There Must Be a Better World Somewhere

During his decade recording for MCA, B.B. King was generally teamed with overblown accompaniment rather than his regular (and perfectly complementary) traveling band. This CD finds the masterful vocalist/guitarist joined by a more logical backup group than usual (with altoist Hank Crawford, tenor saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman and baritonist Ronnie Cuber in the tentet). The two most basic selections ("There Must Be a Better World Somewhere" and "The Victim") are easily the most successful while the other four are funky, more R&B-oriented and overly commercial; it sounds like B.B. was consciously trying for a hit record. Despite some fine solos by Newman and Crawford, this session was rather erratic, brief (under 36 minutes) and far from essential.