Freddie King – Feeling Alright: The Complete 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsation Concerts
Never Before Released 1975
Freddie King – Feeling Alright The Complete 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsation Concerts
Format: CD – Vinyl LP – Digital
Label: Elemental Music
Release: 2026
Release date: April 18, 2026
Deluxe package includes appreciations from his daughter, Wanda King, as well as ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, plus liner notes by author Cary Baker
Elemental Music and acclaimed archival producer Zev Feldman release the 3-LP set Feeling Alright: The Complete 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsation Concerts’ 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. Previously unreleased and sourced from original ORTF recordings, the vinyl will be out April 18, 2026, with CD and digital versions on April 24.
The deluxe package features appreciations from his daughter, Wanda King, as well as ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, plus liner notes by music journalist and historian 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.
Previously unreleased and sourced from original ORTF (Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française) recordings, the newly restored 180-gram vinyl set documents an essential blues artist whose ferocious guitar tone, commanding singing, and genre-bridging vision helped reshape modern blues and rock.
Issued in cooperation with the Freddie King Estate, the set is produced by award-winning reissue producer Zev Feldman, widely known as the “Jazz Detective” for his celebrated archival discoveries. Mixing and sound restoration for the recordings was done by Marc Doutrepont (EQuuS), with mastering by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab. CD and digital editions will follow on April 24.
Freddie King — the Texas Cannonball — carved out his place in blues history by fusing raw tradition with explosive modern energy. With his stinging thumb-and-fingerpick attack, he delivered instrumentals like “Hide Away” and “Sen-Sa-Shun” that became essential study pieces for generations of guitarists, while his impassioned singing — notably on “Have You Ever Loved a Woman,” included here — matched the fire of his guitar. Onstage, his commanding presence and sheer force of delivery gave the blues a rock ’n’ roll intensity that directly influenced players from Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan.
The expansive set moves easily from King’s classic instrumentals — including “Sen-Sa-Shun,” paired in a medley with Magic Sam’s “Lookin’ Good” — to signature vocal performances such as “Have You Ever Loved a Woman,” seguéd into B.B. King’s “Whole Lot of Lovin’.” King also delivers powerful readings of blues standards including “Sweet Little Angel,” “Got My Mojo Working,” “The Things I Used to Do,” “Sweet Home Chicago,” “Messin’ with the Kid,” “Danger Zone,” and “Stormy Monday.”
Drawing from the rock musicians he helped inspire, King also includes two rock staples that had become part of his live repertoire: Dave Mason’s “Feelin’ Alright” (popularized by Traffic and Joe Cocker) and Don Nix’s “Goin’ Down.” In all, the collection features sixteen performances across six sides of vinyl.
The performance represents a convergence of Freddie King’s single years and album years — Texas swing, Chicago club-honed blues, and later rock-infused work shaped alongside Leon Russell and Don Nix — delivered with authority before an international audience at one of Europe’s premier festivals.
The album features King on guitar and vocals, joined by Alvin Hemphill on organ; Ed Lively, guitar; Lewis Stephens, piano; Benny Turner on bass; and Calep Emphrey, drums.
King was appearing at the Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival as part of what Stephens — who played keyboards in his band during those overseas dates — recalls as a “blistering” five- or six-week run through France. “Freddie had truly hit his stride as a blues-rock star in Europe and the U.S.,” he reflects.
The set includes liner notes by music journalist and historian Cary Baker, author of Down on the Corner: Adventures in Busking and Street Music, along with comments from reissue producer Zev Feldman and appreciations from King’s daughter and estate administrator Wanda King, as well as ZZ Top guitarist Billy F. Gibbons. As Gibbons writes, “At this show in Nancy — just a year before his untimely departure — the Texas Cannonball poured it on in a big way.”
As Feldman notes in his reissue producer’s statement: “Freddie King is and remains a king indeed — a defining figure in blues and rock guitar. These recordings capture a moment when he was transcending audiences and influencing players around the world. It’s also been deeply meaningful to work with his daughter, Wanda King, as we set out not only to release this music, but to celebrate Freddie’s legacy and the impact he made. These performances present him at his very best — and they’re thrilling to hear.”
Tracks:
Side A
01. HAVE YOU EVER LOVED A WOMAN 17:44
02. WHOLE LOT OF LOVIN’ 6:40
Side B
01. MEDLEY: HEY BABY / MOJO BOOGIE 10:06
02. THE THINGS I USED TO DO 7:49
Side C
01. MESSIN’ WITH THE KID 5:29
02. THAT’S ALL RIGHT 6:31
03. GOING DOWN 4:14
04. STORMY MONDAY BLUES 8:14
Side D
01. MEDLEY: SEN-SA-SHUN / LOOKING GOOD / BOOGIE CHILLIN’ 9:15
02. SWEET LITTLE ANGEL 11:31
Side E
01. GOT MY MOJO WORKING 8:35
02. SWEET HOME CHICAGO 5:21
03. SWEET BABY BLUES 5:58
Side F
01. THE DANGER ZONE 3:08
02. FEELING ALRIGHT 6:32
03. YOU’RE THE ONE / FINALE 9:16