Everyone has their favourite artists and Bland is mine, at least in the R&B idiom. Bobby straddled the charts over many years and recorded in a variety of styles, but without widespread commercial pop success. Always a blues ballad stylist without peer, he had little difficulty in adapting to create the soul/blues hybrid represented by his albums from the 70s onwards.
Bobby recorded relatively unsuccessfully for Modern and Sun before finding himself on the Duke label, which is where he really hit his stride. There is still a tremendous amount of material available from his Duke label recording period, when he first consistently started hitting the Billboard and R&B charts – including any number of compilations of which “The Voice” is but one example. This is a single CD and is very good value as a Primer but Bland is worth more than that – if you can, try and get hold of one of the many double CD collections which are still available. One of the best ways of accessing this material is through the three 2CD collections (Volumes 1-3) that cover the whole of the Duke period. Unfortunately, these are now very difficult to find, although with his death in June 2013, we may find much of his work being re-released. Throughout his tenure with Duke, Bobby consistently achieved success in the R&B charts, but never had the same crossover appeal that artists such as B.B. King achieved. He did however knock up around 40 R&B hits, a feat I think was surpassed by only James Brown, Ray Charles and Fats Domino.
Once you’ve realised he’s worth more than a single entry in your CD collection, you might want to get hold of the original albums from the period – most have been reissued and Bland was one of the few artists around at that time who put albums together rather than a couple of single tracks surrounded by second and third rate filler – probably because he worked in partnership with Joe Scott, a talented arranger and writer of much of the material that Bland recorded. One of the very best from the time was the album “Two Steps From The Blues” which includes Bland standards such as ‘I Pity The Fool’, ‘Cry, Cry, Cry’ and ‘I’ll Take Care Of You’ as well as the title track. Available now with bonus tracks, it’s a great buy.
When Bland joined ABC Dunhill (or to be more accurate Duke was sold by Don Robey to ABC), he teamed up with producer Steve Barri and a stellar set of session men and produced blues-soul albums of the quality of “His California Album“, “Dreamer” and, perhaps best of all, my personal favourite “Reflections In Blue” (all still available on CD). The Dreamer set included the blues soul classic ‘Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City’, subsequently recorded by a myriad of artists, including Paul Carrack, Paul Weller and Whitesnake! He also showed his affinity for country with the neglected but worthwhile “Get On Down With” album – excellent interpretations of songs from country stalwarts such as Merle Haggard. At the time of writing you can get this and the “Reflections In Blue” release as a special price “twofer”, which is a must have purchase for any Bobby fan. On each of the ABC albums he proved himself to be a great interpreter of wide ranging material.
In 1985, Bland was signed by Malaco Records, who were (are) specialists in traditional Southern black music. Despite occasional age-related ill health, Bland continued to tour and also reunited with B. B. King for occasional joint appearances, a partnership that had produced a couple of albums back in the 70s. Malaco albums such as “Members Only” and “After All” are worth hearing, although in my opinion they aren’t as consistently strong as the 70s recordings with Steve Barri. The CD “First Class Blues” captures material from these and other Malaco albums.
Bland was inducted rather belatedly into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as “second in stature only to B. B. King as a product of Memphis’s Beale Street blues scene“. He was a significant influence on many who followed, including a young Rod Stewart (who recorded ‘It’s Not The Spotlight’ from the California Album) and Van Morrison, who would always acknowledge his admiration for Bobby. As he puts it, he’s “an individual stylist. I can’t put into words the phrasing and the way he interprets a song“. Bland appeared as a support on a Van Morrison show at the Albert Hall in 2000 and for some inexplicable reason I didn’t go – as far as music goes, one of my biggest regrets.
As a primer, the 2CD “Anthology” is probably the best bet – all the relevant Duke recordings and a smattering of the great 70s material. But where oh where is the much deserved box set!
A few years on, would you still recommend the Anthology as the best introduction? Asking for a friend 🙂
Hi Hattie, reasonable question (for a friend or otherwise 🙂 )
There have been a few more anthologies out since the original recommendation, but for a Primer, the one recommended here is still probably the best overview to include both the Duke sides and some of the best from his ABC tenure. However, if you (or your friend) want to major on the Duke recordings, then there is an excellent anthology called “The Absolutely Essential 3CD Collection“, which, as the title suggests, is 3CDs full of his excellent work for that label. It would be overkill as a starter collection however.