His RPM Hits 1951-1957 is a first-rate summary of the cream of the first few years of B.B. King's career, the 26 songs all taken from 1951-1957 singles on the RPM label. Though relatively few of these have survived down the years to become famous standards or oldies, they were incredibly successful in their time; 18 of them were R&B hits, and another couple scraped into the bottom of the pop charts. "Three O'Clock Blues" and "Sweet Little Angel" are a couple of King's most famous tunes, but there are plenty of other ballads and shuffles here that made their mark in their day, like "You Know I Love You," "Woke Up This Morning" (how's that for titling a hit after one of the most overused blues clich‚s?), "Please Hurry Home," and "You Upset Me Baby." These are quite fully produced R&B arrangements for the era, with roadhouse piano and fat horns rounding out the punch. King's stinging guitar and vocals, both less prone to drawn-out phrasing than his crossover soul-blues work of the '60s and '70s, are at the forefront. It's true these tracks have been around the block a few times on other reissues, but these have been remastered, often from newly discovered masters, to yield a quality of sound you won't always find on reissues of '50s blues and R&B. [This U.K. import is not available for sale in North America.] ~ Richie Unterberger
Professional Reviews
Q (7/99, p.148) - 3 stars out of 5 - "A spikier alternative to the recent supposed Definitive Greatest Hits..."
