Live in Cook County Jail

B.B. headed to the hoosegow in '71 and emerged with one of the best live blues recordings of all time-and his first Top 25 album. Includes inspired versions of The Thrill Is Gone; Sweet Sixteen; Everyday I Have the Blues; Please Accept My Love , and more.

One of the greatest concert recordings of all time. How could it be less, with B.B. King performing some of his best material before a literally captive audience in an Illinois prison? "Worry, Worry" and "How Blue Can You Get" take on deeper meanings here, although King works the latter's camp lyrics as if he were in a juke joint. His mix of down-home humility and commanding stagecraft is instantly appealing. And his guitar barks, sings, and squeals with such authority that this is a bravura performance from the first bent, soul-searing note. A true desert-island disc. --Ted Drozdowski