B.B. King - Best of the Blues Guitar King 1951-1966 (1966)

Although this 18-track compilation has plenty of fine music from the wealth of material B.B. King recorded in the 1950s and 1960s for the Modern label, it's uncertain how it intends to fit into the King canon. It's not exactly a true best-of, even if the "Best of" phrase in the title is taken only to apply to his Modern recordings. About half the songs were big R&B hits, but this CD doesn't have all of the ones King scored on Modern's behalf. The two-CD Original Greatest Hits on Virgin does a considerably better job of encapsulating the major highlights of King's early career, and he cut so many sides for Modern that it can be argued that no single-disc anthology can do justice to this era. Still, if you're not all that fussy about getting the ideal encapsulation of this period, this is certainly a reasonable introduction, including some of his better-known early classics, like "Every Day I Have the Blues," "3 O'Clock Blues," "Rock Me Baby," "Sweet Little Angel," and "Sweet Sixteen Pt. 1." Some King aficionados might find a few of the non-hits selected for this comp quirky choices, like his cover of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight to the Blind," but they probably already have most or all of this stuff anyway.~Best of the Blues Guitar King 1951-1966 Review by Richie Unterberger