Description
Orange Vinyl
Provogue / Mascot Label Group have three special vinyl reissues of blues-titan Joe Bonamassas back catalogue.
You & Me, The Ballad of John Henry and Live from the Royal Albert Hall.
With 25 #1 albums, yearly sold-out tours worldwide and custom annual cruises, hes a hard act to beat.
These albums are a testament to his credentials and a toast to his longtime fans who remember them originally and new fans who can experience them for the first time.
Its Joe Bonamassa at his finest, ready to rock.
Despite his statement in the liner notes that In an era where it is best to play it safe, I chose to take a risk, there isnt much surprising or risky about young guitarist Joe Bonamassas fifth studio album. Most of his previous releases have mixed blues covers with his own originals, all played with a rockers attitude, volume and less-than-subtle approach. This one follows suit and even though he goes on to say that he wanted to make a blues album, not a rock album that has blues on it, as in the past; its impossible to claim that he has succeeded with You & Me. That doesnt make this a bad or disappointing disc; quite the contrary, its a solid blues-rock release and arguably his best work to date. But as early as the second track, an original rocker titled Bridge to Better Days, Bonamassa takes off on an early Free/Savoy Brown-styled stomper. Things settle down and get more rootsy on the following two slow blues tracks, although a lovely Bonamassa original, Asking Around for You, adds strings, not exactly a touch most would associate with pure blues. Regardless, its extremely effective and when the strings return on a nine-and-a-half-minute cover of Led Zeppelins Tea for One, it is a spine-tingling experience and possibly this albums finest moment. Drummer Jason Bonham, who is excellent throughout, brings additional authenticity to the song his dad first played on. Bonamassa unplugs for a few mid-disc tracks, including a cover of Tamp Em Up Solid (oddly credited to Ry Cooder but typically known as a traditional piece, even on Cooders version). Twelve-year-old harmonica whiz L.D. Miller does his best John Popper imitation on a hyperactive version of Sonny Boy Williamsons Your Funeral and My Trial (someone needs to inform the kid that playing lots of notes really fast doesnt mean he has soul), and the instrumental titled Django shows that Bonamassa has been listening to Gary Moores Parisienne Walkways. It adds up to a quality Bonamassa disc that will please existing fans and might bring some new ones into the fold, but its also one that doesnt take the chances that he claims might push the guitarist into uncharted territory.
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