There Must Be A Better World Somewhere / B.B. King

There Must Be A Better World Somewhere / B.B. King

During his decade recording for MCA, B.B. King was generally teamed with overblown accompaniment rather than his regular (and perfectly complementary) traveling band. This CD finds the masterful vocalist/guitarist joined by a more logical backup group than usual (with altoist Hank Crawford, tenor saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman and baritonist Ronnie Cuber in the tentet). The two most basic selections ("There Must Be a Better World Somewhere" and "The Victim") are easily the most successful while the other four are funky, more R&B-oriented and overly commercial; it sounds like B.B. was consciously trying for a hit record. Despite some fine solos by Newman and Crawford, this session was rather erratic, brief (under 36 minutes) and far from essential. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

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