iPod DJ Vol. 2

Album: New Orleans Heat
Artist: Albert King
Year: 1978 (or 1979 depending who you ask)
Rating: 4/5

Ha-ha! Two coconuts in a row, no lemons! The amazingly talented shuffle button on my iPod instinctively picked another album I think is great. If you want to know what the iPod DJ thing is about, click here.

Okay, so the production isn't stellar, but it's Mr King (of the 'A' variety) at his funky best. The album was recorded in the Crescent City with some of New Orleans' best session players at the time.

It's a very laid back, hot/steamy night, windows open, jug of ice-cold cocktail kind of album. The urban myth about Albert is that he never bothered to actually tune his guitar right so he had to tweak every note to get to the right note. What is certain is that he was a lefty who played a righty upside-down, low E to the ground, so his high-string bends were pulls rather than pushes. He also tended to stick to a small 'box' on the fingerboard and just made his axe talk, talk, talk. Jamming along to this CD is a lot of fun and really lets you get your funk out, focussing you on bending single strings to different tones.

One interesting side note is that the Allen Toussaint penned track "Get Out My Life Woman" is currently being played by the Derek Trucks Band during live performances. Rumour is that the dTB will be going into the studio imminently to have a crack at recording a new album. I wonder whether it'll make the track listing...