time, improving as he grew older - and he never compromised. There was always something gritty and exciting in there to grab your attention.

Born Albert Nelson, and no relation to BB in spite of his early claims, he played a stock right handed guitar flipped over and played left hand - without changing the stringing. That meant that the thinner strings were towards the top of the fretboard - an important factor in his sound. In order to bend the higher strings, he had to push them down - a little easier to do - rather than up. Moreover, he had his guitar in a dropped tuning (CFCFAD according to Dan Erlwine who built King's guitar "Lucy" - shown below) which meant the strings were slacker. Consequently, there was often a slight overbend which gave his lines a certain 'spiciness'. He also picked a note and then bent it numerous times, and to various pitches, with the same pick stroke. These bends were often very wide - a couple or more whole steps. Combined with his tendency to play a run on the top strings and end up with a very brief flourish when he tumbled down onto the lower strings, this meant that he ended up with a very distinctive style. He also followed the maxim that less can be more: that the spaces between the notes are just as important as the notes themselves. I can hear him playing a few licks and I just know it's him. 

(For more info on Albert's Flying V guitars look here.)

Live, Albert stretched out more than either Freddie or BB. A slow blues could often run to ten or more minutes, as he took several choruses and built up in intensity as he got louder and more flamboyant with each one. Then he'd bring the band down behind him and start all over again!

The Three Kings attracted a wider audience in the 1960s, as people began to appreciate the roots of people like Clapton and Bloomfield, and they all ended up with major record deals and plenty of work. Albert got signed to the Stax label and cut many tracks which are now considered blues standards - "Crosscut Saw", "Born Under a Bad Sign" and "Oh Pretty Woman", for example. 

Fortunately, there's plenty of Albert available to listen to and I thought I'd just about heard it all until I stumbled across an album recorded at a Chicago gig in 1978.

It totally blew me away.

There appear to be no recording details anywhere to be found and the album has appeared on several labels under several titles over the years. Copyright, huh?

The recording captures King well up front in the mix and he has a gorgeous guitar sound - the best I've ever heard from him. If it's dynamics you're after, this performance has them in spades. Many numbers start off quietly and then build, drop down and then start building again, and Albert's on fire, with the 11 minute "Please Come Back to Me" serving as a primer on his style, and showing what made it unique. 

OK, this may not be the best band that Albert ever stood in front of - the horns are pretty mediocre and the rhythm section is merely adequate - but this doesn't stop him putting on a display of some of the best electric blues guitar you're ever likely to hear. 

It really is that good.