We go back to the world of the blues today, with a slightly more modern twist. Today’s album is “Born Under A Bad Sign” by Albert King, a contemporary of B.B. King who sang and played guitar. Although less hailed than many of the blues legends we have already discussed, this record is rated as the #3 blues album by digitaldreamdoors.com.
In short, I really enjoyed this album from beginning to end, and it would serve as a great blues intro for someone not terribly familiar with the genre. I think one thing that made it was an easy listen, besides the natural vocal and guitar strength of Albert himself, was the production, rich on horns to fill out the sound. The song choices were a great mix as well. The album featured multiple King originals, but my favorites were the title track, “Born Under A Bad Sign”, the down-and-out classic “As the Years Go Passing By”, the well-known “Kansas City”, and “The Hunter”, which re-emerged in part on “How Many More Times” by Led Zeppelin. And if all of that isn’t enough, who can’t love (and relate to) a song named “Laundromat Blues”?
I look forward to adding this album and especially some of the tracks cited above to my playlists and mix of songs going forward. Even with so many recognizable classics among the albums I’m listening to now, there is a great joy that comes from finding something new and unexpected.
A Lifetime-Plus of Music 