Do any of you folks have those days where it seems like nothing is going right? Maybe the weather is dreary, maybe your coffee tastes like shit, maybe you don't have any money. Or maybe (and this seems like the worst), some woman is breaking you down. Well folks, put down the bottle, for I have found a better elixir. My cure? Sit down in a comfy chair, put on B.B. King's "Live in Cook County Jail," and let the blues soak away your pain.
If we're referring to the "blues" as the distinct sub-genre of African-American music that sprung up alongside of jazz and r&b during the 20th century, I'm really not that knowledgeable. One random day I was in HPB, and I was thinking I needed to buy some blues to play whenever I felt blue. I really think this need stemmed back from a Garfield cartoon I read when I was eleven or so, when Garfield said he liked to listen to the blues on rainy Monday mornings. But that's neither here nor there, bottom line, I saw this album, thought it looked interesting, and picked it up. Plus, I had been wanting to get into B.B. King for a while, so it all worked out.
If I was making up a list of the Newer New Seven Wonders of the World, B.B. King's voice would have to be on the list. It is, in a word, amazing. Simultaneously capable of a rich melodic tone and a soul-shaking growl, it is something else to behold. I've heard very few vocalists who have such intense, intense emotion in every single syllable that they utter. Listening to King's singing is akin to sitting out on a hot summer night and listening to a thunderclap, in that it absolutely forces you to pay attention to everything he is saying.
King accompanies his great oak of a voice with some serious business on the guitar. Neither he nor his band is messing around, there is some major league playing going on here. Once again though, the emphasis is on the emotional impact of the guitar playing. With seeming effortlessness, King makes Lucille bark and squeal in ways you rarely hear a guitar speak. His staccato single note playing has such force to it, such vibrato. If you like quality guitar music, this is essential listening.
What ties the music together though, is the intangible element of King and his band playing before 2,000 of the Chicago area's toughest criminals. I mean, you talk about the blues, you can't get much more bluesy than being stuck in jail. In comparison, it makes most of my troubles seem trivial. As such, there's an element to this album which is simply indescribable. A lot of times where you sit back and just go "oh yeah..."
So yes, purchase this album. It's something else.
As an aside for you men, everything you'll ever need to know about women can be found on "Worry Worry." Basically, apologize a lot, tell her you love her, and swallow your pride. Even if you have to lie. Thanks, B.B.
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