Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume. 34, Number 9. 1971
Indianola Mississippi Seeds Stateside
Indianola Mississippi Seeds Stateside
Ho dere! It's de new and revamped and low-key undisputed king of the blues, B.B. King. The guitar/watermelon (watermelon/guitar) on the sleeve of the LP frightened me somewhat, as, on the first listening, did the use of violins: the B.B. King sellout? No, it's okay, just takes a while to get into. In fact, when you've heard it a few times, it sounds rather good. Even if you're a bitter blues purist I don't think you could argue with this little winner. The blues have gotta move with the times and hell, mand, B.B. has paid his dues, and really I don't think he'd release stuff like this unless he was satisfied with it.
I think this is one of B.B. King's best LPs for some time. The definitive (another felicitous phrase!) King LP is Blues is King, the 1966 live album. Since then his records have been polished and interesting, but not quite as good. On this LP he appears to have found a new style. It is very low-key and understated, not as driving as before, but with a certain compulsion to it. Piano is used instead of organ, sometimes with the noted Leon Russel playing. The sidemen, who vary from track to track, are some of the best I've heard, and the production is excellent. B.B. King plays piano on the first short track, in a style reminiscent of Champion Jack Dupree. The saxophone of Bobby Forte is noticeably absent, but the interplay of piano and guitar, the call-response that King and Forte made famous, is still present. King's guitar playing is more subdued, at least in volume, but it is the quietness of reflection, and his playing is, if anything, more moving than in earlier records.
The use of violins in blues, which created a great furore a year or so ago when Fleetwood Mac did it, is now, seemingly, accepted. What has to be realised is that the strings in such records are not the large orchestral sound of Tom Jones' backing, but merely a harmonic underpinning, and a method to add to tension of the song by their drawn-out sound. When used sparingly, as a substitute for organ, strings can add a lot, as they do on this record. Chains and Things, (also released as a 45) is an example of this.
Some of the songs on the LP are beautifully funky. The small size of the band means that all have really got to work, and Ask me no questions, with Leon Russel on piano, really jumps. Finally, Hummingbird, by Leon Russel, is a more jazz-influenced song, more adventurous than most of King's material, but, though a ballad-type song, all one can say is that King gives it soul.
The LP is thus generally understated, but moving into a new style, and I consider it an experiment that has worked.