Chicago blues guitar firebrand Freddie King did his best and definitive recording for the Federal label in the early '60s, when he helped define the Windy City's hard-edged West Side sound. Sadly, none of that material is ... more »included on these two CDs. However, we do get to hear King take a rare turn on acoustic guitar (on Elmore James's "Dust My Broom" and Jimmy Rogers "Walking by Myself") and rip through his late-career signature "Going Down" as well as 38 other tracks. There's also a half-dozen unreleased cuts, including a version of his classic "Hide Away." But too much of this stuff--tunes like John Fogerty's "Lodi," "Ain't No Sunshine," "Gimme Some Lovin'"--seems like a bad producer's notion of what King needed to record to reach a rock audience. Thankfully the strength of his vocals and gutsy guitar carry most of these performances. --Ted Drozdowski« less
Chicago blues guitar firebrand Freddie King did his best and definitive recording for the Federal label in the early '60s, when he helped define the Windy City's hard-edged West Side sound. Sadly, none of that material is included on these two CDs. However, we do get to hear King take a rare turn on acoustic guitar (on Elmore James's "Dust My Broom" and Jimmy Rogers "Walking by Myself") and rip through his late-career signature "Going Down" as well as 38 other tracks. There's also a half-dozen unreleased cuts, including a version of his classic "Hide Away." But too much of this stuff--tunes like John Fogerty's "Lodi," "Ain't No Sunshine," "Gimme Some Lovin'"--seems like a bad producer's notion of what King needed to record to reach a rock audience. Thankfully the strength of his vocals and gutsy guitar carry most of these performances. --Ted Drozdowski
the Digital Dinosaur | Roseville, California United States | 04/01/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'd pretty much just echo everybody else's praises for this collection, except to add that a HUGE ingredient critical to its success is the presence of Leon Russell. Probably the most distinctive piano player in all of rock 'n roll (his searing keyboard work in "Going Down" is every bit as integral to the song as King's playing & singing), and one of the great bandleaders of all time (witness "Mad Dogs and Englishmen"),he's the perfect sideman for someone of King's stature. Freddie could never coast or else Leon would get the spotlight. Great backup musicians & singers with some killer vocal arrangements too.
There's alot of experimentation (early 70's style) that doesn't always work, but that is always gutsy - remember that this is the blues, an idiom not exactly known for being on the cutting edge. This allows for some of Freddie's most aggressive fretwork - where Clapton stings, Freddie slices!!"
King of the SOUL BLUES: Freddie King
magicfred | Atl,Ga | 02/07/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Freddie King's Shelter Recordings released by Capital records in the mid 1990's. Some people don't like these recordings but I think they are fantastic as they portray that Mr.Freddie King was much more than a blues or blues rock guitarist. Freddie sang some great songs in this period of his life, especially Percy Mayfield's "Please Send Me Someone to Love". A must for any serious Blues Fiends of great Electric Blues although there is a great cover of his mentor,Jimmy Roger's "Walking by Myself" playing acoustic blues. Just a beautiful experience here folks!"
Fantastic Freddie King Collection
Terence Allen | Atlanta, GA USA | 04/04/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Freddie King was part of the blues triumvirate named King (including BB King and Albert King)that helped to shape the blues and make into the power artform it became and still is today. His magnificent playing and powerful, heart-rending voice is still marvelled at today by modern blues performers.
Tore Down, Keys To The Highway, Going Down, Worried Life Blues, and many other songs on this collection attest to his artistry. This collection is extremely entertaining, and deserves to be heard.
"
The perfect blues guitarist!
Terence Allen | 05/23/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Freddie King shows why the blues is such a powerful genre of music with this extensive collection. The emotion he evokes with each note is truly remarkable. It is no wonder why the recent blues legends such as Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan cite Freddie King as one of their greatest influences."
Complete recordings for Shelter
JC | MD USA | 04/20/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Essential documentation of Freddie's return/"rediscovery", this set puts in one place everything he recorded in the studio from 1969 to 1973 while under contract to Shelter Records. So you get the original Getting Ready..., Texas Cannonball, and Woman Across the River albums complete in order with bonus tracks PLUS additional previously unreleased tracks (that are quite good).
Certainly the best way to get this material. Other reviewers cover the content (and provide boths sides of it). Uneven production aside there's a lot of inspired Freddie in here and that rises to the top.