B.B. King: Makin' Love is Good For You (MCA)
Funny how the exceptional can become all too familiar. B.B. King continues to cry out the blues into his 74th year, but - not withstanding the Grammy for his last album, Blues on the Bayou - there is little noise surrounding his releases these days. This is particularly unfortunate as B.B. is enjoying one enthralling Indian summer. Arguably it is down to him rediscovering the blues. For too long he seemed frozen by the superstar spotlight, but he is in his element again, his Lucille whipping out his incisive trademark licks and that wonderful big crusty voice reflecting the pain of decades. The modernisms are kept to a minimum; tradition holds sway, with his band supporting the master with gusto and flair. Check out I Got To Leave This Woman or the moaning Ain't Nobody Like My Baby. On this evidence he has been following the advice in the title track.
Eric Clapton and B.B. King: Riding With The King
The evidence here is also compelling. Eric Clapton long ago proved that white boys can play the blues, though his form of late has been patchy. At his best, Clapton's measured, fluent and emotional playing remains the standard to which others can only aspire. His intro to Three O'Clock Blues is a model of timing and finesse, while his and B. B.'s respective solos on the same track provide a vivid contrast in styles. This is a genuine and fertile meeting of two great musicians, generations apart, who display their respect for each other's talent with warm and telling interplay. There are lapses; Marry You is the kind of ill-judged stew to which Clapton is prone, but this is a celebration memorable not least for a collector's-item acoustic version of the seminal Key to the Highway and a cracking band in top form.