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"…Hard
Luck And Trouble…"
I’ve
been collecting and reviewing this “Stax Remasters” series since they first
started to appear in May 2011 - and this is only release number 9 – but what a
belter it is.
USA
released June 2013 - "Born Under A Bad Sign" by ALBERT KING on Stax/Concord
Music Group STCX-34334-02 (Barcode 888072343344) offers his 1967 Stax LP
Remastered onto CD plus Five Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks and breaks down
as follows (47:00 minutes):
1.
Born Under A Bad Sign [Side 1]
2.
Crosscut Saw
3.
Kansas City
4.
Oh, Pretty Woman
5.
Down Don't Bother Me
6.
The Hunter
7.
I Almost Lost My Mind
8.
Personal Manager
9.
Laundromat Blues
10.
As The Years Go Passing By
11.
The Very Thought Of You
Tracks
1 to 11 are the album "Born Under A Bad Sign" – released August 1967
in the USA on Stax Records S-723 (no UK release)
BONUS
TRACKS (All Previously Unreleased):
12.
Born Under A Bad Sign (Take 1 – Alternate)
13.
Crosscut Saw (Take 1 – Alternate)
14.
The Hunter (Take 1 – Alternate)
15.
Personal Manager (Take 15 – Alternate)
16.
Untitled Instrumental
The
16-page booklet has typically insightful and fun liner notes from Chicago's
resident Blues and R 'n' B writing genius BILL DAHL – a man whose talent and
passion for the music has graced literally hundreds of reissues and major Box
Sets. The pages that follow Dahl reproduce Michael Point's observations from
the 2002 CD reissue – then the original liner notes on the back of the 1967 LP
- and finally musician and reissue credits. JOE TARANTINO has handled the
remaster (as he has for the whole "Stax Remasters" series) and it's
superb – full of life and clarity. There's hiss (as there always is on Stax
sessions) – but it doesn't detract from the listen – if anything – it feels
more live-in-your-living-room for it.
"Born
Under A Bad Sign" opens with that title track winner (surely his signature
tune) and follows it with another – "Crosscut Saw". Real fast you
notice the tight and uber cool band – Stax House players BOOKER T & THE
M.G.'s (Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Al Jackson, Jr and Booker
T. Jones) themselves backed up by the fabulous MEMPHIS HORNS (Wayne Jackson,
Andrew Love and Joe Arnold). It's as classic Stax Blues as you can get (Soul
too). "Kansas City" still sounds slightly out of place but "The
Hunter" turned FREE on and "Personal Manager" is just genius.
Unappreciated gems include his cover of Fenton Robinson's "As The Years Go
Passing By" and his barroom bluesy take on the crooner classic "The
Very Thought Of You" (a 1934 classic).
With
the CD having only 47:00 minutes playing time – the 7" single edit of
"Personal Manager" (which excludes Albert's guitar solo) could easily
have been tagged on – especially as it's actually one of the best tracks on
here. But what we do get is a genuine thrill for King fans – a unreleased take.
You can see why it was canned though – it runs a tad too fast and looses that
fabulous Bluesy feel the master take has. And I love the song’s slyly salacious
lyrics "...I want to be your milk man every morning…and your ice-cream man
when the day is through…" In fact the other Take 1 Alternates are
brilliantly recorded – really clear – you can hear he's getting a feel for the
songs but the power on each is there – right from the start. Even the short but
untitled 'instrumental' is a winner.
Great
stuff – and a must buy…
PS:
"STAX REMASTERS" Series to August 2014 are (all reviewed):
1.
Green Onions – BOOKER T & THE M.G.’S (1962)
2.
McLemore Avenue - BOOKER T. & THE M.G.'S (1970)
3.
Woman To Woman - SHIRLEY BROWN (1975)
4.
Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - THE DRAMATICS (1972)
5.
Born Under A Bad Sign - ALBERT KING (1967)
6.
I'll Play The Blues For You – ALBERT KING (1971)
7.
Be Altitude: Respect Yourself - THE STAPLE SINGERS (1972)
8.
Taylored In Silk - JOHNNIE TAYLOR (1973)
9.
Do The Funky Chicken - RUFUS THOMAS (1970)
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