Provogue (label)
22 March 2010 (released)
21 March 2010
One day Joe Bonamassa is going to make an album that isn’t a step on from his last one and one day he is going to make an album that doesn’t excite from the first riff to the last solo – this ain’t the day and Black Rock is absolutely superb.
His partnership with Kevin Shirley (producer) gets better as on each album Shirley seems to find something new to coax out of Bonamassa and Bonamassa gets more inventive as he goes.
The album loads up with a couple of hard Blues, Bobby Parker’s 'Steal Your Heart Away’ and John Hiatt’s 'I Know A Place’ and he gives them both a Bonamassa sound without taking away from the heart of the originals.
He then follows up with a couple of self-penned numbers, a funky and classy Blues 'When The Fire Hits The Sea’ and 'Quarryman’s Lament’ which has a Greek sound in the Bouzouki and pan-pipe elements that seems to suit the location, Santorini, where the album was recorded (Black Rock Studios in Greece) and shows clearly that he is still building and developing his talents. The solo on '...Lament’ is positively heartbreaking.
As ever, Bonamassa combines his own material with covers but he adds to the songs that he covers and there is no sense of just playing the dots – if he can’t add himself to a number why not leave the classics alone.
As an example, not many people would dare to cover Leonard Cohen’s 'Bird On A Wire’ and far less give it an Arabic feel, moving into Mexicana and yet keeping the integrity of the original. But when he also does 'Spanish Boots’ (Jeff Beck/Rod Stewart/Ron Wood) and gives it the full Led Zeppelin you gotta reckon he is a man without limits!
The album just goes from track to track delivering great music and he never sounds as though he is showing off or tinkering with songs – he just finds a way to put over what he sees in the song and give that without slavish copying or any lack of 'Bonamassanity’ in the number.
He also knows how to play with others and this time around he has teamed up with BB King for a rambunctious version of Willie Nelson’s 'Night Life’ – since BB King was the man who first saw his potential it seems appropriate and they also sound as though they are having a great time with it.
AS I said at the top of the review, one day he is going to make an album that doesn’t keep him at the top of the tree but not yet. Bonamassa – Black Rock – Imperious – that’s Blues album of the year tucked away then!
