Shown for one night only at selected Odeon cinemas in UK. (Norwich 15th October 2012 at 21:00 BST)
Billed as "Survival is a Word, this is Its Story", Jon Brewer's two hour film collects interviews and archive footage about the child born near Itta Bena, Mississippi on 16th September 1925. We get to hear a recording of Riley's father Albert giving directions to the family home and there are several conversations with neighbours, cousins and schoolmates. The scale of the cotton fields and the shabbiness of the homes is all too starkly real on the big screen though King carefully points out his privations were no different to anyone elses. Through talking to his blues contemporaries (Rufus Thomas, Bobby Bland, Robert Lockwood and Calvin Owens) we get a good insight into the man and artist.
Some of the narrative is told out of chronological order which confused Little Bitty Pretty Blue (who came with me having never seen BB King before) and she didn't know who some folks interviewed were such as Joe Bihari. Like me, she found the first hour really engrossing able to understand and engage with the story.
Round about 1969, B's fortunes changed through "patronage" of white rock stars and boy do we get to see that through a stream of folks telling us how great our hero is without telling us we can't already hear for ourselves. The one real insight comes from Bono who shows us what it is like working and rehearsing with him, we get first hand experience of what drives him, how he conjures up that creative impulse. We could have done without Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Joe Bonamassa telling us that B B King is an icon and a great player - we already knew that thank-you. Little Bitty Pretty Blue provided some suggestions as to their motives for taking part which I won't repeat here. What makes it particularly galling is the fact that there are no complete songs anywhere in the film - repeat nothing is seen or heard as a full performance! I wanted LBPB to get the experience of the full roar of "Don't open the door" or "Everyday I have the blues" and she missed out (even though she thinks Jonny Lang is kinda cute).
The film only has two events since the 70s: the U2 project and "Riding With The King" which rather short changes King in his move to international recognition (music on films, cameo appearances on mainstream television) and his most accomplished albums in 40 years with "Born on the Bayou". The significance of his involvement with "The Rumble in the Jungle" boxing match isn't developed and his work with prisoners is totally excluded. That was by far the biggest oversight as King has often mentioned how easily he could have taken a wrong turn in life and been where they are. Its a big part of who he is and his determination to put something back and its omission spoilt the film and undermined Jon Brewer's intention for the project.
B. B. King is a complex, somewhat private, man. He is unfailingly gracious and modest; he has been hijacked in recent times by lesser souls aiming for greatness by association: his recent live work has cast him as ringmaster in a freak circus. "Life of Riley" was a one-off opportunity to redress the balance while he is still with us. In summary, there was a fascinating story to be told, however through the fumbling of the latter-period storyline and inexplicable decision to fillet the music contributions in deference to the nodding dogs - this ain't quite it. 7 out of 10 from LBPB and 6 out of 10 from me.
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