PRICE:
$33.00
PREORDER
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ARTIST
TITLE
His California Album
FORMAT
LP

LABEL
CATALOG #
BAF 18036LP BAF 18036LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
7/11/2025

"Bear Family Records re-releases the second soul/blues album Bobby 'Blue' Bland recorded in Los Angeles during 1973/74 -- entitled His California Album! Another milestone in soul/blues history on high-quality 180gram vinyl. Bland is quite justly regarded as one of the greatest US blues, soul and R&B singers of all time. Producer Steve Barri -- also responsible for Dreamer the following year -- brought guitarists Larry Carlton, Mel Brown, and Dean Parks into the studio. Contains 'This Time I'm Gone For Good,' '(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right,' and 'Help Me Through The Day,' classics of the genre. This first vinyl reissue on 180-gram has been carefully remastered and the original cover art is reproduced. When Bear Family released Dreamer by Bobby 'Blue' Bland (1930 -- 2013) on vinyl for the first time since its original release, it had no idea of the demand for this record. In 1973/74, Steve Barri produced two albums in Los Angeles with perhaps the greatest soul/blues singer of all time, which both met with a mixed reception at the time. After more than 50 years, however, Dreamer and its predecessor His California Album sound so 'hung up', cool and timeless, fantastic classics. The chant of the church combined with deep blues in Bland's interpretation is incredibly moving, the melancholy in his voice sounds so emotional, sometimes heartbreaking, at times cool and soft. Bland could be tough, but he also possessed the crooner qualities of Nat 'King' Cole, for example. His California Album -- the perfect synthesis of black soul and blues from the South and the coolness and laid-back attitude of Los Angeles."