{"id":31635,"date":"2026-09-02T05:30:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T09:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=31635"},"modified":"2026-06-24T08:43:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T12:43:21","slug":"album-review-albert-king-ill-play-the-blues-for-you-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/02\/album-review-albert-king-ill-play-the-blues-for-you-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Albert King \u2013 I\u2019ll Play the Blues for You"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a decade of releasing singles for Parrot, King and Bobbin, Albert King had only one chart success \u2013 1961\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Throw Your Love on Me So Strong\u201d (R&B #14) \u2013 to his credit. But his fortunes changed when he signed with Stax Records in 1966. Once he began recording and releasing for the Memphis label, King landed seven singles on the Top 40 of the R&B charts, even making inroads on the mainstream Billboard<\/em> Hot 100.<\/p>\n

Prior to his Stax days, King had released only one album, a 1963 singles compilation titled The Big Blues<\/em>. His debut LP for Stax, 1967\u2019s Born Under a Bad Sign<\/em> didn\u2019t sell but would soon earn status as one of the greatest albums in the blues canon. He went on to make a steady string of studio (and live) albums for the label, and his appearance at Wattstax in August 1972 was a high point of that historic, all-star festival.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Less than two months after his Wattstax set, King released his seventh studio LP, I\u2019ll Play the Blues for You<\/em>. For the album, King was backed by members of The Bar-Kays, the Memphis Horns and The Movement (Isaac Hayes\u2019 band). Key players included guitarist Michael Toles, bassist James Alexander and horn players Wayne Jackson and Andrew Love.<\/p>\n

But as the recorded results make plain, Albert King was very much the star of the show. And while most of the songwriting would come from outside writers, King made each and every one of the tunes his own. The album highlights not only his peerless fretwork on Lucy (his left-handed Gibson Flying V), but also his masterful, ultra-cool vocal delivery.<\/p>\n

The album opens with \u201cI\u2019ll Play the Blues for You,\u201d released as two sides of a Stax single a few months earlier. Alternately sung and spoken, King\u2019s soulful and, assertive yet controlled vocals mesh perfectly with his tasty, economical guitar fills. The simmering backing features understated wah-wah guitar, electric piano, low-mixed sax work and a spare rhythm section.<\/p>\n

The funky \u201cLittle Brother (Make a Way)\u201d answers the (perhaps unasked) question: What would it sound like if Albert King teamed up with the Staple Singers? The answer is soulful and alluring. Alexander\u2019s rock-solid bass lines are a highlight of the seven-minute \u201cBreaking Up Somebody\u2019s Home.\u201d The Memphis Horns excel here as well with a taut arrangement. But King still reigns as master of ceremonies, serving up a searing solo. \u201cBreaking Up\u201d was released as the A-side of a Stax single (in an edit that shears it to half its run time), backed by \u201cLittle Brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

The brief \u201cHigh Cost of Loving\u201d delivers a cinematic feel within a smoldering, economical arrangement. King\u2019s pleasingly busy guitar fills punctuate the vocal lines more actively than elsewhere on the record. \u201cI\u2019ll Be Doggone\u201d shines a light on the Memphis Horns and a super-funky rhythm section to good effect. While King\u2019s lead guitar work is admirable here, his vocals are oddly submerged in the mix. But the solo \u2013 sparring with the horns \u2013 that dominates the song\u2019s second half more than justifies its inclusion on the record.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s back to traditional electric blues for \u201cAnswer to the Laundromat Blues.\u201d King opens his original tune with a fiery solo, then raps while the band vamps. A guitar showcase, the track effectively captures the feel of a live performance. \u201cDon\u2019t Burn Down the Bridge (\u2018Cause You Might Wanna Come Back Across)\u201d combines the soulful Stax aesthetic with another taut blues performance from King. His extended lead guitar solo is nothing short of thrilling, with plenty of shade and light. The hypnotic blues of \u201cAngel of Mercy\u201d closes the album by adding a bit of gospel feel to King\u2019s blues.<\/p>\n

This new all-analog remaster of I\u2019ll Play the Blues for You<\/em> is pressed on 180g vinyl in a sturdy tip-on sleeve.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> As it happens, I reviewed this album — in its CD reissue configuration — more than 14 years ago. That review, complete with some different observations —\u00a0 is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a decade of releasing singles for Parrot, King and Bobbin, Albert King had only one chart success \u2013 1961\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Throw Your Love on Me So Strong\u201d (R&B #14) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31634,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,64,65,73],"tags":[152],"class_list":["post-31635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blues","category-reissue","category-review","category-vinyl","tag-albert-king","cat-9-id","cat-64-id","cat-65-id","cat-73-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31635"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31759,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31635\/revisions\/31759"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}