B.B. King
A Christmas Celebration of Hope
MCA
No surprises here when blues icon B.B. King does a Christmas album. Featuring his longtime band, the record is velvet smooth and will fit quite well in the CD changer while opening presents. Song selection is about what you would expect: “Please Come Home For Christmas” (somebody please outlaw this tune…), “Merry Christmas Baby,” and a nice instrumental arrangement of “Auld Lang Syne.” The best cut is King’s take on Clarence Carter’s “Back Door Santa” (“Santa comes but once a year”) that even in this lush setting retains its basic, raunchy appeal. Lucille gets a few nice licks in, and of course nobody sings like B.B. No, it’s not Christmas at the Apollo, but it’s nice nevertheless.
MCA Records: http://www.mcarecords.com
