B.B. King: Blues Master The Complete Series

This DVD is a compilation of several VHS tapes which were made in the 1990s. The DVD is quite pricey and I, mistakenly, first bought "Highlights". I originally thought they were different items, the information on the DVD did not include a track list. This DVD "Blues Master" is the complete version and "Highlights" is the scaled down version of this set. However, I am more than happy with this product. B.B.'s performance is easily his best live work in the last 20 years and the sound is excellent. This is much better than say "By Request" or "Jazz Channel Presents". If you are a guitar player you will get hints from it, but its not a real instructional lesson ( I agree with the previous reviewer in that regard), it's more like an interview and overview of Mr King's career. If you want instruction, buy one of the many books available or the new Guitar Signature Licks DVD.I feel as a historical record of Blues material the performance section of this DVD(which you can play alone)is more than worth the price. BB plays with the band he has worked with since the late 1980s. These days when the Blues Originals are leaving us yearly, this is a great record of B.B. at the end of his career. He even stands up and plays "Everyday I Have The Blues", something I haven't seen since the early 90s. Other highlights are "Three O'Clock Blues", his first hit, "You Upset Me Baby" the lead off tune and his sexist "Paying The Cost To Be the Boss", a superb Jump Blues. If you like B.B. get this DVD for the historical value and great performance presentation. If you want to play like him get lessons (if you can really learn the Blues).

This DVD is a discussion of BB King's technique with the King himself talking and demonstrating on the guitar throughout. There are more licks here than you can shake a stick at, and BB makes every effort to make sure that the viewer understands what is being played. This is no mere interview, and the DVD accurately demonstrates and teaches BB King's guitar style.The DVD is a superb learning tool, but there is no tab, so you will need to use the repeat feature of the DVD player and watch and listen attentively. I don't think a moderately skilled guitarist would have any difficulty figuring out what is being played, but this is not aimed at the beginner. There is no presentation of scales or playing positions, so you should regard this knowledge as a pre-requisite.The DVD is a collection of 3 VHS tapes, with added features. Frankly, none of the added features, except for the Live Band Performance and tuning, add to the quality of the package, and the DVD would have been better without them. What makes this DVD so attractive is BB King demonstrating his guitar technique and his approach to improvisation. I enjoy this DVD immensely, and I expect to be viewing and learning for years to come.

Must have. Sound quality not so bad. Video quality not so good.

What I love about this video is that it's all firsthand information from the man himself. It's not lessons taught by someone else who interprets how he did things. There are also plenty of performances where you can hear for yourself why he's considered the king of the blues. He was a favorite of my parents and later a favorite of mine. I even took my older kids to see him perform (with Bobby Blue Bland and Albert King, no less). An excellent buy for any aspiring or accomplished guitarist.

Who are the people who gave this less than five stars?This is the best B.B. King video I've ever seen. It's not a performance video, so if you were expecting a concert and gave this one star, you need to be slapped. It's a video of King talking about how to play blues guitar.In this video, he tells you everything. His influences. How to do his vibrato. The gauges of his strings. The thickness of his pick. The kind of amp he uses. How he sets the amp. What he has studied. How he practices. You name it; it's in here.This video can take years off of your aimless wandering. You won't have to rely on bad Internet guesswork when you want to find out how B.B. did it. You'll know, because the man himself told you.

Not only does this contain interesting interview and lesson info, it also also contains some great songs (with minimal orchestration). The version of 3 O'Clock Blues on the DVD is the best version I've heard him play - it has his modern guitar sound (as opposed to his earlier '50s sound) with a wonderful touch and emotion. I burned the track audio to a CDR so I can enjoy the music in my truck. Great stuff!!!

If you love B. B. King like I do, this is a rare opportunity to hear him explain in his own words, his techniques, his "heroes" as a young guitar player, how he approaches blues solos, and much more. Like any artist who's been working at their craft for a lifetime, it's hard for him to put into words a lot of what he's learned over the years, but boy, it's great fun to hear him try. This DVD may not make you a better guitar player, (it's not really a "how-to" session) but anytime you can spend a couple hours listening to a master talk about their art, you can't help but learn and grow. Imagine if someone had filmed a couple hours of Robert Johnson showing us his licks and explaining who he learned from. This feels a little like that.