Larger than Life (Freddie King album)

Larger than Life
Live album (with studio tracks) by
Released1975
StudioArmadillo World Headquarters
GenreBlues
LabelRSO
ProducerMike Vernon
Freddie King chronology
The Best of Freddie King
(1975)
Larger than Life
(1975)
Freddie King 1934–1976
(1977)

Larger than Life is an album by the American musician Freddie King, released in 1975.[1][2] He supported it with a North American tour.[3]

Production

Most of the album was recorded in April 1975 at Armadillo World Headquarters, in Austin, over three nights.[4][5] Other tracks were produced by Mike Vernon, in Hollywood, which King did not care for.[6][4] Andrew "Jr. Boy" Jones played guitar on the album, his first appearance on record.[7] Bobby Tench also played guitar on some tracks.[8] David "Fathead" Newman contributed on saxophone; Pete Wingfield played piano.[9][10] "Woke Up This Morning" is a version of the B. B. King song.[11] "Meet Me in the Morning" was written by Bob Dylan.[12] "You Can Run but You Can't Hide" is a cover of the Paul Butterfield song.[11] "Boogie Bump", one of the album's singles, was influenced by disco.[13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[14]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[4]
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide[15]

The Ann Arbor News concluded, "It's blues, but it's blues with a rock 'em and sock 'em feel, with plenty of Freddie's great driving vocals and his biting guitar."[16] The Omaha World-Herald called the album "a powerful blues-soul amalgam".[17] The Lincoln Journal Star praised the "flash-fried guitar solos".[18]

The New Rolling Stone Record Guide called Larger than Life "a barrelhousing live-in-Texas epitaph."[15]

Track listing

Side one

  1. "It's Better to Have (And Don't Need)"
  2. "You Can Run but You Can't Hide"
  3. "Woke Up This Morning"
  4. "It's Your Move"
  5. "Boogie Bump"

Side two

  1. "Meet Me in the Morning"
  2. "The Things I Used to Do"
  3. "Ain't That I Don't Love You"
  4. "Have You Ever Loved a Woman"

References

  1. ^ Komara, Edward, ed. (2006). Encyclopedia of the Blues. Taylor and Francis. p. 573.
  2. ^ Gregory, Hugh (2003). Roadhouse Blues: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Texas R&B. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 27.
  3. ^ "Blues guitarist Freddie King to appear Sunday". The Pueblo Chieftain. February 13, 1976. p. 14A.
  4. ^ a b c The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 364.
  5. ^ Walker, Robert (October 17, 1975). "Jazz, Blues, and Booze". The Daily Utah Chronicle. p. 5.
  6. ^ Scott, Frank (1991). The Down Home Guide to the Blues. A Cappella Books. p. 102.
  7. ^ North, Peter (April 12, 2000). "Jr. Boy is back, but this time he's the frontman". Edmonton Journal. p. C3.
  8. ^ Gaar, Gillian G. (Spring 2012). "Freddie King". Goldmine. Vol. 38, no. 5. p. 66.
  9. ^ Claypool, Bob (December 7, 1975). "Blues". Spotlight. The Houston Post. p. 34.
  10. ^ "Pop". Weekender. Evening Despatch. January 10, 1976. p. 3.
  11. ^ a b Cruden, A. (October 26, 1975). "A Master of the Blues Hits 'em Hard". Detroit Free Press. p. 9A.
  12. ^ Carnes, Jim (November 2, 1975). "Disc-cussion". Sunday Gazette-Mail. p. 20M.
  13. ^ Gerds, Warren (November 16, 1975). "Records in Review". Close Up. Green Bay Press-Gazette. p. 14.
  14. ^ Larkin, Colin (1998). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. IV. MUZE. p. 3014.
  15. ^ a b The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House. 1983. p. 276.
  16. ^ "Record Review". The Ann Arbor News. October 12, 1975. p. 40.
  17. ^ Smith, Will (October 24, 1975). "Soul, Etc". Omaha World-Herald. p. 8.
  18. ^ Becker, Bart (October 29, 1975). "Big Freddie". Lincoln Journal Star. p. 14.