Provogue (label)
23 September 2016 (released)
18 September 2016
When it comes to production values Joe Bonamassa is way ahead of the rest. Every release is top quality and every time I have seen him play live he has delivered something I hadn’t seen him do before.
Problem is that it makes you, the listener, complacent, expecting to have your soul rocked every time. Thing is though, he still does it – every time.
The show at the Greek Theatre was part of his ‘Three Kings’ tour and he took on the mantle of three of the Blues greats in Albert, Freddie and B.B. King. So you get a – very – wide selection of styles right from the off.
Opening with an incendiary ‘See See Baby’ he moves into a gorgeous version of Freddie King’s ‘Some Other Day, Some Other Time’ and a soulful ‘Lonesome Whistle Blues’. Three by Freddie King that show the variety of one of his heroes, tinged with Bonamassa’s own style.
The Freddie King section continues with ‘Sitting On The Boat Dock’ and ‘You’ve Got To Love Her With A Feeling’, the band cooking like a fine pot stew and the horn section blowing their hearts out. Reese Wynan’s piano is a rare delight on ‘Going Down’ and the song really hits a peak with the ladies of the chorus belting out the backing for all they are worth.
Move on to the Albert King section and Bonamassa straps on a Flying V while the drumming gets heavier and more funk than boogie on ‘I’ll Play The Blues For You’. ‘I Get Evil’ is downright nasty and you sense that Joe B is really enjoying playing these numbers.
A personal favourite of mine has always been ‘Cadillac Assembly Line’ and he does real justice to it with a stunning solo before kicking into ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’.
B.B. King was Bonamassa’s early mentor and friend throughout Bonamassa’s life so it is inevitable that the passion he puts into B.B.’s numbers, starting with ‘Let The Good Times Roll’ is positively palpable but the numbers are put over with remarkable freshness considering that almost any Blues fan will be familiar with ‘Ole Time Religion’ or ‘Nobody Loves Me But My Mother’ and the playing on both does real justice to them.
‘The Thrill IS Gone’ was one of B. B. King’s signature numbers and Bonamassa does it with real passion.
The set runs around 2 hours but I never felt that it was being stretched out or fattened up. Bonamassa is playing the cvlassics he learnt as a young kid and making them as alive as they ever were. The naysayers will not be converted by this but anyone who digs Joe Bonamassa’s style and way will be more than enthused. A terrific night, captured to perfection.
