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With a discography of over 90 albums, that covers five decades (and still going on), B.B. King is one of the most prolific artists in Blues to date. Not only that, he is also the one who brought the Blues to the widest audience. Of course, selling so many records, and appearing so many times on prime-time television, didn't come without a few sacrifices on the content of his material. B.B. King's desire to evolve, along with commercial considerations, have made him flirt with pop music in several albums. His music has probably lost some soul (and some "thrill" ?) in the process, yet he is still capable of pulling out pure, intimate heartfelt Blues songs, like "There Must Be A Better World Somewhere", released in 1981.
These "Definitive Greatest Hits" cover a broad period of the artist's works (1964-1993), and are a great way to hear how B.B. King's music has evolved throughout the years, flirting with various musical moods. As a matter of fact, an interesting way to listen to this double-disc set is to program the tracks in chronogical order.
The compilation includes B.B. King's most famous songs, from the soulful "Thrill Is Gone", one of a few Blues tunes to include strings in the instrumentation, to less bluesy acts, like "My Lucille" (1985), with late disco influences, and "When Blues Comes To Town", written by, and performed with U2 (1988).
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