Joe Bonamassa

A new album from Joe Bonamassa is always news and when, like this, it comprises all new songs and feels like a move back to the raw and exciting Bonamassa of a few years back, well that just adds to the moods.

Over the last few years Bonamassa has been involved in a lot of different projects – Beth Hart, Rock Candy Funk Party, BCC among others – and sometimes it has felt as though his energy for raw Blues/Rock has drifted away a bit. He has never managed to actually dull his edge or produce a weak album but the Bonamassa of ‘Sloe Gin’ has been buried under horns and style and I, for one, have been looking forward to our hero throwing off his chains and emerging fresh and hard, ready for the fray: ‘Blues Of Desperation’ feels like that has happened.

“I want people to hear my evolution as a blues-rock musician,” says Bonamassa, “somebody who isn’t resting on accomplishments and who is always pushing forward and thinking about how music can evolve and stay relevant.”
I’m not personally seeing the evolution as much as the confirmation of his love for the genre but there is no question, in my mind, that this album is entirely relevant – and bloody good too.

It isn’t all blast and bombast although on the opening couple of numbers ‘This Train’ and ‘Mountain Climbing’ he sounds harder and more forceful than anyone else playing Blues today. On ‘Drive’ he shows a soft side, highly emotive and melodic and with some gorgeous guitar and a latin swing feel to the number.

The title track has a great sense of darkness and, yes, desperation about it – very much in a Zeppelin-esque style – and shows that Bonamassa is still looking to develop his playing into different area.

The album is produced by Kevin Shirley, marking 10 years the two have been collaborating.
Bonamassa says, “I can explain our relationship with one word – ‘trust.’ I completely trust in Kevin and his musical promptings. He pushes my musical ability by challenging me to not just rest on my laurels or settle for ‘good.’ He expects more out of the other musicians as well and will not hold back when he sees us falling back into our usual routine.”
“Which sometimes calls for unorthodox measures”, says Shirley, who admits that his idea of augmenting Bonamassa’s usual recording band with second drummer Morrow was engineered to “ruffle Joe’s feathers.” “I wanted him to work a little harder, like in his early years,” he says, “so I brought in an additional drummer, just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons.”

The result definitely does see Bonamassa working harder and it feels as though he has a new lease of life in his music.

It’s been a while since I could put hand on heart and say that a new Joe Bonamassa album was going to be on my playlist for weeks but this is most certainly one.