Recorded, as advertised, in 1977 at the Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival, a shindig that combines blues and jazz artists in what must have been an intense day, In France captures something simple: a great B.B. King show. Simple in that Riley B. King was already long known for remarkable consistency, rarely giving less than maximum effort into putting together a powerful performance. Indeed, diehards have probably heard dozens, if not hundreds, of shows of this quality, but that doesn’t mean they should skip this one. King is in great voice here, both at the mic and the amp, with effortlessly soulful singing and the kind of tasteful but stinging guitar solo for which he was so much beloved. The setlist includes the requisite classics – “Sweet Sixteen,” “Sweet Little Angel,” “Why I Sing the Blues” – as well as then recent hits – “I Got Some Outside Help (I Don’t Really Need),” “To Know You is the Love You” (the Stevie Wonder song, not the Teddy Bears’), “I Like to Live the Love” – that cycled in and out of his shows over the years. With his expert band behind him and a psyched crowd in front of him, King just fires on all cylinders, reminding one and all in France why he became, and remained, King of the Blues.
