Robert Baird

And so what really were the great Stax/Volt albums after 1968? A search of the LPs, and a tip from a dear friend, led me to a few gems, none greater than a 1969 Albert King LP with the stupidly great title, King, Does The King’s Things which was unfortunately changed to the comma-less Blues for Elvis after Presley’s death in 1977. With liner notes by future Presley biographer/tormentor Albert Goldman, this album comes loaded with a secret weapon: the playing and arrangements of Al Jackson Jr., Donald “Duck” Dunn and Steve Cropper, who were every bit the equal of the Swampers, the Funk Brothers and the Gamble and Huff sidemen in Philly. The word “snap” does not begin to describe the jumpy, rumba lite beat “Hound Dog” or their boogaloo groove on “Jailhouse Rock.” The trumpets and the rat-a-tat snare in “Don’t Be Cruel fit perfectly. Every arrangement here, with the possible exception of a slow reading of “Love Me Tender” with a angelic female choir, was a right decision executed with style and grace. Rarely has material this familiar been this convincingly made into something entirely new. King sings his ass off throughout and his guitar fills are sharp and his trademark high single note sting carries an edge throughout. WOW! Rarely has the problem of putting a bluesman in a new and perhaps more commercial context been solved with more verve. The professionalism and inspiration at 926 McLemore Avenue was a long way from dissipating at this point.