Titled The Pinch when first issued on LP, the CD title is something of a misnomer because the blues has changed greatly during the 20th century and, during the Sixties and Seventies, the sides that Albert King cut for Stax Records in Memphis were key agents of evolution. The 11 cuts in this collection, made in 1973 and '74, find the innovative bluesman in the company of such Stax stalwarts as bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn and drummmer Al Jackson, Jr., as well as getting down with members of Isaac Hayes's crack band. Among the disc's many highlights are King's updated, decidedly funky version of "Oh, Pretty Woman," a tune he first recorded for Stax in 1966.

with Michael Toles, Vernon Burch, Bobby Manuel, Lester Snell, Marvell Thomas, Winston Stewart, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Earl Thomas, Al Jackson, Jr., Willie Hall, William C. Brown III, Henry Bush, Hot Butter & Soul, plus the Memphis Horns