Like him, or loathe him, there’s no ignoring the prolific Joe Bonamassa. Blues of Desperation is Bonamassa’s 12th studio album, following on the heels of 2014’s Different Shades of Blue and taking a break from his live album release schedule.
Recorded after an intense period holed up together in Nashville, Bonamassa and producer Kevin Shirley assembled an a-list group of musicians and background singers including the wonderful Mahalia Barnes, and the result is extraordinary and vibrant.
This Train kicks off the album like, er, a train.....”This train don’t stop for no-one, this train’s got a mind of its own”.....perhaps a metaphor for Mr Bonamassa’s career itself. Pounding drums, thumping piano keys, and of course the great man’s guitar virtuosity make this barnstorming track perhaps the best song 1, side 1 contender of the year.
After the Free-influenced Mountain Climbing (and come to think of it, there’s a little bit of Paul Rogers about Bonamassa’s singing style), we get to Drive, and the mood changes direction.
We are now in cool, Mark Knopfler territory, with a tale about his lady "putting on some old blues songs, letting all our troubles be gone" and driving off into the night, accompanied by some gorgeous background vocals.
Now we come to the monumental No Good Place For The Lonely, all 8 and a half minutes of it. The rhythm of the track is built around an early Fleetwood Mac style riff, and with a vibrancy and clarity only contemporaries of Bonamassa can dream of. Roughly 5 minutes in, and we’ve had enough of the vocals, and the maestro takes over, with a blistering guitar solo to rival anything he’s done before. Magnificent. I’ve been living with this album for a couple of weeks now, and I’ve been struggling to get past this point as this track has been on continuous repeat.
The title track is a down and dirty more straightforward blues ditty, with slide guitar to the fore and the fantastic stick work of Anton Fig.
Next, we take another detour from the expected route, and The Valley Runs Low, is an almost country/gospel track of euphoria with pretty acoustic guitar and again those lovely background vocals.
Best song title on the album “You Left Me Nothin’ But The Bill And The Blues” is a genuine foot tapping romp along a familiar blues theme, and includes another vital Bonamassa solo.
The 6 minute Distant Lonesome Train is also another album highlight, of an album full of highlights, and the same goes for the sleazy penultimate track Livin’ Easy, all sax and piano.
What I’ve Known For A Very Long Time closes the album with panache and style, where seemingly every musician on the album is playing their part, and obviously includes the Bonamassa brand guitar break.
This album is a triumph, maybe a masterpiece - time will tell, but what it is right now is a guy at the top of his game surrounded by some musicians at the top of their games, and the result is a good-time, barnstorming album of 11 tracks under the blues genre, but somehow sounding contemporary and like nothing else out there.
I never knew I liked the blues until I started listening to Bonamassa.
10/11
Keith @kjsmith4082
Photo of Joe Bonamassa by Laurence Harvey