This volume examines the playing style of Albert King. Albert King is one of the most fiercely individual guitarists that ever lived, in any genre of music. Part of the uniqueness of his style stems from the fact that he took a right-handed guitar and turned it upside down and played it lefty; additionally, he tuned the strings down a full step and a half, making them very slinky and easy to bend, as string-bending is one of the most important elements in his approach.
Albert's style is deceptive in that it sounds way simpler than it really is: he had a horde of stock licks and phrases that he relied on, but he never, ever sounded predictable, always mixing up his improvised riffs with pure inspiration and intensity. He often bent the strings one and a half, two and two and a half steps—known as "overbends"—and would also bend multiple strings at a time, creating a thunderously expressive sound. It is these types of licks that influenced the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy the most.
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