Completely Well

Completely Well
Studio album by B.B. King
Released	1969
Recorded	New York City, June 1969
Genre	Blues
Length	49:57
Label	ABC
Producer	Bill Szymczyk
B.B. King chronology
Live & Well (1969) Completely Well (1969) Indianola Mississippi Seeds (1970)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Completely Well is a 1969 studio album by blues guitarist B. B. King. It is notable for the inclusion of "The Thrill Is Gone," which became a hit on both the pop and the R&B charts.

This album was released in the US as an LP record in 1969 and as a CD in 1987; in the UK only as an LP. It was recorded at a time when B.B. was enjoying his first couple of years as a crossover star popular with the young white audience, which no doubt caused the decision to record him with what was basically a studio rock and R&B band. (The string and horn arrangements, generally bland but more soulful, predominate on some cuts, like "The Thrill Is Gone.")

For example, the 10-minute "You're Mean" is a loose jam with some initial vocals, a false ending, a ragged ending, and B.B. and Hugh McCracken, meanwhile, both stretching out on guitar. There are lots of blues lines--either in separate solos, alternating call and response, counterpoint, or just over each other. There is a wide gulf between B.B.'s and McCracken's appropriateness, though, the latter being fairly heavy-handed in both single-note lines and chording--no Clapton or, say, Bloomfield in his ability to find common ground with B.B.

San Francisco critic Ralph J. Gleason's lengthy liner notes are mostly a profile of B.B., who is quoted on his influences (just ticking off names) and praised for the influence he was having on contemporary musicians. Otherwise, Gleason gives what has been the standard take on B.B. for the past 40 years: Great, for-real artist with surprising personal humility. Only 1 of the 17 paragraphs discusses a title from the LP, "Confessin' the Blues," but only to mention its historical importance (then almost 30 years old)--nothing about this recording.

Track listing

1. "So Excited" (B.B. King, Gerald Jemmott) -- 5:34
2. "No Good" (Ferdinand Washington, B.B. King) -- 4:35
3. "You're Losin' Me" (Ferdinand Washington, B.B. King) -- 4:54
4. "What Happened" (B.B. King) -- 4:41
5. "Confessin' the Blues" (Jay McShann, Walter Brown) -- 4:56
6. "Key to My Kingdom" (Maxwell Davis, Joe Josea, Claude Baum) -- 3:18
7. "Cryin' Won't Help You Now" (Sam Ling, Jules Taub; LP has only B.B.) -- 6:30
8. "You're Mean" (B.B. King, Gerald Jemmott, Hugh McCracken, Paul Harris, Herbie Lovelle) -- 9:39
9. "The Thrill Is Gone" (Rick Darnell, Roy Hawkins; LP has Arthur H [Art] Benson, Dale Pettite) -- 5:30

Personnel

• B. B. King – guitar, vocals
• Hugh McCracken – guitar
• Paul Harris – piano, electric piano, organ
• Gerald "Fingers" Jemmott – bass
• Herbie Lovelle – drums
• Bill Szymczyk – producer
• Bert "Super Charts" DeCoteaux – string and horn arrangements

References

1. ^ Allmusic review