Joe Bonamassa Albums (9)
'Live from Nowhere in Particular'
Release Date 8/18/2008
Tracks 14
Label Provogue
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What The Critics Say
For his seventh studio album, guitar wiz Joe Bonamassa has chosen to work again with producer Kevin Shirley, who produced the highly successful and huge-sounding You & Me for Bonamassa in 2006. This outing, though, is far from a ditto session, with a much more acoustic feel and a greater focus on Bonamassa's singing, which unfortunately has been generally (and unfairly) overshadowed by his guitar playing. Bonamassa has also stepped up his songwriting (four of the 11 tracks here are originals; the rest are blues and hard rock covers) and cut way down on his clichés, delivering in the process his most varied and impressive album yet. The lead track, a version of Chris Whitley's "Ball Peen Hammer," is an atmospheric gem, as is the title tune, a cover of a song written by Bob Ezrin and Michael Kamen that first appeared on Tim Curry's solo debut album in 1978. Bonamassa's singing on both of these is wonderfully nuanced and shows he can do way more than just shout out blues-rockers. Also worth noting is his Dobro work on a fine cover of John Martyn's "Jelly Roll," and then there are the four originals -- "Dirt in My Pocket," "Richmond," "Around the Bend," and the striking "India" -- which show Bonamassa's continued growth and confidence as a songwriter. There are less of those flashy and jaw-dropping guitar leads on Sloe Gin (rest assured, he stretches out a few times on guitar, though), which is mostly a good thing, since it allows his increasing maturity as a writer and singer to shine through. This is a fine album, and one gets the distinct feeling that an even better one may be lurking just around the bend. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
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 isn't much surprising or risky about young guitarist Joe Bonamassa's fifth studio album. Most of his previous releases have mixed blues covers with his own originals, all played with a rocker's 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; it's impossible to claim that he has succeeded with You & Me. That doesn't make this a bad or disappointing disc; quite the contrary, it's 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, it's extremely effective and when the strings return on a nine-and-a-half-minute cover of Led Zeppelin's "Tea for One," it is a spine-tingling experience and possibly this album's 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 Cooder's version). Twelve-year-old harmonica whiz L.D. Miller does his best John Popper imitation on a hyperactive version of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Your Funeral and My Trial" (someone needs to inform the kid that playing lots of notes really fast doesn't mean he has soul), and the instrumental titled "Django" shows that Bonamassa has been listening to Gary Moore's "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 it's also one that doesn't take the chances that he claims might push the guitarist into uncharted territory. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
'Shepherds Bush Empire'
Release Date 1/1/2006
Tracks 5
Label J&R Adventures
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What The Critics Say
Joe Bonamassa's first solo release in 2000, A New Day Yesterday, paid homage to classic '70s blues/hard rock. Three years later, with the release of Blues Deluxe, the young guitarist is doing the same with the roots of the blues. Eight of the 12 tracks are covers: B.B. King's "You Upset Me Baby," John Lee Hooker's "Burning Hell," Buddy Guy's "Man of Many Words," Elmore James' "Wild About You Baby," T-Bone Walker's "Long Distance Blues," Freddie King's "Pack It Up," Albert Collins' "Left Overs," and Robert Johnson's "Walking Blues." The problem with about half of the disc is the difficulty of covering this type of material without being able to add much to it. At this relatively early stage in Bonamassa's discography, it may have been a better idea if he would have mixed 70-percent originals with a few covers instead of vice-versa. It's obvious Bonamassa has devoured this material, but his take on "Burning Hell," for instance, doesn't come close to matching the strength and realism of the original. The album's strong points are the three originals -- "Woke Up Dreaming," "I Don't Live Anywhere," and "Mumbling Word" -- and the Jeff Beck Group's "Blues Deluxe," which features smokin' guitar pyrotechnics. Still, thanks to musicians like Bonamassa, the more traditional blues artists covered on this disc continue to gain just as much exposure as younger artists as Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, or Jimi Hendrix. ~ Al Campbell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Joe Bonamassa is a young guitar virtuoso, in line with the likes of Derek Trucks and John Mayer (like Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd before them) to be the Next Blues-Rock Guitar Hero. So, It's Like That, his sophomore solo effort, includes production by Clif Magness, and his band includes drummer Kenny Kramme and bassist Eric Czar. Bonamassa shines when he is allowed to stretch out and explore, on songs such as the sonically varied "Pain and Sorrow." There, on a long improvisation, he works through myriad modes of playing, textures, and musical ideas. ~ Jesse Jarnow, All Music Guide
'A New Day Yesterday Live'
Release Date 1/1/2002
Tracks 11
Label Medalist
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What The Critics Say
Something of an odd release, A New Day Yesterday Live documents the final date of a 60-day jaunt during blues guitar prodigy Joe Bonamassa's 2001 tour in support of his major-label debut bearing the same title, and (this is the odd part), released just a few months earlier. Just why his record company felt the need for it, then, is up for grabs (more promotion...thinking Bonamassa's virtuosity came across stronger in a live setting...who knows?), but what's clear is that the young guitarist's trio lacked nothing in terms of on-stage presence and performing tightness as compared to what was heard on said studio album. Their kinetic reinventions of oft-overlooked '70s rock classics such as Free's "Walk in My Shadows" and Jethro Tull's "A New Day Yesterday" instantly distinguish Bonamassa from teenage blues competitors such as the overly Stevie Ray Vaughan-reliant Kenny Wayne Shepherd or the more purist (and technically less dazzling) Jonny Lang, and his better-conceived originals ("Colour & Shape," the wonderful "Miss You Hate You") stand up under any circumstance -- but again, so what? Didn't listeners just buy their studio versions a few months ago? Yes, there's the additional benefit of extended jamming and incendiary guitar soloing to expand upon their themes, but suffice to say that this set need only be sought out by Bonamassa fanatics, or, in the event that they've yet to hear the studio version, first timers, too -- why not? ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Named after the early Jethro Tull classic, which he expertly covers here in a jaw-dropping performance, A New Day Yesterday is a fine debut by guitar ace Joe Bonamassa. And though his record company tried to ride the coattails of teenage guitar prodigies like Kenny Wayne Shepard and Jonny Lang and position him (misguidedly and much too late) as a straight-up prodigal blues kid, Bonamassa is really much more than a traditional bluesman. Rather, as best exemplified by the Jethro Tull number cited above, his bluesy take on Free's "Walk in My Shadows," or his hard boogie romp through Al Kooper's "Nuthin' I Wouldn't Do (For a Woman Like You)," this excellent debut places the guitarist's influences as much in classic '70s hard rock as in the blues. Along with his deceptively age-wearied vocals (he was only 22 at the time of this recording), this unusual combination translates into the aggressive, soulful crunch heard on Bonamassa's many original compositions. Among these, the jolting double whammy of "Miss You, Hate You" and "Colour and the Shape" (note the Anglicized spelling) are the most obvious standouts, but the guitarist also makes the Warren Haynes-penned "If Heartaches Were Nickels" his own with a tense, riveting performance. All in all, a promising debut. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
