My dad used to tell me, when talking about Carlos Santana, that Santana could make the guitar sing. On this record, B.B. King makes the guitar cry. Playing to an audience of Cook County inmates, B.B. King connects instantly to their feelings of sadness, depression, and loss, and pumps it all into raw blues and R&B standards. The record begins humorously with the show's host introducing first the warden and the judge in attendance, both of which get waves of boos and jeers from the convicted audience, followed by a raucous applause from the same when King is brought on. King keeps this lively spirit alive on tracks like How Blue Can You Get with his tales of lovers he could never satisfy, and on Worry, Worry, Worry, where he lectures the (criminal) audience about how to properly treat their lovers. And despite how tough a crowd that must be, they're with him every step of the way, they can feel his sincerity and his realness. And accompanying this fun all the way through is King playing out of his skin, blues riffs and spider-web like melodies coming out of his guitar, Lucille, as if it were a cup that runeth over. King doesn't play these songs, he releases them after holding them in so long that he could burst. The emotion and the sorrow in a song like Worry, Worry, Worry is palpable, and his voice quivers and wavers in all the right places and echoes into the listener's very soul. King also performs a medley of two of his early hits, 3 O'Clock Blues and Darlin' You Know I Love You, and paired with Sweet Sixteen, it makes for a trip down memory lane for an artist who's glory days are technically long behind him, and yet is still playing like he's in his prime. And in what stands as probably the highlight of the show from a musical standpoint (albiet Worry, Worry, Worry is probably my favorite moment on the record, period), King brings out one of his signature tunes, and a very recent one at that time, The Thrill is Gone, one of the most mournful and soulful performances of the show. In every way, King takes his hits and plays them like they'd never been played before, pouring his heart and soul into every track. By any estimate, King earned his surname that day in one of the best live records to ever grace the blues.
Rating: 4.5/5
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