I worked with Albert King during the last few years of his life. I wrote 9 songs for him and he recorded them all. Only 3 have been released so far on an album in Europe and Asia called "Red House" Albert was a tyrant on drummers, he would always say, "You're dragging drummer, you're dragging!!!" Loved him very much cause once you got past his wall he kept up to hide his lack of schooling, he was really a teddy bear. He asked me to go on tour in Europe with him but at the time I had 2 young sons at home and didn't go. "regrets, I've had a few..." On another "note" Albert had his own tuning he used. I had it written down at one time and would tune "Lucy" for him to the studio piano before he got there to save time. Somewhere along the way, I regretfully lost the paper it was written down on.
I saw Albert King in Detroit years ago he broke a high E string on a big bend then proceeded to stand there smoking a pipe while the band played on and pulled a string out of his jacket pocket and put it on tuned up and went right back into the song as if nothing happened...no guitar tech here folks!
That's what happens when your guitar hero started out as a drummer first. Albert started on drums so there's no fooling him, he says he also learned how to write music for horns and his horn players didn't have it easy either, he also said the difference between his horns and B.B's is that his players could take a solo. Great channel Micheal.
I'm not even a guitar person, but I keep watching your videos because it's so fascinating you bring it in such an authentic personal way. You make people watch your videos because of you, and that's f*cking awesome.
Michael, I knew Albert for a few years before his death. My first gig as a guitarist was with two of his band members outside Crawfordsville, Arkansas at Sumpter's Grocery country store where Albert frequently stopped for BBQ/pool hall/gambling. I actually saw Albert and Little Milton get into a low down cuss fight on who the better guitar player was.This occurred at Woody's Bus shop where they both had their tour buses repaired.Clarence Woody the owner was a friend of mine. Albert used to come and just hangout at Woody's because he enjoyed it. He was a blast to hangout with and talk smack.. Albert and Milton were always rivals. I can tell ya Albert was hard on his musicians. I wound up playing second guitar for his adopted grandson Little Jimmy King for 8 years until Jimmy's death. I played with many of Albert's musicians and the stories they told about him were amazing. I cherish the years and memories of him and his band mates.
Great stories. Thanks for sharing. In the 90s I worked at Crosstown Studios in Memphis where Little Jimmy King recorded his album Something Inside of me. Great player. Hope you are still playing. Best wishes
@Michael Taylor 💗 💖 💘 💝 💟 ☮️!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!! I LOVE Little Jimmy King so much!!!! I saw him once in NYC in the '90's at a place called "Lola's"... you may have been with him that night! I got some amazing (if I do say so myself) photos of him. I only wish I would have been able to capture that performance on video!!! He was something special...
@@buddyalbert5808 💗 💖 💘 💝 💟 ☮️ !!!!!!!!!!! Awesome!! I have an autographed promo photo for "Something Inside of Me"... an amazing album!! I met him once... I was forever mesmerized... and devastated when he died...
I saw Albert play at Rockefeller’s (Houston) in 1986. He got so furious with the drummer, Albert actually stopped playing and really torn into the drummer . All in all , a great show.
Man the last thing I expected for my afternoon was to get emotional watching a breakdown of an Albert King clip. Holy cow. The catharsis when he smiles at the end and knows he got through. Fantastic job pointing out the nuance here, as always!
Very true, this is when the true emotions are visible, if you regard your choices as being 'the old pentatonic patterns' it becomes obvious, these are notes from your heart, respect them.
I had the pleasure of seeing Albert play one night at the Delta Blues Festival, and Stevie Ray Vaughn was on the bill too, and he got up and played with Albert. Talk about serendipity.
Had to delete and re-post. The FVR in Premiere export to YT created WAAAYYY too many artifacts. Just unacceptable. Regardless - we fixed it and we can now see Albert chew this dude out!
Whew!! Ok, thx...certainly glad you reposted, love seeing the chewing outs that are caught on video. Now I'm gonna go watch it for the 3rd time, lol. Thx again for the video and the breakdown.
Oh yeah..so clear now I can almost feel the drummer freaking out. Albert was just dealing with it from both sides of the stage. Such a professional! Great video, thx for taking the time to set it right( something professional musicians just have to do😉)
Love this!!! I grew up listening to Albert and other Blues greats. They're all consummate showmen, and the best storytellers... period. Great analysis of the live performance struggle right here.👍 This is important for anyone aspiring to be a working musician or entertainer.
Dude!!! I’ve been watching your videos for the last few days and I’m so hooked. So much so that I had to leave you a comment, thank you for what you are doing. I’ve played music my whole life, and I lost interest a year or so ago because I was bored. You’ve completely got me excited again, thank you so much for what you are doing!
Buddy Guy played in Morristown, NJ last summer (2019). After the show I talked with his back up guitarist, Ric Hall. He used to play with Albert King back in the day.. now, Albert had a real unique way of tuning his guitar. Ric, thinking he was doing something good, TUNED Albert's guitar to standard. Albert was PISSED! lol. I love those kind of stories. Great video!
Lol! I love it! The first time I ever saw this clip, I said the same thing, he's pissed off through the whole thing. However, you breaking it down, based on his expressions, made it much more clear! Lol. I love how you quickly focused on that! That was awesome! I had the same excitement as you did. Well done, sir! Well done. 😀
I can't believe what I have just seen as a non-musician music lover! MP, you just gave me the skeleton key to the second stage of music appreciation. I've always loved the sound of AK, but you have just amplified my appreciation for him [AK] tenfold!
Albert King stories are everywhere here in St. Louis where Albert was based earlier in his career. My favorite is when he told one new drummer "When I'm singing stay on the hi-hat. When I'm playing a lead go to the ride cymbal. And as far as I'm concerned you can leave those tom toms in the van!" I never met or played with him but I hear this in my head whenever I'm doing blues gigs.
Talked with a guy who engineered some AK recordings. Guy claimed that AK was very loose with tuning his guitar, he would just bend the notes into tune.
@@sprintcarsandguitars959 12 step tuning is far to rigid to be accurate so if you need one particular tonal distance to be perfect detune the string you use the most for the accents in a phrase to make it sound right and bend the other notes into tune, it's pretty common.
Gotta say, I watched the original first to see what my thoughts were without impressions. Man you killed the reactions. I noticed some of that stuff but in no way put it together to see what was happening. Cool vid.
Michael, I just found this awesome video and I just subscribed. I've been playing guitar for years in a hobby band, initially on a '63 Strat that I bought in 1975 off a farmer in Chillicothe, Ohio for $200 out of a newspaper ad, and then for the past 15 years or so on a Stevie Ray Strat. I still have the '63, of course. This video you made is amazing to me. It mirrors so much of what me and my buddies have talked about forever. I'm specifically talking about your critique of the band, Albert's reactions, and his professionalism of soldiering through it all. I saw Albert King at least 9 times. I know this because of photo's, ticket stubs and the 6 cassette tapes I have of various shows, most recorded at Gilly's in Dayton, Ohio, at least one cassette is of a show he did at Bogart's in Cincinnati. The recordings were made between 1977 through 1981-1982(?). In those days, it seemed he always had a different pick up band with him, specifically the other guitar player. One show in particular Albert was not happy with the guitar player. On the tape you can hear the frustration, to put it mildly. As the other guitar player plays an exceptionally lame solo, Albert yells "play it Johnny Guitar!".....Albert then proceeds to crank up his own amp and he plays an - on purpose - out-of-key rhythm part drowning out the solo before tearing into the loudest most blistering solo ever. The first time I saw Albert King was 1976 - it blew me away. I never missed him again if I saw he was coming anywhere near me. I'd sit at a first row table with my arm resting on the stage looking after my Sony cassette boom box which had two stereo condenser mics built into it. Do you by chance remember that ad, I think it was for Bose speakers......the one where the guy is sitting there in front of the speakers and his hair is blowing straight back.....that was me every time....after the band played the customary intro instrumental, Albert plugged in and got after it. My head blew off.
i mostly watch live videos because i love to watch interaction between the band members. when you understand what certain looks and nods and the subtle signals mean you can get a perspective for whats really going on with the band and i like to see how members react after they get a nod or a look or whatever. theres a whole story just in that. i also pay attention to the drummer. i’ll hear a song a dozen times before i ever pay any attention to guitar because i’m wrapped up in the drums. i can’t play drums but i think theres a drummer in me thats trying to escape. i’ve thought about learning to play drums but when i watch a good drummer, to me it looks like wizardry to me and i’m like Jake you know you can’t do that! each arm does something different and each leg does something different but the all do it at the same time. drummers must be able to split their brain into 4 different compartments. if i tried that it’d be like splitting the atom and my head would explode!
Here's my interpretation of what's happening. This is a blues played with a 6/8 feel. At times the drummer is trying to double up on the hi hats by playing sixteenth notes (12 HH notes rather than 6 over one bar) and he's not quite keeping up. It's not easy to do that with one hand, which is what it sounds like he's trying to do, and that's probably why he's mixing it up by playing six notes on the hat sometimes, and 12 notes on the hats at other times. I think Albert is getting pissed b/c the drummer isn't playing the busier HH part where Albert expects him too. Albert is hearing it one way, and the drummer is hearing it another way. That's the downside to playing with a guitar player -- or anyone really - who can also play drums. It's not so much that the drummer is playing it wrong, or his tempo is off, it's just that he's not in Albert's head -- which is an unrealistic expectation.
Not familiar with Albert King and Ive never heard this song and Im not sure how the band is set up for this gig but the drummer's choices were perplexing. If theres a horn section and they're playing charts Id think the drummer would be playing charts also. Whenever I had horn sections following charts i always made sure my drummers had charts. I think more than anything its the tempo, pocket and feel he's getting irritated at.
Albert also played this song with Rory Gallagher- Albert King - Live 1977. Rory plays the solo from 3.10 Rory played a couple of gigs with him in Switzerland... “whenever I asked Albert what key a song was in he always replied “B Natural”.... !!!!”
This was a fantastic video! I'd definitely love to see more breakdowns like this of a performance and the nuances that come with adjusting to mistakes and playing through them... on ALL levels! Cheers!
This is so great. I would have had no idea about any of this without the explanation. I was lucky enough to see Albert King a couple years before he died at the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, Ca (shortly before it closed) along with B.B. and Bobby Blue Bland. The place had a rotating circular stage with about 4000 seats. It was an amazing show, I was blessed to be there. Thanks!
Another great video Michael 👍🏻😊 totally enjoy watching these reaction/review ones.....definitely going to check out your site as it’s inspired me to look to refine and move my playing forward 🎸
This just came up on my YT feed & I'm so glad it did, so much that I subbed to your channel, you are AWESOME for sharing this!!! Stay safe my friend, Rock(Blues) On & God Bless!!!
“Lenny” Live at the El Macambo SRV. Greatest song, greatest SRV performance ever bar none. You haven’t lived until you have heard that. AK was a big influence on SRV. You can hear AK’s sound in SRV’s style.
Michael; I swear you and I have the same music taste. I’ve found so many old favourites and new gems already through my recent discovery of your channel. The best bit though, is that through your training and experience... you can actually explain passionately and clearly to my brain what my otherwise admirably sensitive ears are telling my soul. I get a whole new appreciation of music I already love through your breakdown reviews. Thank you 👌🙏
JAMES NORWOOD! JAMES NORWOOD is the drummer in this video. His nickname is Bubba. I believe he is still alive. (as of 2018) Would love to ask him if he remembers this night.
Sir, you are very generous to let us understand some subtleties of different kind of music. I especially loved your explications of the Marley songs and Prince on the song My guitar gently… Thanks for all you offer. Paul from Québec, the french side of America
This is one of the coolest episodes of this I have seen yet. I have 0 band experience, and probably never would have thought much of Kings body language. I always appreciate this kind of insight you have!
Not sure how I came across your channel, but that’s some great footage of the late great Albert King. Back in the late 60’s- 70’s Mr. King was frequently performing at the Continental Club (amongst others), Here in Oakland California. As a musician myself, I always loved his guitar tuning. Especially all of his Stax recordings with both booker T and the mgs as well as the barkays . And at one point he recorded a few tracks with Fred Wesley of the J.B.s (call my job). I truly commend you on sharing a great musician and his work.
love how micheal breaks down every part. I used your link to watch video through. and YESSSS. I see his professionalism and frustration. smh. never would have caught all those micro reaction. damn. you're good. lol. tyvm
YOUNG MAN I Guarantee that crowd...wasn’t black folk...love your observation...man you the SHIT...you know a lot of the OLD HEAD’S...didn’t read music...they just played whatever came to them at the time...IF YOU LISTEN TO THEIR MUSIC...you will always here THE TRAIN🚂 going or coming...that’s a little part of it all...you bring back memories for me...LIVING IN DALLAS...all the greats use to come through...back then the club’s were called...CAFE’S...saw dust on the floor’s and a whole lot of Skunken going on...I’m now a SUB...you be putting in that work...🔥💯👍🏾🙏🏾☝🏾
I can’t tell you how much I love the details that you point out on these videos. There are so many things that slip by me but you never take them for granted. I’m becoming a much better listener...and I always thought I was good to begin with.
Just stumbled onto your channel..I loved it with Albert King.I was so Lucky to have seen Him 4 times and shake his hand twice.He played through a roland twin and just would Kill it..I remember him scolding the band members at a show at the music machine in L.A. , second show..his bus was parked outside..greatly missed.
I had the great fortune to see Albert King live in London in the late 1980s. He smoked a corncob pipe all through the set and was in great form despite his age. Incidentally, "Crosscut Saw" is in G#. Great video, by the way.
"I wonder if this guy got fired..." Albert would do the same thing that Chuck Berry did, he'd tour in his car and have a pick up band at each stop. Sometimes they'd be great... sometimes not. This is one of the reasons he connected with SRV, he reportedly hated working with other guitarists in these bands, but he was impressed that this one skinny white kid was playing *his licks* back to him. One of my all time favorite blues stories is with Albert and one of these bands... because another thing he reportedly would never do was an encore. The show was the show. Anyway, one of these hotshot local bands was backing, and the last song is wrapping up and the audience is going wild, and the band extends just a bit... the bass player starts soloing. He says "Thank you good night" big smile and wave. As he's walking off he tells bass dude "Get off the stage..." Crowd is still going wild. Bass player keeps going. Audience starts doing the clap in time for an encore. Albert walks back out to a big applause. Does a big wave and smile. He walks back to the bass player... "Get off... the stage." The bass player keeps going. This is on a theater stage. Suddenly the back curtain pops open. The head of Albert King is floating about nine feet above the stage and its screaming "GET OFF THE STAGE!!" Bass player just drops his instrument and walks off.
I bet he never thought his performance would be analyzed. But I also bet he never thought a generation of young guitar players would place a crown upon his head for his achievements in playing the blues and the overall feel of his performance. But in reality it’s rare when all the musicians on the same stage are able to feel what the main performer is feeling, and be able to lock into it. I wonder if the drummer was hired for just that gig.
I just saw this a year later but I was on a show with Albert King at the LA Forum in the late 80s and I can testify I watched him rehearse his band at a sound check Because he wasn’t happy about the previous night’s gig -he was BRUTAL rehearsing these guys after an all night bus ride and it wasn’t a luxury bus! For two hours before the show-all your observations are spot on- like your stuff-best Billy Cioffi
Huge enthusiasm and great daily useful theory - Michael, you make it look easy. Great to have found you. "Me, the wood and wire. One guitar". 10,000 hrs - fabulous! 'He's had his back to drummers a long time...' - your analysis is fascinating to hear. Great musicianship, man thank you.
Mike Clark told a story about Albert King. Albert came to him and told him to put more "bacon fat" into his backbeat. He demonstrated this by playing his rimshots with no rebound, really digging into that drum.
This video came up as a suggestion , so I checked out. Like your teaching, commentary, attention to detail and love for the Blues. I subbed - checking out your website. Thanks for doing such a detailed lesson . One thing about the blues (out of many) is true Blues comes across authentically if it's a sec. by mili sec performance , whatever the tempo. It's the "in the moment" emotion - ala , Buddy Guy, Albert King , SRV ... all the greats.- that gets the listener's attention . At least, that's my perspective. Cheers!
I’m surprised that I haven’t seen anyone mention this in the video or comments, but the vocal line in this song (“Is there nothing I can do…”) is what inspired Duane Allman’s infamous intro guitar lick in Layla!!
Would love to watch blues videos with you one day! Your observations and reactions are priceless! 😁 Albert King used to be a drummer for Jimmy Reed, so he knew his shit.
you should do a video where you break down a little bit of a solo or song from each of the Three Kings and compare and contrast their styles. ALL of blues is encapsulated inside of those three gentlemen.
It reminds me of my Music instructor when I played tenor sax in jazz and show band the times where I had to come in on the upbeat I was like a minuscule amount of but he noticed I had to practice that bar for 4 hours before he let me back in to play I miss those little nuances and glances Mr Howdeshell my 7th grade music instructor was awesome
I would approach this tune out of E major...Jerry Beach was my dad's business insurance guy in Shreveport, LA back in the 70's...Jerry wrote I'll Play the Blues for You"...That live record was the second album my pops bought me back in the day...
Hey Michael, I just stumbled across your channel and this is awesome! If you think this was something, I saw James Brown at a rehearsal in Buffalo NY in 1966 remove his drummer and organist from their instruments. He then played what he wanted from them! He was not happy! Not at all! But they had it right for the show afterwards. This reminds me of that. Great stuff on your channel bro!!
Absolute killer vid man. I only found your channel tonight and I’ve watched about 5 of your videos but I would love to see you breakdown a song from the Australian band Redgum. 3 of my favourite songs from them would be Beaumont Rag, I was only 19, and/or killing floor. Would love to see you break down one of the songs. Thanks love ya stuff 👍🏽
From Paris - Mike i am crazcking up laughin with you. Your comments are so funny_and so clever too. i love the way your tell the pain it can be to be leading a band, even the crowd seems to be against him. As a former drummer, Albert is in swedish hell haha. April 25th today. A prayer for Albert RIP.
He was never hung over. He didn't drink and didn't allow his players to drink or use drugs either. He did his concerts and went to bed early. And maybe I´m wwrong in remembering this, but I believe he mentioned in an interview he used to be a drummer before picking up the guitar.
Albert was notoriously hard on drummers. I saw him once in a smaller venue and he stayed on the drummer's ass the whole set. I felt sorry for the guy but I still love Albert. Ha!
I worked with Albert King during the last few years of his life. I wrote 9 songs for him and he recorded them all. Only 3 have been released so far on an album in Europe and Asia called "Red House" Albert was a tyrant on drummers, he would always say, "You're dragging drummer, you're dragging!!!" Loved him very much cause once you got past his wall he kept up to hide his lack of schooling, he was really a teddy bear. He asked me to go on tour in Europe with him but at the time I had 2 young sons at home and didn't go. "regrets, I've had a few..." On another "note" Albert had his own tuning he used. I had it written down at one time and would tune "Lucy" for him to the studio piano before he got there to save time. Somewhere along the way, I regretfully lost the paper it was written down on.
Nightdog1978 wow, thanks for sharing that. Lucky guy you are. I'm a big AK fan. Love your anecdote.
E minor with a C on the bottom.
what were the songs released?
You still writing?
Wow, what a great account, thanks for sharing that.
I saw Albert King in Detroit years ago he broke a high E string on a big bend then proceeded to stand there smoking a pipe while the band played on and pulled a string out of his jacket pocket and put it on tuned up and went right back into the song as if nothing happened...no guitar tech here folks!
Thats awsome 😂
There's a very similar video with BB King on TH-cam somewhere
Yep, I saw him do the same move playing atop a baseball diamond at a small park in Charleston, SC I think about 1991. Fantastic experience!
How can you not love him for that alone? Let alone the playing before and after.
Saw Albert Collins do that
SRV did it and
BB King shall I continue? 😉
That's what happens when your guitar hero started out as a drummer first. Albert started on drums so there's no fooling him, he says he also learned how to write music for horns and his horn players didn't have it easy either, he also said the difference between his horns and B.B's is that his players could take a solo. Great channel Micheal.
Love this!!! Thanks :)
Oh man, he corrects the audience claps and that is the boss move and they had no idea
I'm not even a guitar person, but I keep watching your videos because it's so fascinating you bring it in such an authentic personal way. You make people watch your videos because of you, and that's f*cking awesome.
Thanks so much!!!!
Albert's voice is like whipped cream, silk, and pecan pie in a mix that was made in heaven, I loved this guy.
"Dude," this is your best react video yet. So many little things to unpack in this vidio and you do it so well. The war of art indeed.
Yes! War of art!
The clapping correction was hilarious! Awesome observations
Dude we've all been there.
Wasn't quite his tempo.
Michael, I knew Albert for a few years before his death. My first gig as a guitarist was with two of his band members outside Crawfordsville, Arkansas at Sumpter's Grocery country store where Albert frequently stopped for BBQ/pool hall/gambling. I actually saw Albert and Little Milton get into a low down cuss fight on who the better guitar player was.This occurred at Woody's Bus shop where they both had their tour buses repaired.Clarence Woody the owner was a friend of mine. Albert used to come and just hangout at Woody's because he enjoyed it. He was a blast to hangout with and talk smack.. Albert and Milton were always rivals. I can tell ya Albert was hard on his musicians. I wound up playing second guitar for his adopted grandson Little Jimmy King for 8 years until Jimmy's death. I played with many of Albert's musicians and the stories they told about him were amazing. I cherish the years and memories of him and his band mates.
Great stories. Thanks for sharing. In the 90s I worked at Crosstown Studios in Memphis where Little Jimmy King recorded his album Something Inside of me. Great player. Hope you are still playing. Best wishes
@@kazire4591 I’d say “have a nice day”, but we both know you won’t.
@@kazire4591 bro why are you commenting negativity on every comment
@Michael Taylor 💗 💖 💘 💝 💟 ☮️!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!! I LOVE Little Jimmy King so much!!!! I saw him once in NYC in the '90's at a place called "Lola's"... you may have been with him that night! I got some amazing (if I do say so myself) photos of him. I only wish I would have been able to capture that performance on video!!! He was something special...
@@buddyalbert5808 💗 💖 💘 💝 💟 ☮️ !!!!!!!!!!! Awesome!! I have an autographed promo photo for "Something Inside of Me"... an amazing album!! I met him once... I was forever mesmerized... and devastated when he died...
These great bluesmen could tell a story while performing with such skill. It truly is a joy to watch the master at work. We are so lucky to have it.
I saw Albert play at Rockefeller’s (Houston) in 1986. He got so furious with the drummer, Albert actually stopped playing and really torn into the drummer . All in all , a great show.
Albert King - "Do we have any lovers in the house?!?! ...That's great. That's great. Right about now, I'd love to kick my drummer's ass."
Lmaoooooooo
Crowd “Go ahead Mr King kick his ass!”
😂😂
Man the last thing I expected for my afternoon was to get emotional watching a breakdown of an Albert King clip. Holy cow. The catharsis when he smiles at the end and knows he got through. Fantastic job pointing out the nuance here, as always!
slow minor blues with all the space in it is the hardest to play you feel so naked.
Fact.
As a drummer I would be scared shitless lol
Nothing to hide behind
Very true, this is when the true emotions are visible, if you regard your choices as being 'the old pentatonic patterns' it becomes obvious, these are notes from your heart, respect them.
Don‘t panic. The crowd loves a little space to stuff their fantasies in. The musician doesn‘t have to do all the work.
I had the pleasure of seeing Albert play one night at the Delta Blues Festival, and Stevie Ray Vaughn was on the bill too, and he got up and played with Albert. Talk about serendipity.
Had to delete and re-post. The FVR in Premiere export to YT created WAAAYYY too many artifacts. Just unacceptable. Regardless - we fixed it and we can now see Albert chew this dude out!
Whew!! Ok, thx...certainly glad you reposted, love seeing the chewing outs that are caught on video. Now I'm gonna go watch it for the 3rd time, lol. Thx again for the video and the breakdown.
Oh yeah..so clear now I can almost feel the drummer freaking out. Albert was just dealing with it from both sides of the stage. Such a professional! Great video, thx for taking the time to set it right( something professional musicians just have to do😉)
Great! Gonna see this video again i guess. No complaints.
Albert was a drummer befor he was into guitar...that's the reason he was furious with drummer...😃
Love this!!! I grew up listening to Albert and other Blues greats. They're all consummate showmen, and the best storytellers... period. Great analysis of the live performance struggle right here.👍 This is important for anyone aspiring to be a working musician or entertainer.
Dude!!! I’ve been watching your videos for the last few days and I’m so hooked. So much so that I had to leave you a comment, thank you for what you are doing. I’ve played music my whole life, and I lost interest a year or so ago because I was bored. You’ve completely got me excited again, thank you so much for what you are doing!
Love it !! That’s the whole thing here!
I love Albert Kong he has such great blues licks in all his songs that I use in almost everything I’m glad that you did a video on him!
I love to hear Albert sing ! Nothing else like his golden voice
Buddy Guy played in Morristown, NJ last summer (2019). After the show I talked with his back up guitarist, Ric Hall. He used to play with Albert King back in the day.. now, Albert had a real unique way of tuning his guitar. Ric, thinking he was doing something good, TUNED Albert's guitar to standard. Albert was PISSED! lol. I love those kind of stories. Great video!
I am so thrilled that there's so much good stuff to catch up with. We had a nice lunch with this one today. 💕🙋🎶
Lol! I love it! The first time I ever saw this clip, I said the same thing, he's pissed off through the whole thing. However, you breaking it down, based on his expressions, made it much more clear! Lol. I love how you quickly focused on that! That was awesome! I had the same excitement as you did. Well done, sir! Well done. 😀
I can't believe what I have just seen as a non-musician music lover! MP, you just gave me the skeleton key to the second stage of music appreciation. I've always loved the sound of AK, but you have just amplified my appreciation for him [AK] tenfold!
Albert King stories are everywhere here in St. Louis where Albert was based earlier in his career. My favorite is when he told one new drummer "When I'm singing stay on the hi-hat. When I'm playing a lead go to the ride cymbal. And as far as I'm concerned you can leave those tom toms in the van!" I never met or played with him but I hear this in my head whenever I'm doing blues gigs.
Love a man that cares about quality
Yes sir! Most real musicians do.
someone once told me, "you're only as good as you're drummer " :)
That's correct.
Truth.
Don’t let the drummers know that.
So true
I've always said, if the drummer aint kickin', the band aint either.
Talked with a guy who engineered some AK recordings. Guy claimed that AK was very loose with tuning his guitar, he would just bend the notes into tune.
ive heard a few tunes where he was pretty far out of tune,i often wondered what he's thinking.
@@sprintcarsandguitars959 12 step tuning is far to rigid to be accurate so if you need one particular tonal distance to be perfect detune the string you use the most for the accents in a phrase to make it sound right and bend the other notes into tune, it's pretty common.
Gotta say, I watched the original first to see what my thoughts were without impressions. Man you killed the reactions. I noticed some of that stuff but in no way put it together to see what was happening. Cool vid.
Thanks man!
Michael, I just found this awesome video and I just subscribed. I've been playing guitar for years in a hobby band, initially on a '63 Strat that I bought in 1975 off a farmer in Chillicothe, Ohio for $200 out of a newspaper ad, and then for the past 15 years or so on a Stevie Ray Strat. I still have the '63, of course.
This video you made is amazing to me. It mirrors so much of what me and my buddies have talked about forever. I'm specifically talking about your critique of the band, Albert's reactions, and his professionalism of soldiering through it all.
I saw Albert King at least 9 times. I know this because of photo's, ticket stubs and the 6 cassette tapes I have of various shows, most recorded at Gilly's in Dayton, Ohio, at least one cassette is of a show he did at Bogart's in Cincinnati. The recordings were made between 1977 through 1981-1982(?). In those days, it seemed he always had a different pick up band with him, specifically the other guitar player. One show in particular Albert was not happy with the guitar player. On the tape you can hear the frustration, to put it mildly. As the other guitar player plays an exceptionally lame solo, Albert yells "play it Johnny Guitar!".....Albert then proceeds to crank up his own amp and he plays an - on purpose - out-of-key rhythm part drowning out the solo before tearing into the loudest most blistering solo ever.
The first time I saw Albert King was 1976 - it blew me away. I never missed him again if I saw he was coming anywhere near me. I'd sit at a first row table with my arm resting on the stage looking after my Sony cassette boom box which had two stereo condenser mics built into it. Do you by chance remember that ad, I think it was for Bose speakers......the one where the guy is sitting there in front of the speakers and his hair is blowing straight back.....that was me every time....after the band played the customary intro instrumental, Albert plugged in and got after it. My head blew off.
i mostly watch live videos because i love to watch interaction between the band members. when you understand what certain looks and nods and the subtle signals mean you can get a perspective for whats really going on with the band and i like to see how members react after they get a nod or a look or whatever. theres a whole story just in that. i also pay attention to the drummer. i’ll hear a song a dozen times before i ever pay any attention to guitar because i’m wrapped up in the drums. i can’t play drums but i think theres a drummer in me thats trying to escape. i’ve thought about learning to play drums but when i watch a good drummer, to me it looks like wizardry to me and i’m like Jake you know you can’t do that! each arm does something different and each leg does something different but the all do it at the same time. drummers must be able to split their brain into 4 different compartments. if i tried that it’d be like splitting the atom and my head would explode!
Here's my interpretation of what's happening. This is a blues played with a 6/8 feel. At times the drummer is trying to double up on the hi hats by playing sixteenth notes (12 HH notes rather than 6 over one bar) and he's not quite keeping up. It's not easy to do that with one hand, which is what it sounds like he's trying to do, and that's probably why he's mixing it up by playing six notes on the hat sometimes, and 12 notes on the hats at other times. I think Albert is getting pissed b/c the drummer isn't playing the busier HH part where Albert expects him too. Albert is hearing it one way, and the drummer is hearing it another way. That's the downside to playing with a guitar player -- or anyone really - who can also play drums. It's not so much that the drummer is playing it wrong, or his tempo is off, it's just that he's not in Albert's head -- which is an unrealistic expectation.
Not familiar with Albert King and Ive never heard this song and Im not sure how the band is set up for this gig but the drummer's choices were perplexing. If theres a horn section and they're playing charts Id think the drummer would be playing charts also. Whenever I had horn sections following charts i always made sure my drummers had charts. I think more than anything its the tempo, pocket and feel he's getting irritated at.
Albert also played this song with Rory Gallagher- Albert King - Live 1977. Rory plays the solo from 3.10
Rory played a couple of gigs with him in Switzerland... “whenever I asked Albert what key a song was in he always replied “B Natural”.... !!!!”
This was a fantastic video! I'd definitely love to see more breakdowns like this of a performance and the nuances that come with adjusting to mistakes and playing through them... on ALL levels! Cheers!
Yeah that's a great series idea. thanks!
Always good to see Mr.King play. He's amazing. The video with him and SRV is something else as well. You should do it Michael!
This is so great. I would have had no idea about any of this without the explanation.
I was lucky enough to see Albert King a couple years before he died at the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, Ca (shortly before it closed) along with B.B. and Bobby Blue Bland. The place had a rotating circular stage with about 4000 seats. It was an amazing show, I was blessed to be there.
Thanks!
Another great video Michael 👍🏻😊 totally enjoy watching these reaction/review ones.....definitely going to check out your site as it’s inspired me to look to refine and move my playing forward 🎸
This just came up on my YT feed & I'm so glad it did, so much that I subbed to your channel, you are AWESOME for sharing this!!! Stay safe my friend, Rock(Blues) On & God Bless!!!
“Lenny” Live at the El Macambo SRV. Greatest song, greatest SRV performance ever bar none. You haven’t lived until you have heard that. AK was a big influence on SRV. You can hear AK’s sound in SRV’s style.
Michael; I swear you and I have the same music taste. I’ve found so many old favourites and new gems already through my recent discovery of your channel. The best bit though, is that through your training and experience... you can actually explain passionately and clearly to my brain what my otherwise admirably sensitive ears are telling my soul.
I get a whole new appreciation of music I already love through your breakdown reviews. Thank you 👌🙏
JAMES NORWOOD! JAMES NORWOOD is the drummer in this video. His nickname is Bubba. I believe he is still alive. (as of 2018) Would love to ask him if he remembers this night.
I highly doubt he would forget upsetting Albert King.
Yea hell remember that for sure
This is AWESOME. Never seen this King video. The fact that he corrects on the clapping is total LEGEND. Well commented! Laughed a lot!
please do more albert king this was very very fun to play along with and your commentary was great
I watched the video earlier this morning and just realized it's been re-posted, time to watch again!
Sir, you are very generous to let us understand some subtleties of different kind of music. I especially loved your explications of the Marley songs and Prince on the song My guitar gently… Thanks for all you offer. Paul from Québec, the french side of America
This is one of the coolest episodes of this I have seen yet. I have 0 band experience, and probably never would have thought much of Kings body language. I always appreciate this kind of insight you have!
You called Lucy Lucille. Lucille was BB’s guitar. Lucy was the flying v.
Not sure how I came across your channel, but that’s some great footage of the late great Albert King. Back in the late 60’s- 70’s Mr. King was frequently performing at the Continental Club (amongst others), Here in Oakland California. As a musician myself, I always loved his guitar tuning. Especially all of his Stax recordings with both booker T and the mgs as well as the barkays . And at one point he recorded a few tracks with Fred Wesley of the J.B.s (call my job).
I truly commend you on sharing a great musician and his work.
That was an amazing review, so cool to see the little nuances. Thank you
love how micheal breaks down every part. I used your link to watch video through. and YESSSS. I see his professionalism and frustration. smh. never would have caught all those micro reaction. damn. you're good. lol. tyvm
Have you seen the film of him live at the Fillmore in 1970? Trumpet player's only got one arm.
I wonder what he did to piss Albert off that much!
LOL... F'n hell.
That was fascinating watching you break down what was invisible to me. Never would have imagined all of that was going on in the performance. bravo!
Ah the origins of Layla!
YOUNG MAN I Guarantee that crowd...wasn’t black folk...love your observation...man you the SHIT...you know a lot of the OLD HEAD’S...didn’t read music...they just played whatever came to them at the time...IF YOU LISTEN TO THEIR MUSIC...you will always here THE TRAIN🚂 going or coming...that’s a little part of it all...you bring back memories for me...LIVING IN DALLAS...all the greats use to come through...back then the club’s were called...CAFE’S...saw dust on the floor’s and a whole lot of Skunken going on...I’m now a SUB...you be putting in that work...🔥💯👍🏾🙏🏾☝🏾
Thank you sir!!
I am not a musician but I play a little guitar; watching you dissect the relationship was amazing and entertaining as hell! Keep it up, great job.
Albert king is one of my top 3 favorite guitarists. Such an amazing everything.
Your enthusiasm is contagious! I'm as stoked on this video as you are and I don't even play any music! 🤣🤣
I can’t tell you how much I love the details that you point out on these videos. There are so many things that slip by me but you never take them for granted. I’m becoming a much better listener...and I always thought I was good to begin with.
Active listening is the key my friend :)
Just stumbled onto your channel..I loved it with Albert King.I was so Lucky to have seen Him 4 times and shake his hand twice.He played through a roland twin and just would Kill it..I remember him scolding the band members at a show at the music machine in L.A. , second show..his bus was parked outside..greatly missed.
Thanks Mike you’re the heat Sir! I was laughing, and deeply enjoying this entire video. I have always loved Albert King’s music.
Amazing video, loved your analysis of the video from beginning to end. Definitely found my new favorite music TH-cam creator :)
Loved this and the struggles being pointed out. Yep, live band stuff for real! :D thanks
The vocal line is where Duane Allman got the riff for Layla.
any specific timestamp?
@@preethamveeranna8319 "there iis nothing I can do"
I had the great fortune to see Albert King live in London in the late 1980s. He smoked a corncob pipe all through the set and was in great form despite his age. Incidentally, "Crosscut Saw" is in G#. Great video, by the way.
Thx and lucky you!!
Europe and Canada, safe havens for the Soul artist in the 50's, 60's and 70's....that's why they have so much music in their archives.
"I wonder if this guy got fired..."
Albert would do the same thing that Chuck Berry did, he'd tour in his car and have a pick up band at each stop. Sometimes they'd be great... sometimes not. This is one of the reasons he connected with SRV, he reportedly hated working with other guitarists in these bands, but he was impressed that this one skinny white kid was playing *his licks* back to him.
One of my all time favorite blues stories is with Albert and one of these bands... because another thing he reportedly would never do was an encore. The show was the show. Anyway, one of these hotshot local bands was backing, and the last song is wrapping up and the audience is going wild, and the band extends just a bit... the bass player starts soloing. He says "Thank you good night" big smile and wave. As he's walking off he tells bass dude "Get off the stage..."
Crowd is still going wild. Bass player keeps going. Audience starts doing the clap in time for an encore. Albert walks back out to a big applause. Does a big wave and smile. He walks back to the bass player... "Get off... the stage."
The bass player keeps going. This is on a theater stage. Suddenly the back curtain pops open. The head of Albert King is floating about nine feet above the stage and its screaming "GET OFF THE STAGE!!" Bass player just drops his instrument and walks off.
I bet he never thought his performance would be analyzed. But I also bet he never thought a generation of young guitar players would place a crown upon his head for his achievements in playing the blues and the overall feel of his performance. But in reality it’s rare when all the musicians on the same stage are able to feel what the main performer is feeling, and be able to lock into it. I wonder if the drummer was hired for just that gig.
I just saw this a year later but I was on a show with Albert King at the LA Forum in the late 80s and I can testify I watched him rehearse his band at a sound check Because he wasn’t happy about the previous night’s gig -he was BRUTAL rehearsing these guys after an all night bus ride and it wasn’t a luxury bus! For two hours before the show-all your observations are spot on- like your stuff-best Billy Cioffi
Huge enthusiasm and great daily useful theory - Michael, you make it look easy. Great to have found you. "Me, the wood and wire. One guitar". 10,000 hrs - fabulous! 'He's had his back to drummers a long time...' - your analysis is fascinating to hear. Great musicianship, man thank you.
Minor correction! I believe Lucy was the name of Albert King's Flying V. Lucille was B.B. King's Gibson ES-335.
Mike Clark told a story about Albert King. Albert came to him and told him to put more "bacon fat" into his backbeat. He demonstrated this by playing his rimshots with no rebound, really digging into that drum.
Mike relayed that to me during a lesson once - great lesson...
"Not quite my tempo, why do you think I just hurled a flying V at your head drummer?"
This was very, very enjoyable video. Thank you Michael!
That was just GREAT and I do not know even how to play properly. Thanks a MILLION : )
This video came up as a suggestion , so I checked out. Like your teaching, commentary, attention to detail and love for the Blues.
I subbed - checking out your website.
Thanks for doing such a detailed lesson . One thing about the blues (out of many) is true Blues comes across authentically if it's a sec. by mili sec performance , whatever the tempo. It's the "in the moment" emotion - ala , Buddy Guy, Albert King , SRV ... all the greats.- that gets the listener's attention . At least, that's my perspective.
Cheers!
Came over here from Corey Congilio's channel. Killer stuff my friend. Thanks for the good material
That was amazing. Thanks for the journey Michael :)
I’m surprised that I haven’t seen anyone mention this in the video or comments, but the vocal line in this song (“Is there nothing I can do…”) is what inspired Duane Allman’s infamous intro guitar lick in Layla!!
Thank you for the new perspective on his interactions, fantastic!
Would love to watch blues videos with you one day! Your observations and reactions are priceless! 😁 Albert King used to be a drummer for Jimmy Reed, so he knew his shit.
you should do a video where you break down a little bit of a solo or song from each of the Three Kings and compare and contrast their styles. ALL of blues is encapsulated inside of those three gentlemen.
This was so enjoyable to watch,
Thanks bro
Just started watching these videos . Very good expert analysis. Very enjoyable 👌
This was an awesome breakdown from your perspective, I would not have seen all that.
Great video!
Great analysis as usual!
Great Channel!
I have a live album of Albert’s where he plays this with guest Rory Gallagher. I’ve listened to it so many times.
It reminds me of my Music instructor when I played tenor sax in jazz and show band the times where I had to come in on the upbeat I was like a minuscule amount of but he noticed I had to practice that bar for 4 hours before he let me back in to play I miss those little nuances and glances Mr Howdeshell my 7th grade music instructor was awesome
YUP
OMG this was so entertaining and hilarious ha! lol Also watching your reactions was just entertaining as well ha! Loved it! :-)
Watched the entire video all in one breath! Wow! Top notch analysis 👌
I would approach this tune out of E major...Jerry Beach was my dad's business insurance guy in Shreveport, LA back in the 70's...Jerry wrote I'll Play the Blues for You"...That live record was the second album my pops bought me back in the day...
Hey Michael, I just stumbled across your channel and this is awesome! If you think this was something, I saw James Brown at a rehearsal in Buffalo NY in 1966 remove his drummer and organist from their instruments. He then played what he wanted from them! He was not happy! Not at all! But they had it right for the show afterwards. This reminds me of that. Great stuff on your channel bro!!
Fascinating! Loved your observations and commentary.
These bends are só massive and clean..How could play that? Amazing Albert. God Bless
Awesome breakdown!! Love it! LOL, freakin hilarious Albert King dagger eyes!
Great explained and great presentation. Thumbs up!
I bought my Gibson EB3 new in 1970 and 53 years later still have it. Jim
Absolute killer vid man. I only found your channel tonight and I’ve watched about 5 of your videos but I would love to see you breakdown a song from the Australian band Redgum. 3 of my favourite songs from them would be Beaumont Rag, I was only 19, and/or killing floor. Would love to see you break down one of the songs. Thanks love ya stuff 👍🏽
From Paris - Mike i am crazcking up laughin with you. Your comments are so funny_and so clever too. i love the way your tell the pain it can be to be leading a band, even the crowd seems to be against him. As a former drummer, Albert is in swedish hell haha. April 25th today. A prayer for Albert RIP.
He was never hung over. He didn't drink and didn't allow his players to drink or use drugs either. He did his concerts and went to bed early. And maybe I´m wwrong in remembering this, but I believe he mentioned in an interview he used to be a drummer before picking up the guitar.
Albert was notoriously hard on drummers. I saw him once in a smaller venue and he stayed on the drummer's ass the whole set. I felt sorry for the guy but I still love Albert. Ha!