Lovejoy (album) explained

Lovejoy is a studio album by Albert King, released in 1971.^[2] The album peaked at No. 188 on the Billboard 200.^[3]

Production

The album was produced by Don Nix, who also penned some of the songs.^[4] "Lovejoy, Ill." is about Brooklyn, Illinois, which is nicknamed Lovejoy, after Elijah P. Lovejoy.^[5] King got his start in Lovejoy.

Critical reception

In Allmusic, Cub Koda gave Lovejoy 5 out of 3.5 stars, calling it "This 1970 studio effort teamed up Albert with producer Don Nix, who supplied the majority of the original material here. Kicking off with a typical reading of the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman" and including Taj Mahal's "She Caught the Katy and Left Me a Mule to Ride," the session is split between a Hollywood date with Jesse Ed Davis, Jim Keltner, and Duck Dunn in the band and one at Muscle Shoals with Roger Hawkins, David Hood, and Barry Beckett in the lineup. Although all of this is well-produced, there's hardly any fireworks out of Albert or any of the players aboard, making this an unessential addition for any but Albert King completists."

Track listing

1. "Honky Tonk Woman" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 3:59
2. "Bay Area Blues" (Donald "Duck" Dunn, Don Nix) – 2:55
3. "Corrina, Corrina" (Don Nix) – 3:45
4. "She Caught the Katy (And Left Me a Mule to Ride)" (Taj Mahal, James Rachell) – 3:56
5. "For the Love of a Woman" (Don Nix) – 4:20
6. "Lovejoy, Ill." (Don Nix) – 3:46
7. "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" (Don Nix) – 4:20
8. "Going Back to Iuka" (Don Nix) – 3:58
9. "Like a Road Leading Home" (Don Nix, Dan Penn) – 5:24

Personnel

• Albert King – electric guitar, vocals
• Jesse Ed Davis – guitar
• Tippy Armstrong – guitar
• Wayne Perkins – guitar
• John Gallie – keyboards
• Barry Beckett – keyboards
• Donald Dunn – bass guitar
• David Hood – bass guitar
• Jim Keltner – drums
• Roger Hawkins – drums
• Sandy Konikoff – percussion
• Jeanie Green – backing vocals
• The Mount Zion Singers – backing vocals

Technical

• Larry Hamby, Marlin Greene, Peter Nicholls, Steve Smith - engineer
• John Fry - remix engineer
• Joel Brodsky - photography

Notes and References

1. Web site: Muscle Shoals Sound Studio: How the Swampers Changed American Music. Carla Jean. Whitley. July 22, 2014. Arcadia Publishing. Google Books.
2. Web site: Albert King | Biography & History. AllMusic.
3. Albert King. Billboard.
4. Lovejoy. Gary Von. Tersch. Rolling Stone. September 30, 1971.
5. Web site: The 100 Greatest St. Louis Songs. Riverfront Times.