A live recording from Freddie King arrives for Record Store Day 2026 as Elemental Music presents Feeling Alright: The Complete 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsation Concerts on a three LP set. Recorded at the Nancy Jazz Pulsations, the release captures King’s full 1975 performance in France, offering a complete and carefully assembled document of the blues guitarist at a pivotal moment in his later career.
While much of this material has appeared on two individual CDs issued in Europe back in 1989, this is the first time the entire show is being released on both CD and vinyl.
I never really gave it much thought before, but the mid-1970s arguably marked a peak for Freddie King who was finally achieving wider success. At the time of this concert he was signed to Robert Stigwood’s RSO Records label and had a new single-disc album out called Larger Than Life which was receiving favorable reviews.
So it makes a lot of sense for Elemental Music to highlight this era with a complete concert recording. Official press materials offer more insights into this new RSD set: “3-LP set featuring the blues legend Freddie King live before more than 50,000 fans in October 1975, the final full year of his life. Joining King are organist Alvin Hemphill, guitarist Ed Lively, pianist Lewis Stephens, bassist Benny Turner and drummer Calep Emphrey. The deluxe package features appreciations from his daughter, Wanda King, as well as ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, plus liner notes by author Cary Baker. The set documents an essential blues artist whose ferocious guitar tone, commanding singing, and genre-bridging vision helped reshape modern blues and rock.”
According to an online listing for the CD edition: “The audio was transferred directly from the original stereo tape reels at INA and mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab, ensuring stunning sound quality that brings every note to life. This limited edition includes rare, previously unpublished photographs from the festival and new liner notes.”
And indeed, on this high energy set you get to hear Mr. King soar. Some fave tracks so far include King’s own “Have You Ever Loved A Woman?” and “The Things I Used To Do” (both released on his RSO album of that time) and the T-Bone Walker classic “Stormy Monday Blues.” And his cover of Dave Mason’s Traffic classic “Feelin’ Alright” is a joy.
The sound quality on this recording is really quite good and I’m pleased about the album pressing quality which is dead quiet and well centered.
While I don’t know the exact RSD pricing for Feeling Alright: The Complete 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsation Concerts it is fair to guess that it will be in the $60-70 range given its 3LP length.
Alternately, if you don’t score a copy or are on a tighter budget, you can pre-order the 2CD version for $24.98 at Amazon. All in all if you are a Freddie King fan and don’t have many live recordings by him from this era, Feeling Alright would be an key choice for Record Store Day.
Mark Smotroff is a deep music enthusiast / collector who has also worked in entertainment oriented marketing communications for decades supporting the likes of DTS, Sega and many others. He reviews vinyl for Analog Planet and has written for Audiophile Review, Sound+Vision, Mix, EQ, etc. You can learn more about him at LinkedIn.
Related Reading:
- Vince Guaraldi & Bola Sete’s From All Sides Returns On 180g Vinyl In Craft Recordings Original Jazz Classics Series
- Craft Recordings Unveils Record Store Day 2026 Lineup: Nine Limited-Edition LPs Head To Indie Shelves
- Craft Recordings Celebrates Jazz Dispensary’s 10th Anniversary With Top Shelf Reissue Of Visitors’ Motherland Spiritual Jazz Masterpiece
- Craft Recordings Expands Original Jazz Classics Series With Rare Reissues From Lee Morgan, Bobby Timmons, And The Young Lions
