Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan - In Session (1999)

Recorded in 1983, first released in 1999, re-released in 2010, then re-re-released in 2024.

Allow me to expand on that: the show was originally recorded live on December 6, 1983, at CHCH-TV studios in Hamilton, Ontario then edited for broadcast. Somebody at the TV studios was thinking and saved the thing. The session was edited and released as a single CD in 1999 then re-released in 2010 with a bonus DVD of the television broadcast. Finally, the full show (in order) was released in a 2 CD set by Stax in 2024 for the album's 25th anniversary. That's the version I'm spinning today. The digisleeve packaging includes a 16 page booklet which reprints liner notes from both the 1999 release and the 2010 re-release. A 4K Blu-Ray upscale of the TV feed would have been a nice bonus, but no dice. Maybe I was just born under a bad sign.

Edited from the record label's website:

At the In Session taping, 60-year-old Albert ruled over the proceedings like a benevolent father, retaining control while allowing his 29-year-old guest loads of solo space in which to display his awesome command of the electric guitar. Stevie avoided flaunting his prowess, however, and instead delivered some of the most deliciously restrained playing of his career, laying back when his mentor dictated, turning up the heat only when Albert deemed it appropriate. The interplay between the two blues masters is uncannily empathetic, and Albert's fans will find special pleasure in hearing him play rhythm parts at such length. At one point between tunes, Albert complained about problems with his guitar strings, then told Stevie, "I'm about ready to turn it over to you.... I've got to sit back and watch you."

Albert was, in a sense, passing the torch to Stevie. In Session is the only known recording of Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan performing together. Its long-overdue commercial release stands as a fitting tribute to the genius of two of the greatest musicians ever to have played the blues on electric guitar.

The only known recording of Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan performing together. Simply put, it's well worth your time.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: did not chart
• Billboard Blues: #1

Tracks: King's Born Under A Bad Sign is a stone cold classic and it leads things off and you immediately hear how well King's vocals and Vaughan's guitar mesh. Other top tracks on the first CD are Pride And Joy and Blues At Sunrise. From Disc 2: Overall Junction, Match Box Blues, and Don't Lie To Me. But this is the rare live 2 disc set you'll want to hear from top-to-bottom.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:

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Stevie Ray Vaughan

Original Album Classics (2013)	Greatest Hits (1995)
The Real Deal: Greatest Hits Vol 2 (1999)	Family Style (1990)

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Albert King

Born Under A Bad Sign (1967)

Albert King - Born Under A Bad Sign (1967)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2013 remaster with 5 previously unreleased bonus tracks.

If you've ever been hurt by your main squeeze, deceived by your best friend, or down to your last dime and ready to call it quits, Albert King has the solution if you have the time to listen.

-from the original album liner notes by Stax’s original Director of Publicity and Grammy award winner Deanie Parker.

My listening habits developed over many years, of course, so I can't pinpoint when I started listening to classical music almost exclusively in the fall/winter months and blues music almost exclusively in the spring/summer months, but it happened at some point, here we are in spring, so it's time to start spinning some blues discs. And here we've got a blues legend cutting tracks with the Stax house band a.k.a. Booker T & the MGs. What's not to like? Widely considered King's best (and breakthrough) album, these songs introduced many to both the note-bending guitar work and gritty vocals of Albert King, firmly establishing his place in the blues revival of the '60s. If you like your R&B with a heavy emphasis on the B, this album is highly recommended.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "a realistic, soulful style which hits the mark"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (★★★★★): "a blues monument"

While the album failed to chart upon release, it has since been given many accolades, including the following:

• In the 2012 edition of Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums list, the album ranked at #491 (in the 2003 edition, it ranked at #499): "King’s first album for the Stax label combines his hard, unflashy guitar playing with the sleek sound of the label’s house band, Booker T. and the MG’s. Hits such as 'Crosscut Saw' and 'Laundromat Blues' earned King a new rock & roll audience."
• In 1985, the album was added to the Blues Hall of Fame as a Classic of Blues Recording.
• In 1999, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which honors recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance
• In 2020, the album was added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.

Tracks: Not a bad track to be found. My favorites are Crosscut Saw, Kansas City, Down Don't Bother Me, and Laundromat Blues.

Bonus tracks: alternate takes of Born Under A Bad Sign, Crosscut Saw, The Hunter, and Personal Manager along with an untitled instrumental which was certainly good enough for inclusion on the original album.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Several years ago I was visiting the Stax website, as one does, and they were having a sale: this CD plus a Stax t-shirt for $29.99. I was on that like gravy on biscuits.

I'm currently in the early stages of planning a trip next year that will not only include a trip to the Stax museum (again), but also take us to Clarksdale, Mississippi and as much of the Mississippi Blues Trail as we can possibly fit in. Hopefully, that will include a drive through Indianola to see the Albert King marker.