499: B.B. King — Live In Cook County Jail (1971, ABC/MCA)

Overall rating: 4

Level of prior familiarity: 4 (I’ve listened to B.B. King zillions of times, but rarely listening to albums. He’s had such a prolific career, it’s often more enjoyable listening to the myriad compilations and anthologies.)

How I listened: Via Spotify, at work, one sitting

Where has this album been my whole life? Easily one of the best blues albums I’ve ever listened to, not to mention one of the best live albums. I guess this is exactly why I’m doing this RS500 experiment — to find gems like this. It’s an almost hilariously dated album in some respects (his sexist ranting/dialogues are certainly of a specific time/place), but his playing is top-notch, and this performance is heartfelt and… joyous? Is it OK to call a blues album joyous? Hell yes it is.

Also: It’s called Live In Cook County Jail, not Live From Cook County Jail. Doesn’t get much more blue than that. The original LP cover was textured like prison denim!

B.B. King may be one of the most revered guitarists in the history of the music, but his vocal stylings on this album are unearthly. He howls and moans and croons like no other. Truly this man was one of our greatest American treasures.