B. B. King is going to die. That is not a warm, fuzzy notion, of course, but it is a true one. It may not happen this year or the next, but one day, B. B. King, the "King of the Blues" will no longer be with us. And King knows this, too. While his new CD, One Kind Favor, includes the expected songs about life and love gone wrong, King reveals concerns about his mortality.
From the opening track, "See that My Grave Is Kept Clean" (a reference to the favor he asks in the album's title), King's voice captures the pensiveness of a man who recognizes the inevitability of death and accepts (if not embraces) it. "Tomorrow Night" is a painfully beautiful allegory in which he wonders about how he will be remembered after he shuffles off the mortal coil.
A History of the Blues
But while the disc might be therapeutic for King, One Kind Favor provides an additional service for listeners. Its greatest value lies in its retrospective nature. King's new album integrates several styles of the blues into a coherent whole, making the disc a testament to the genre.
His stripped-down version of "Blues Before Sunrise" -- a highlight of the disc, along with "Tomorrow Night" -- epitomizes the sound of early blues while still sounding fresh. "Midnight Blues" exemplifies the piano-heavy blues music that was influenced by ragtime. "I Get So Weary" and "Get These Blues off of Me" illustrate the symbiotic influences of blues and big band music.
Other tracks highlight the changes in the blues brought about by the rhythm and blues music of the seventies and eighties. In one of the album's mor upbeat moments, "How Many More Years" allows King room to showcase Lucille, the fabled guitar that sounds as lively as ever.
Professor Arrington's Grade
This is not King's best album, by any means. His 2000 release, Making Love Is Good for You, is a superior compilation. His best-selling Riding with the King album with Eric Clapton is not to be missed, and his live CD releases -- most notably, Live at the Regal -- belong in another category altogether. Nonetheless, One Kind Favor is a solid outing from arguably the greatest bluesman alive. If it does turn out to be King's last, he will have done us one kind favor in leaving us a noteworthy reminder of his contribution to American music. Indeed, B. B. King will die one day -- and we will all suffer a great loss when he does.
Professor Arrington's grade: B+
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