Indianola Mississippi Seeds

Indianola Mississippi Seeds was one of BB King’s breakthrough albums, one that got him off the circuit and in front of a wider audience after he’d opened for the Rolling Stones in the US the year before, and it’s a fascinating listen.

The first, short, track features something of a rarity: BB playing the piano rather than guitar, and doing a decent job, albeit that it’s almost entirely right hand with a simple bass.

Nobody loves me but my mother/ and she could be jivin’ too, he sings.

There was always a lot more to BB than his popular image would have you believe, and he played well within his actual capabilities, particularly later in his life. This album is somewhat transitional, but it’s noticeable that he’s markedly different from his white imitators. He’s already playing his trademark Gibson 335, but stock, I think, rather than the later custom models. And he’s playing with a clean tone, with more treble rolled off than later. More to the point, his breaks and fills are clean and articulate without any extended soloing.

I enjoyed listening to this album, on which he’s well supported by Carole King on piano and a young Joe Walsh on rhythm guitar.