Hide Away, a 10-track compilation of Freddy King’s early singles and album tracks from his King/Federal sessions of 1961-63, is not the most comprehensive reissue of the Texas-born singer-guitarist’s work for the label, but it was an LP that caught the attention of electric blues fans at the tail end of the ’60s blues revival. King had left the company by then and was making inroads into the rock-blues circuit with releases on larger labels (and was using the spelling ‘Freddie’ instead of Freddy). But for the new buyers who didn’t have King’s influential earlier music on 45 or LP, Hide Away was a fine introduction to the music that first brought him to national prominence, both instrumentals like the title track (aka Hideaway) and The Stumble and the memorable vocals on Have You Ever Loved a Woman, I Love the Woman, and others. This music not only helped to define the West Side style of Chicago blues but also had a major impact on the first generation of blues rockers in England such as Eric Clapton.
Tracks: Hide Away/I’m Tore Down/Washout/Have You Ever Loved A Woman/Low Tide/The Stumble/See See Baby/Side Tracked/I Love The Woman/Remington Ride.
All tracks originally recorded in Cincinnati, 1961-63, and originally released on various Federal 45s and King LPs.
Released as King KSD-1059 (LP) in1969.
— Jim O’Neal