Albert King: Live in Sweden

Born in 1923 in Indianola, Mississippi, blues guitarist Albert King was a farmer, a mechanic, and a bulldozer operator before he turned to music; and even then, as he reveals in an interview on this DVD, his first instrument was not guitar but drums (he once beat the skins behind blues great Jimmy Reed). A self-taught musician, the left-handed King simply flipped a right-handed guitar over, and throughout his career (he died in 1992) he played with the strings upside down. That unorthodox technique is on full display throughout this 1980 concert presented in PCM stereo, which finds King and band (including a three-piece horn section) running through a decent but essentially lackluster set of his best-known material (including “Born Under a Bad Sign,” which was also covered by Eric Clapton and Cream, and ‘30s big band leader Ray Noble's “The Very Thought of You,” a nice showcase for King's smooth vocals). King's playing is fine; his stinging tone and tasteful array of classic blues licks are there, but he seems a bit distracted during this show, giving his rhythm guitarist (who is no Albert King) nearly as much solo space as he takes for himself. Don't get me wrong: any footage of a blues great like King is worth having, but when the artist himself admits (in the interview) to being “tired and bored,” lowered expectations are definitely advised. Optional. Aud: P. (S. Graham)