Freddy King - Bossa Nova And Blues

Plated and pressed at RTI on 180-gram vinyl

Mastered from the original analog tapes

One of the Three Kings of blues guitar along with B.B. and Albert, Texas-born Freddy (Freddie) King influenced everyone from Eric Clapton and Peter Green in the U.K. to Jerry Garcia and Stevie Ray Vaughan in the States. But even his staying up all night playing poker with Grand Funk wasn't enough to prevent his seminal King/Federal albums from staying out of print on vinyl for decades — until Sundazed came to the rescue.

The reissue campaign that began with meticulously mastered editions of King classics Let's Hide Away and Dance Away with Freddy King, Freddy King Gives You a Bonanza of Instrumentals, and Freddy King Goes Surfin' continues with his rare 1963 offering, Bossa Nova and Blues. In the tradition of his surfing album, which wasn't really surf, Bossa Nova and Blues had no bossa nova — but the advertising was at least half true, and hey, there were two cuts that had "bossa nova" in the title. Though King was best known for blues instrumentals, "Bossa Nova Blues" and "The Bossa Nova Watusi Twist" (dig the dance craze threesome) were actually the only two instrumentals on an album otherwise dedicated to bluesy ballads. But of course, Freddie made it work — churning out bonafide classics like the karmic "Someday, After A While (You'll Be Sorry)" (later covered by John Mayall and the Blues Breakers on A Hard Road, also reissued on Sundazed mono CD/LP), the emotive "The Welfare (Turns Its Back on You)," the soulful "It Hurts to Be In Love," and the more uptempo, New Orleans-flavored "You're Barkin' Up the Wrong Tree."

This Sundazed mono edition reproduces the original artwork and presents the original 12-song LP on 180-gram vinyl mastered from the original analog reels and pressed at Record Technology Inc.