by Cub Koda
This is B.B.'s celebrity duet album, and a straightahead blues album this is not. But longtime fans who are aware of King's genre-stretching capabilities will find much to savor here. Kicking off with B.B. playing some beautiful fills and solo work behind Van Morrison on &If You Love Me,& the superstars start lining up to jam with the King, with Tracy Chapman (&The Thrill Is Gone&), Eric Clapton (a funkified &Rock Me Baby&), the Rolling Stones (&Paying the Cost to Be the Boss,& with a fine harp solo from Mick Jagger), Willie Nelson (his &Nightlife,& long a standard in B.B.'s set list), Bonnie Raitt (&Baby I Love You&) and Marty Stuart (&Confessin' the Blues&) all turning in fine efforts. The only clinker aboard here is an ill-advised attempt to make a rap record with Heavy D, the execrable &Keep It Coming.&