By Ed Enright | Published April 2026
We’re super fortunate that this three-LP vinyl set consisting of previously unreleased material recorded live at the 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival in France was released earlier this month as a limited-edition Record Store Day “First.” Freddie King was in peak form and at the height of his popularity when the blues guitar giant and his crack band played to a huge, enthusiastic crowd at one of Europe’s major music festivals at a time when audiences raised on rock ’n’ roll began widely embracing those pioneering artists who were closely connected to the music’s traditional roots. Thanks to album producer and archivist Zev Feldman, who sourced the recordings from the French Radio and Television Broadcasting Office, we now have a great-sounding live document of The Texas Cannonball — something that hasn’t been very forthcoming in the past — performing a generous 16-song mix of his best-known instrumentals (including “Hide Away and “Sen-Sa-Shun”), essential blues standards (“Got My Mojo Working,” “Messin’ With The Kid” and “Stormy Monday,” to name a few) and covers of the late-’60s rock radio hits “Goin’ Down” (by southern soul-rocker Don Nix) and “Feelin’ Alright” (by Traffic’s Dave Mason). Supporting King’s stinging guitar lines and commanding vocals are simpatico touring band members Alvin Hemphill (organ), Lewis Stephens (piano), Ed Lively (second guitar), Benny Turner (bass) and Calep Emphrey (drums), a tight unit if there ever was one. The expertly paced program ranges in mood from calming blue-sky coolness to stormy rock intensity to see-the-light gospel ecstasy, the music leaving ample room for judicious soloing, stretching and testifying. The notoriously hard-living King died just a year after this performance, at age 42, a sobering bit of blues history that makes this deluxe package all the more valuable for today’s listeners and collectors. Also available in CD format, it makes a great companion piece to the two-LP set B.B. King In France: Live At The 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival, produced by Feldman and released as a Record Store Day “First” in November 2024.
