Freddie > BB > Albert : who was King of the Kings?

OilCityPickups

Albert ... raw and earthy ... and a flying V ... what could be better?

TimmyO

57Deluxe;894978" said:

is like asking who was the better runner - Mo Farrah or Usain Bolt... they operate at different ends of the spectrum...

I must have missed BB's sweep picking instrumental period

Danielsguitars

Freddie definitely

drwiddly

Love them all but, if I have to pick one, it has to be Freddie.

BluesyDave

Freddie for boogie and BB for soul.

martinw

Freddie for me.

scrumhalf

Freddie for me as well. I had been playing guitar for less than a year when I got a "best of" album out of the local library, one of the biggest influences on my playing.

TimmyO

BB was the 2nd blues guitarist I ever encountered - Peter Green being the first and an article I read about him leading to me going and buying a BB album on tape. For the longest time I'd have said he was the first and only for me.

But over the years having listened to more and more Freddie, heard the different styles he nails and seen some footage of him absolutely ripping it out I am left more and more in awe. 

tbh I can't imagine a Blues world where either one didn't exist. 

Sassafras

Freddie and Carole.

BigLicks67

Albert for me especially with the Stax backing band.

stickyfiddle

I have to admit I've never paid much attention to Freddie so did a google. Look at the shirt on that collar!!

https://www.facebook.com/notes/arnold-schwarzenegger/i-dont-give-a-if-we-agree-about-climate-change/10153855713574658

Phil_aka_Pip

Difficult to rank them in order - should we even try? - but I very much like Freddie King, BB King, and Carole King. Who I like best is defined by whose album is on my turntable at the time.

TimmyO

stickyfiddle said:

I have to admit I've never paid much attention to Freddie so did a google. Look at the shirt on that collar!!

https://www.facebook.com/notes/arnold-schwarzenegger/i-dont-give-a-if-we-agree-about-climate-change/10153855713574658

1. <falls off chair>

2. I think you pasted the wrong link :-) 

stickyfiddle

TimmyO said:

stickyfiddle said:

I have to admit I've never paid much attention to Freddie so did a google. Look at the shirt on that collar!!

https://www.facebook.com/notes/arnold-schwarzenegger/i-dont-give-a-if-we-agree-about-climate-change/10153855713574658

1. <falls off chair>

2. I think you pasted the wrong link :-) 

HA! Yes, I think so. err...  

stickyfiddle

Also this, which features a lower collar-to-shirt ratio, but better mussiness and is still 70'stastic

stuagu

I'd cop out and say the one I'm listening to at the time.

jpfamps

Not Earl King?

They are all great, but my favourite is Freddie.

His singing is insanely good as well, a beautiful effortless tenor voice.

RMJ

Don.

EricTheWeary

I think Freddie possibly has the bigger legacy for guitar players. First he did recognisable guitar parts in standard tuning that are fun to learn eg Hideaway. Albert used altered tunings and odd technique and he and BB played very little themselves in the way of recognisable riffs. Second, he did a lot of stuff that easily crossed over into the rock market. His early instrumentals were repackaged as Surf, his Shelter era albums were very much rock influenced. He toured with rock bands. Both BB and Albert crossed over to a white audience but they didn't move as far from the music they played for black audiences - still often using horn sections, for example, rather than rock band style line ups. Third, Freddie was a very big influence on the British blues boom (Clapton in particular but also the Rolling Stones and others) and the subsequent change from blues to blues rock. Albert and BB also an influence on this (Albert being quoted musically on Strange Brew for example) but lots of Freddie 's back catalogue got plundered. Fourth, he didn't live long enough to have a dodgy disco influenced period that crops up on compilations and sounds like arse (Albert) or gravitate toward a more easy listening style (BB).
Anyway Freddie FTW

HAL9000

Jonathan?