Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Freddie King - Taking Care Of Business [1985] (7 x CDs)

FREDDIE KING

Freddie King - Taking Care Of Business [1985] (7 x CDs)

Everything the legendary electric blues guitarist Freddie King cut in the studio from 1956 to 1973 for El-Bee, Federal, King, Cotillion-Atlantic, and Leon Russell's Shelter Records! Every killer instrumental he waxed during his early 1960s hitmaking heyday, including Driving Sideways, Wash Out, Low Tide, and Remington Ride plus his original hit recordings of Hide Away, Lonesome Whistle Blues...

Of the three blues Kings, Freddie is overlooked, never achieving the superstar status of B.B. and lacking the bad mother mojo of Albert, but he was every bit as crucial to blues and rock & roll as either, building upon B.B.'s piercing single lines and playing with the fury of Albert, creating a style that forever changed guitar in the 20th century. Eric Clapton, in particular, built upon Freddie's gut-busting guitar, adopting "Hide Away" as his early showcase with John Mayall, and other players who blurred the lines between rock and blues were forever indebted to Freddie, who himself smashed the barriers between the two styles almost from the beginning. This is clear from the beginning of Taking Care of Business: 1956-1973, Bear Family's monumental seven-disc testament to King's greatness. More than most artists, King was crying out for the kind of extensive, exhaustive treatment given by Bear Family: Freddie hopped from label to label, seemingly switching his name every time he appeared on a new imprint, and large chunks of his catalog never appeared on CD. Taking Care of Business rectifies that situation, gathering every studio session he recorded with the exception of his final stint at RSO in the mid-'70s. RSO's absence isn't felt because everything else he cut is here: his early, ignored single for Chicago-based EL Bee with Robert Jr. Lockwood on guitar; his sessions for Federal and King where he established his powerhouse signature instrumental style on "Hide Away," "Butterscotch," and "San-Ho-Zay," cut such passionate vocals as "Have You Ever Loved" and "I'm Tore Down," then later dipped his toe into such trends as the twist, bossa nova, and surf rock; his late-'60s sessions for Cotillion, where he got funkier than any other blues guitarist (a transition showcased on a heavily reworked "Hide Away"), and sang some deep soul; his Leon Russell-shepherded, rock & roll-tinged comeback on Shelter records in the early '70s, where he was playing for hippies and singing CCR and Spencer Davis Group. King often revisited his signature tunes, cutting them every time he changed labels, but each time the arrangements shifted, signaling how Freddie was always moving forward, finding new settings for his muscular voice and guitar. Surely, some of the detours he took weren't as successful as others, his "Do the President Twist" immediately pops to mind, but as Taking Care of Business winds towards its conclusion, what impresses is the variety, how King shifted with the times without chasing trends, how he stayed uniquely himself throughout it all, always a larger-than-life force whose power sustained no matter the setting, and remains thrilling all these years later. (AGM review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Freddie King - Country Boy 2:29

02 Freddie King - That's What You Think 2:35

03 Freddie King - You Know That You Love Me (but You Never Tell Me So) 2:19

04 Freddie King - See See Baby 2:17

05 Freddie King - You've Got To Love Her With A Feeling 3:14

06 Freddie King - Have You Ever Loved A Woman 3:06

07 Freddie King - Hide Away 2:37

08 Freddie King - I Love The Woman 2:48

09 Freddie King - Lonesome Whistle Blues 2:48

10 Freddie King - If You Believe (in What You Do) 2:57

11 Freddie King - It's Too Bad (things Are Going So Tough) 3:05

12 Freddie King - I'm Tore Down 2:37

13 Freddie King - Butterscotch (onion Rings) 3:02

14 Freddie King - Sen-sa-shun 2:52

15 Freddie King - Side Tracked 3:04

16 Freddie King - The Stumble 3:12

17 Freddie King - San-ho-zay 2:52

18 Freddie King - Wash Out 2:34

19 Freddie King - You Know That You Love Me [alt] 2:27

20 Freddie King - See See Baby [alt] 2:18

21 Freddie King - You've Got To Love Her With A Feeling [alt] 3:10

22 Freddie King - Have You Ever Loved A Woman [alt] 3:20

23 Freddie King - Butterscotch (onion Rings) [alt1] 3:05

24 Freddie King - Butterscotch (onion Rings) [alt2] 2:39

25 Freddie King - Wash Out [alt] 3:03


CD2

01 Freddie King - Just Pickin' 2:30

02 Freddie King - Heads Up 2:30

03 Freddie King - Christmas Tears 2:46

04 Freddie King - Let Me Be (stay Away From Me) 2:28

05 Freddie King - Takin' Care Of Business 2:47

06 Freddie King - You Mean, Mean Woman (how Can Your Love Be True) 2:43

07 Freddie King - I Hear Jingle Bells 2:36

08 Freddie King - In The Open 2:55

09 Freddie King - Out Front 2:37

10 Freddie King - Swooshy 2:16

11 Freddie King - Closed Door (high Rise) 3:03

12 Freddie King - Texas Oil 2:25

13 Freddie King - She Put The Whammy On Me 4:54

14 Freddie King - I'm On My Way To Atlanta 3:39

15 Freddie King - Over Drive (the Untouchable Glide) 2:48

16 Freddie King - Driving Sideways 2:48

17 Freddie King - Sittin' On The Boat Dock 3:05

18 Freddie King - Come On 3:34

19 Freddie King - Do The President Twist 2:43

20 Freddie King - (let Your Love) Watch Over Me 4:13

21 Freddie King - You Can't Hide 3:01

22 Freddie King - It's Easy Child 3:09

23 Freddie King - Just Pickin' [alt] 2:18

24 Freddie King - Heads Up [alt] 2:28

25 Freddie King - Closed Door (high Rise) [alt] 3:01

26 Freddie King - I'm On My Way To Atlanta [alt] 3:40


CD3

01 Freddie King - Your Love Keeps A-working On Me 2:56

02 Freddie King - What About Love 2:25

03 Freddie King - Bossa Nova Blues 3:49

04 Freddie King - The Bossa Nova Watusi Twist 4:56

05 Freddie King - Freeway 75 3:21

06 Freddie King - Walk Down That Aisle (honey Chile) 2:16

07 Freddie King - Someday, After Awhile (you'll Be Sorry) 4:34

08 Freddie King - You Walked In 2:39

09 Freddie King - You're Barkin' Up The Wrong Tree 2:43

10 Freddie King - Is My Baby Mad At Me 2:24

11 Freddie King - (the Welfare) Turns Its Back On You 2:39

12 Freddie King - It Hurts To Be In Love 2:35

13 Freddie King - Look Ma, I'm Cryin' 3:10

14 Freddie King - (i'd Love To) Make Love To You 2:18

15 Freddie King - One Hundred Years 2:25

16 Freddie King - Now I've Got A Woman 3:03

17 Freddie King - Surf Monkey 2:24

18 Freddie King - If You Have It 2:25

19 Freddie King - Low Tide (zoo Surfin') 6:15

20 Freddie King - Remington Ride 6:27

21 Freddie King - Monkey Donkey 2:36

22 Freddie King - Walk Down That Aisle (honey Chile) [alt] 2:20


CD4

01 Freddie King - Meet Me At The Station 2:44

02 Freddie King - Full Time Love 2:28

03 Freddie King - King-a-ling 2:55

04 Freddie King - I Love You More Every Day 2:53

05 Freddie King - Teardrops On Your Letter 2:32

06 Freddie King - Some Other Day, Some Other Time 2:42

07 Freddie King - She's The One 2:48

08 Freddie King - She's That Kind 3:08

09 Freddie King - Man Hole 2:18

10 Freddie King - Fish Fare 2:24

11 Freddie King - Funny Bone 2:34

12 Freddie King - Cloud Sailin' (don't Move) 2:21

13 Freddie King - The Sad Nite Owl 2:19

14 Freddie King - Nickel Plated 2:21

15 Freddie King - Freddy's Midnite Dream 2:22

16 Freddie King - Girl From Kookamunga 2:36

17 Freddie King - You've Got Me Licked 2:43

18 Freddie King - Double Eyed Whammy 2:43

19 Freddie King - Use What You've Got 3:04

20 Freddie King - The Mojo 3:04

21 Freddie King - Play It Cool 3:25

22 Freddie King - Untitled Instrumental #1 2:09

23 Freddie King - Untitled Instrumental #2 2:28

24 Freddie King - Untitled Instrumental #3 2:51

25 Freddie King - Hide Away 2:28

26 Freddie King - Funky 2:25

27 Freddie King - Blue Shadows 3:39

28 Freddie King - Play It Cool 3:44

29 Freddie King - That Will Never Do 2:22

30 Freddie King - It's Too Late, She's Gone 2:22

31 Freddie King - Sweet Thing 2:26

32 Freddie King - Get Out Of My Life Woman 3:31


CD5

01 Freddie King - Hot Tomato 2:44

02 Freddie King - Wide Open 3:02

03 Freddie King - Let Me Down Easy 3:02

04 Freddie King - Today I Sing The Blues 3:56

05 Freddie King - Yonder Wall 3:19

06 Freddie King - I Wonder Why 3:17

07 Freddie King - I Don't Know 3:05

08 Freddie King - My Feeling For The Blues 2:08

09 Freddie King - The Stumble 3:34

10 Freddie King - Stormy Monday 4:23

11 Freddie King - What'd I Say 2:53

12 Freddie King - Ain't Nobody's Business What We Do 3:38

13 Freddie King - You Don't Have To Go 2:27

14 Freddie King - Woke Up This Morning 3:11

15 Freddie King - The Things I Used To Do 3:48

16 Freddie King - Same Old Blues 3:58

17 Freddie King - Dust My Broom 3:10

18 Freddie King - Worried Life Blues 2:51

19 Freddie King - Five Long Years 4:22

20 Freddie King - Key To The Highway 3:25

21 Freddie King - Going Down 3:20

22 Freddie King - Living On The Highway 4:14

23 Freddie King - Walking By Myself 2:49

24 Freddie King - Tore Down 4:11

25 Freddie King - Palace Of The King 3:39


CD6

01 Freddie King - Gimme Some Lovin' 4:04

02 Freddie King - Please Send Me Someone To Love 3:59

03 Freddie King - That's All Right 4:41

04 Freddie King - The Same Thing 5:56

05 Freddie King - Tore Down [live] 6:37

06 Freddie King - Dust My Broom [live] 4:10

07 Freddie King - Can't Trust Your Neighbor 3:55

08 Freddie King - You Was Wrong 3:48

09 Freddie King - How Many More Years 3:26

10 Freddie King - Ain't No Sunshine 3:17

11 Freddie King - The Sky Is Crying 3:24

12 Freddie King - Love Her With A Feeling 5:04

13 Freddie King - Somebody Got To Go 5:57

14 Freddie King - Pulpwood 7:11

15 Freddie King - Hide Away 4:47

16 Freddie King - Lowdown In Lodi 3:06

17 Freddie King - Reconsider Baby 4:00


CD7

01 Freddie King - Big Legged Woman 3:58

02 Freddie King - Me And My Guitar 4:04

03 Freddie King - I'd Rather Be Blind 3:45

04 Freddie King - Something You Got 3:02

05 Freddie King - Ain't No Big Deal On You 3:31

06 Freddie King - I Just Want To Make Love To You 6:50

07 Freddie King - It Hurts Me Too 5:30

08 Freddie King - Boogie Funk (guitar Boogie) 3:06

09 Freddie King - Woman Across The River 2:47

10 Freddie King - I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man 4:49

11 Freddie King - Danger Zone 4:33

12 Freddie King - Boogie Man 3:44

13 Freddie King - Leave My Woman Alone 3:32

14 Freddie King - Just A Little Bit 2:28

15 Freddie King - Yonder Wall 2:26

16 Freddie King - Help Me Through The Day 4:29

17 Freddie King - I'm Ready 3:45

18 Freddie King - Trouble In Mind 3:41

19 Freddie King - You Don't Have To Go 2:57

20 Freddie King - Goin' Down [live] 4:36

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5 comments:

  1. BB thanks for sharing this. Great write-up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi lemonflag,
      I thought it was quite apt.
      Enjoy the music, always.
      Cheers.

      Delete
  2. @Butterboy can you re-up Freddie King - Taking Care Of Business [1985] (7 x CDs)? Thanks in advance. Best regards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi joaoabel.
      New links established, tested and working.
      Cheers.

      Delete
    2. @Butterboy Thank you four your help and kindness. Best regards.

      Delete