King of the Blues [Box]

Disc 1
1	Miss Martha King 2:42
2	She's Dynamite 2:31
3	Three O'Clock Blues 3:02
4	Please Love Me 2:48
5	You Upset Me Baby 3:02
6	Every Day I Have the Blues 2:48
7	Rock Me Baby 3:02
8	Recession Blues 2:21
9	Don't Get Around Much Anymore 3:15
10	I'm Gonna Sit in 'Til You Give In 2:13
11	Blues at Midnight 2:59
12	Sneakin' Around 2:07
13	My Baby's Comin' Home 2:08
14	Slowly Losing My Mind 2:31
15	How Blue Can You Get? 2:42
16	Rockin' Awhile 2:44
17	Help the Poor 2:38
18	Stop Leading Me On 2:22
19	Never Trust a Woman 2:37
20	Sweet Little Angel 3:50
21	All over Again 2:35
22	Sloppy Drunk 3:11
23	Don't Answer the Door, Pts. 1 & 2 5:10
24	I Done Got Wise 2:20
25	Think It Over 2:51
26	Gambler's Blues 3:16
Disc 2
1	Goin' Down Slow 6:30
2	Tired of Your Jive 3:32
3	Sweet Sixteen, Pts. 1 & 2 6:11
4	Paying the Cost to Be the Boss 2:33
5	I'm Gonna Do What They Do to Me 2:44
6	Lucille 10:15
7	Watch Yourself 5:49
8	You Put It on Me 2:47
9	Get Myself Somebody 2:35
10	I Want You So Bad 4:13
11	Why I Sing the Blues 8:35
12	Get off My Back, Woman 3:15
13	Please Accept My Love 2:47
14	Fools Get Wise 2:39
15	No Good 4:36
16	So Excited 5:35
Disc 3
1	The Thrill Is Gone 5:26
2	Confessin' the Blues 4:58
3	Nobody Loves Me But My Mother 1:26
4	Hummingbird 4:36
5	Ask Me No Questions 3:09
6	Chains and Things 4:53
7	Eyesight to the Blind 4:06
8	Niji Baby 6:28
9	Blue Shadows 5:09
10	Ghetto Woman 5:15
11	Ain't Nobody Home 3:13
12	I Got Some Help I Don't Need Single Edit 3:26
13	Five Long Years 5:13
14	To Know You Is to Love You 8:35
15	I Like to Live the Love 3:29
16	Don't Make Me Pay for His Mistakes 3:15
Disc 4
1	Let the Good Times Roll 5:33
2	Don't You Lie to Me 6:09
3	Mother Fuyer 3:06
4	Never Make a Move Too Soon 5:29
5	When It All Comes Down (I'll Still Be Around) 4:12
6	Better Not Look Down 3:22
7	Caldonia 2:48
8	There Must Be a Better World Somewhere 3:46
9	Play with Your Poodle 0:55
10	Darlin' You Know I Love You 4:46
11	Inflation Blues 4:15
12	Make Love to Me Rehearsal 1:47
13	Into the Night 4:12
14	Six Silver Strings 4:19
15	When Love Comes to Town 7" Edit & Mix 3:30
16	Right Place, Wrong Time 4:02
17	Many Miles Travelled 4:01
18	I'm Moving On 4:10
19	Since I Met You Baby 2:51

Barnes & Noble

In a career that now spans more than 50 years, B. B. King has done everything in his power to elevate the blues to an artistic form worthy of respect -- a difficult task in times of racial tension, social elitism, and musical snobbery. It's fitting, then, that in being given the box-set treatment he so richly deserves, King himself has been treated with the class and respect due the world's premier ambassador of blues. KING OF THE BLUES features dozens of classic tunes that King either wrote or became associated with over the years, including "Everyday I Have the Blues," "Sweet Little Angel," "Why I Sing the Blues," "How Blue Can You Get?," and "The Thrill Is Gone." There are also rarities, unreleased tracks, and a 72-page booklet with a complete discography, extensive annotation by music historian Colin Escott, and even some commentary by King himself. Starting with his very first recording, "Miss Martha King" (a song about his first wife), the set traces King's progress from a young bluesman struggling to find his way to an accomplished bandleader who never strays from his initial concept of the blues as an expression of human emotion as dignified as any other. Along the way, King became one of the rare bluesmen to excel as both a vocalist and an instrumentalist. His voice is extraordinarily elastic, identifiable for his impassioned "crying" style. And as for his guitar skills...well, just ask anyone who has played a blues or rock 'n' roll guitar in the last few decades, and you'll find out how much influence King has had to the instrument, from his economical style to his trademark trilling vibrato. It's been decades since King broke through to popular success on a grand scale, but it's always been on his terms. Even on his memorable duet with U2, "When Love Comes to Town," King rips through the tune not like a pro, but like royalty. Which, after all he is. Daniel Durchholz

All Music Guide

No way can a mere four discs cover every facet of the blues king's amazing recording career, but MCA makes a valiant stab at it. The first two discs, as expected, are immaculate: opening with his Bullet Records debut ("Miss Martha King"), the box continues with a handful of pivotal RPM/Kent masters before digging into his 1960s ABC-Paramount material ("I'm Gonna Sit in 'til You Give In" and "My Baby's Comin' Home" are little-recalled gems). The hits -- "The Thrill Is Gone," "Why I Sing the Blues," "To Know You Is to Love You" -- are all here, and if much of the fourth disc is pretty disposable, it only mirrors King's own winding down in the studio. Bill Dahl