As
Joe Bonamassa grows his reputation as one of the world’s greatest guitar
players, he is also evolving into a charismatic blues-rock star and
singer-songwriter of stylistic depth and emotional resonance. His
ability to connect with live concert audiences is transformational, and
his new album, Black Rock, brings that energy to his recorded music more
powerfully than ever before. The tenth solo album and eighth studio
release of his career – as well as his fifth consecutive with producer
Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Black Crowes, etc.) – the disc adds an
enlivening dose of ‘world’ vibes to Bonamassa’s virtuoso mix of ‘60s-era
British Blues-rock (à la Beck and Clapton) and roots-influenced Delta
sounds.
The album was recorded at Black Rock Studios in Santorini, Greece. “With
this album, we wanted to explore a ‘world’ feeling, and this was the
inspiration behind going to record in Greece and using some of the best
Greek musicians to add a little flavor to a couple of the tracks. But
it’s by no means a ‘world’ album. We wanted Joe’s usual youthful and
energetic tones to play alongside the worldly vibes of the Greek
bouzouki and clarino,” said Shirley. Bonamassa adds, “It was the kind of
record Kevin and I wanted to make. We needed to rock again a bit like on
my first album. It’s youthful, like going back to your childhood.”
Throughout, Bonamassa is again backed by the stellar players Carmine
Rojas (bass), Anton Fig, Bogie Bowles (both on drums) and Rick Melick
(keyboards).
2009 was a big year for Bonamassa. He was Awarded the Breakthrough
Artist of the Year Award at the U.K.’s prestigious Classic Rock Roll of
Honor Awards and Classic Rock magazine has said, “They’re calling him
the future of blues, but they’re wrong – Joe Bonamassa is the present;
so fresh and of his time that he almost defines it.” He was also named
Best Blues Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine’s 2009 Readers’ Choice
Awards for the third consecutive year. Guitar Player writer Matt
Blackett has said, “He’s an old soul, and that comes through in his
bends, vibrato, singing voice, and note choices, which – which each
passing year – get more restrained and refined.”
In May ’09, he played to a sold out crowd at London’s Royal Albert Hall,
arguably the most prestigious concert venue in the world. During the
show, Bonamassa’s hero, Eric Clapton, joined him on stage for a
joint-performance of Clapton’s hit “Further On Up The Road.” London’s
The Independent said about the show, “The man has arrived, and there’s
no turning back.” Shortly after, Bonamassa released a 2-DVD live set –
Joe Bonamassa – Live From The Royal Albert Hall – which captures the
night in full. Guitar Edge gave it five stars and also said, “It is the
wallop of his emotional expression, fueled by the rocking energy he
derives from that trans-Atlantic connection and driven by his
devastating technical ability, that elevates him about his peers and
makes him a certifiable blues guitar hero and the face of his blues
generation.”
Last year also coincided with Bonamassa’s twentieth year as a
professional musician, an extraordinary timeline for a young artist just
into his ’30s. A child prodigy, Bonamassa was finessing Stevie Ray
Vaughan licks when he was seven and by the time he was ten, had caught
B.B. King’s ear. After first hearing him play, King said, “This kid's
potential is unbelievable. He hasn't even begun to scratch the surface.
He's one of a kind.” By age 12, Bonamassa was opening shows for the
blues icon and went on to tour with venerable acts including Buddy Guy,
Foreigner, Robert Cray, Stephen Stills, Joe Cocker and Gregg Allman.
Bonamassa reunites with King for a duet on Black Rock. The song they
perform together is a rendition of the Willie Nelson-penned song, “Night
Life,” which appeared on King’s 1967 album Blues Is King. Shirley says
about the experience, “This is a rollicking Stonesy-vibe version of the
Willie Nelson song on which B.B. duets with Joe, both vocally and on his
famous Lucille guitar. What a joy and an honor to work with the legend
who is possibly the pivot point and unifying musician between blues and
rock.”
Other tracks appearing on Black Rock include Jeff Beck’s “Spanish
Boots,” a lively version of Leonard Cohen’s poetic “Bird On A Wire,”
Otis Rush’s “Three Times A Fool,” as well as Bobby Parker’s “Steal Your
Heart Away,” a song recommended by Robert Plant, who said Led Zeppelin
rehearsed it in their earliest days. Also, Blind Boy Fuller’s “Baby, You
Gotta Change Your Mind,” John Hiatt’s “I Know A Place,” and James
Clark’s “Look Over Yonder’s Wall,” as well as the Bonamassa-penned
originals “When The Fire Hits The Sea,” “Wandering Earth,”
“Athens To Athens,” and “Blue and Evil.”
Bonamassa’s recording career began in the early ’90s with Bloodline, a
hard-charging rock-blues group also featuring Robby Krieger’s son Waylon
and Miles Davis’ son Erin. His 2000 solo debut, A New Day Yesterday, was
produced by the legendary Tom Dowd; Bonamassa’s rendering of the title
track, originally a Jethro Tull hit, was called, “a jaw-dropping
performance” by allmusic.com.
His last studio album, The Ballad Of John Henry – with no shortage of
its own jaw-dropping moments – debuted at #1 on the Billboard blues
chart and stayed there for six months. The album marks a more
confessional approach to songcraft than he’s previously employed.
“Making the first half of the album,” Bonamassa says, “I was in the
happiest place I’d ever been in my life. The second half found me in
completely the opposite state. I’ve come to the conclusion that
experience makes for better art. I had more to say, and it’s the first
time I’ve personally opened up the book on my life.”
Previous studio sets include 2007’s Sloe Gin, which debuted at #1 on
Billboard’s blues chart and received a 2008 nod for Album Of The Year
from the Classic Rock Roll Of Honor Awards. Sloe Gin careens between
heavy electric blues-rockers and acoustic, folk-etched cuts in a flow
that Bonamassa says was partly inspired by Rod Stewart’s classic 1969
solo debut LP. Modern Guitars Magazine wrote, “If calling Sloe Gin a
Bonamassa sampler isn’t graphic enough, think of the album as a musical
buffet in which unrelated entrees share a single trait: they taste
good.” The Boston Phoenix called it, “an elegant and brawny guitar-hero
album.”
In 2008, he released the 2-CD set Live From Nowhere In Particular, which
Guitar Player said, “finds Joe playing with soul, intensity and savage
tones.” It features 13 songs recorded live in concert on the artist’s
2007 North American tour – at shows like the one at New York’s
Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center reviewed for www.hamptons.com
by Lon S. Cohen: “In a thousand years, when archeologists dig out Joe
Bonamassa's guitar from the strata of the earth, it will still be
smoking…He holds the guitar like a shotgun but what comes out of it is
poetry, color, and a story is told in notes.” A review of a show at
Alexandria, VA’s Birchmere drew similar sentiments from writer Paul Roy
on blogcritics.org: “I have flirted with the opinion that Bonamassa may
be the overall best guitarist on the planet these days, and after seeing
him perform live again…I am now totally comfortable with that opinion.
He is simply mesmerizing to watch.”
Bonamassa circles the globe playing an average of 200 shows a year, and
his mind-blowing guitar wizardry and electrifying stage presence are
selling out progressively larger venues all the time. The OC Register’s
Robert Kinsler has written, “Whether in a club or outdoors at a
festival, something magnetic happens when Bonamassa steps to the front
of the stage, leans his head back and simply lets loose.”
Ongoing journeyman touring is a given, and looking beyond Black Rock,
Bonamassa will continue his recording collaboration with producer Kevin
Shirley, who says, “It’s great working with Joe and seeing him enjoy the
discovery of all these places he can go. He’s an artist who can play
anything, there are so many facets to him.” Bonamassa adds, “Kevin comes
up with fantastic ideas outside the box. He appreciates the blues, but
pushes me, the only person besides Tom Dowd who’s done that.”
On top of touring, recording and overseeing the independent label J&R
Adventures with his entrepreneurial partner and manager Roy Weisman,
Bonamassa is a spokesperson for the Blues Foundation’s respected Blues
In The Schools program, volunteering his time during tours to speak with
groups of high school students about the heritage of blues music – the
first pure American music form. Recently, he was chosen by Channel One,
the largest in-school news network, to host an ongoing segment called
“Know Your Roots with Joe Bonamassa” in which he traces the musical
roots of Channel One’s weekly “Hear It Now” featured artist.
And, 2010 has already started with a bang – Guitar World dubbed
Bonamassa “The Blues Rock Titan” and his song, “Lonesome Road Blues,” is
a part of Guitar Hero V’s New Blues Masters Track Pack. Keeping with his
blues roots but fluently moving between rock n’ roll and international
sounds, 2010 is not only a new decade but a new era for Bonamassa.
