Return Of The King

One Kind Favor
B.B. King
(Geffen)

B.B. King’s past few discs have been somewhat disappointing. Now 82, King’s status as an American icon has been firmly established for decades. And maybe that’s been the problem. Though it seems sacrilegious to say so, for several years it has seemed that King (like Willie Nelson) could just show up for a recording session, plug in and do “The B.B. Thing” (or, in Nelson’s case,” The Willie Thing”).

Not that “The B.B. Thing” is necessarily bad. It comprises a great, soulful voice and one of the most hair-raising, distinctive guitar tones in the history of hair, guitars or tones. After all, the moniker “The King of the Blues” is more than just a play on words. But for quite some time, “The B.B. Thing” hasn’t been enough. Exhibit A is King’s 2005 disc, the duets collection “80.” At times King delivered the goods, but pairings with the likes of John Mayer, Sheryl Crow and Glenn Frey, among others, felt uninspired and uninspiring.

To paraphrase one of King’s biggest hits, it seemed the thrill was gone. Just three years later, it’s back. King’s latest disc, “One Kind Favor,” is the best album he’s released in years, and compares favorably with his early, classic work.

One cannot help but think that the ubiquitous T Bone Burnett, who produced “One Kind Favor,” sparked King’s late-career renaissance. The producer, who has been on a great run of his own since helming the Grammy-winning soundtrack to “O Brother, Where Art Thou,” assembled a winning combination of talent, material and arrangement that displays King in his best light. He may have prodded King to work a bit harder, too.

King’s voice isn’t quite what it once was, but it still is a plenty powerful instrument. His guitar chops are unimpeachable. The supporting players, including Jim Keltner on drums, Nathan East on bass and Dr. John on piano, are top-notch. The horn section is superior, making “One Kind Favor” an album of great band performances. King is the undeniable star, but he doesn’t have to carry the whole show.

With such a firm foundation, King turns back the clock on a nice selection of covers. Some of the tunes are well-known, such as Blind Lemon Jefferson and Furry Lewis’ “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean,” Howlin’ Wolf’s “How Many More Years” and The Mississippi Sheiks’ “Sitting On Top Of The World.” King kicks “One Kind Favor” off with the tune from which the line came: “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean.” The arrangement is laid-back, and King comes on cool with smooth vocals while squeezing tasty fills out of his beloved, black Gibson guitar, Lucille. On “How Many More Years,” King digs in for a grittier guitar tone, making up for lost intensity.

Many of the selections on “One Kind Favor” are more obscure cuts, such as T-Bone Walker’s “Waiting For Your Call” and a pair of Lonnie Johnson tunes: “My Love Is Down” and “Backwater Blues.” King acquits himself as well on the lesser-known material.

A third Johnson song, the lovely “Tomorrow Night,” closes out the album. “Tomorrow night, will all the thrill be gone?” King sings. That remains to be seen. For the moment, though, we can celebrate the return of the King.