Help Me Through the Day
Written: Sep 11 '02
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: King's great blues voice and his powerful guitar.
Cons: All songs on this album were written by other performers.
The Bottom Line: I like Freddie King's music, but this album lacks the energy that I was hoping for. Mildly recommended.
|
|
|
| 4-1-1's Full Review: Best of the Shelter Years - Freddie King Movies |
Freddie King -- A King-Sized Boogie Man
b. September 3, 1934; Gilmore, Texas (born Freddy King)
d. December 28, 1976; Dallas, Texas (heart failure at age 42)
The sales sticker on this CD tells the whole story in two sentences:
1) "He taught me everything I needed to know... when and when not to make a stand... and most important of all... to make love to a guitar." -- Eric Clapton.
2) "Freddie King, the Texas-born titan of blues twang left an indelible mark on an entire generation of future white rock superheroes." -- Rolling Stone magazine.
This Year 2000 release on Shelter Records features all-digitally remastered tracks.
King learned how to play guitar at the wee age six. While still a teen, he left Texas and headed for the blues capital of Chicago, Illinois. At age 16, he'd sneak into clubs to watch his hero -- Muddy Waters -- play. Then, he took what he learned from these live performances and practiced at home. It wasn't long before he started playing guitar with other bands; and, then, it wasn't long before he had his own record deal. His voice was too strong to miss, and his hard and furious guitar play could not be ignored.
I purchased this CD after listening to a few other Freddie King songs on other blues compilations in my collection. In particular, two seven-minute live blasters: "The Moon is Rising" (on Fine Tune's "Gold Collection - The Blues") and "Boogie Funk" (on "Modern Blues - Boogie To Fusion," also on the Fine Tune label). Freddie King was a performer that I was not very familiar with... and I suppose that is due, in part, to the fact that he died so young and does not have a huge portfolio of recordings in his discography.
A fair number of the songs on this album were written (or co-written) by Leon Russell: Palace of the King, Living On The Highway, I'd Rather Be Blind, Big Legged Woman, Me and My Guitar, Help Me Through the Day, and Boogie Man. Leon Russell may be better recognized by some as the old, long-haired and white-bearded Okie dude who regularly wears shades, a funky top hat, and plays a mean piano. But he is also wrote, produced, and recorded a lot of music for other performers (e.g., Joe Cocker), performed as a session player for number of different singing stars (everything from The Righteous Brothers to The Byrds), and enjoyed success as a solo performer in the 1970's. He is a record producer of renown and was one of the founders of Shelter Records.
Refresh your memory here:
http://www.leonrussellrecords.com/
Freddie King - The Shelter Records Years
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This album is filled with mostly mid-tempo blues numbers featuring the piano (and some guitar) work by Leon Russell. Russell mixed (sound mixed) most of the tracks and is the producer of all the songs contained herein. I almost want to call this a Leon Russell album, but the star still stands as Freddie King, with his electric and acoustic guitar play, and his tremendous blues voice.
The first cut, Going Down, is a Southern rock-and-blues classic written by Don Nix. This tune has been covered by a number of other artists, including John Lee Hooker, but of all the covers I've ever heard, King displays the greatest enthusiasm and energy on guitar. Five Long Years is a tune by Mississippi bluesman Eddie Boyd -- a song about slaving five long years for one woman, and then being "put down." In Palace Of The King, we hear King sing "I can make you happy playing blues my way." That particular line captivated my attention; it should be noted that all songs on this compilation were written by performers other than King!
Same Old Blues is a slow boiler with piano, organ, background vocals and Freddie's voice, with a wailing guitar that does not creep in until mid-song. Walking By Myself finds King introducing the song as a Jimmy Rogers tune (aka James A. Lane) ). It's not a particularly strong cut. Rogers was an old-time Mississippi-to-Chicago bluesman who played with Muddy Waters.
As the album progresses, it becomes pretty obvious that Freddie King and his Les Paul guitar are great, but the songs are of middlin' quality and originality. Nothing catches my interest until the 13th track, Help Me Through The Day, kicks in. This song has more of an R&B/Soul sound, with subtler texturing and a weeping guitar reminiscent of B.B. King's style of play. The album then slips into more mid-tempo blues tunes until finally finishing with a stirring cover of Guitar Boogie (original artist unknown). This instrumental, I think, shows Freddie King at what he excels at: playing blues with a Texas boogie twang.
Price and Availability: I purchased this CD at Best Buy for $11.99. Can be purchased online at most major music retailers.
Verdict: 3¾-stars. Misses greatness since it does not feature any of King's own material.
If you like other blues guitarists like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins or Jimmy Dawkins, then you may enjoy this album. But I'd recommend a search for other King albums that contain his own material. That is, of course, unless you are a Leon Russell fan. As for me, I really enjoyed listening to some of his live cuts on other albums, so my next Freddie King CD will be a live album. He must have been an awesome performer on stage.
Track Listing
------------------------------------------------------------
1. Going Down - 3:22
2. Five Long Years - 4:19
3. Palace Of The King - 3:40
4. Same Old Blues - 3:58
5. Walking By Myself - 2:51
6. Living On The Highway - 4:16
7. I'd Rather Be Blind - 3:45
8. Reconsider Baby - 4:00
9. Big Legged Woman - 3:57
10. Lowdown In Lodi - 3:08
11. Me And My Guitar - 4:04
12. Woman Across The River - 2:47
13. Help Me Through The Day - 4:30
14. Boogie Man - 3:45
15. I'm Ready - 3:45
16. Please Send Me Someone To Love - 3:59
17. Ain't No Big Deal On You - 3:32
18. Guitar Boogie - 3:06
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
4-1-1
|
 - Top 50 |
|
Member: Tom Carr
Location: Southern California
Reviews written: 1090
Trusted by: 691 members
About Me:
Go U.S.C.!!!
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.