JOE BONAMASSA REVIEW

At some stage in his career it will be necessary for Joe Bonamassa to take a flight in a helicopter or plane, cadge a lift in a fast car or go for a midnight swim. No disrespect intended but Joe’s true status as the worlds greatest guitar player may not be appreciated until he is dead. Modes of transport and leisure facilities have already laid waste to the lives but not the pedigree of the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Randy Rhoads ,members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and others. He is quite aware of this himself but he does not lose any sleep over it because he plays for the sheer thrill of the music and to entertain a large underground army of fans. On his recent tour date in Sheffield Joe was the first to admit to his ‘one to watch’ status. This is so hard to comprehend when he first picked up and played guitar at age 4, was a touring child prodigy at 11, released a CD of rock and blues at 18 in a well thought of but ill fated ‘Supergroup’ and is shortly to release the 13th of his studio and live albums. The ‘Live at the Royal Albert Hall’ CD has just reached Gold standard. Joe is understandably proud of his back catalogue and reluctantly so of his ‘zero hits’ as he told his appreciative hardcore audience.
The two and a half hours of technically superb, foot tapping and hard rocking shredding deserved the standing ovation for ‘Smokin Joe’ and his band. From his most recent studio CD, Dustbowl came the opener of Slow Train which steamed into riffology history. Bonamassa is a true all rounder with bewilderingly fast fingers and a mellow bluesy tone which are rarely found together in modern day guitarists. The tracks continued and it must have been half an hour before Joe felt it necessary to introduce himself to the already converted. The Bonamassa classics are regularly aired on the likes of Planet Rock but he draws on a very wide range of influential guitarists. He has claimed for his own anthem the melodic and haunting ‘Sloe Gin’ which over 8 minutes is expertly crafted and delivered. His strengths include his singing and songwriting which will , again after his death, keep cover bands and newcomers on the payroll for the rest of their lives. Band members including Carmine Rojas on bass testify to the high regard that the industry has for Joe. Solo spots were very special with Bonamassa and his Gibson Les Paul guitars which appeared from stage left and took early retirement from sheer exhaustion. There is a true tone to Joes electric and acoustic playing and when harnessed to the extensive technical knowledge of someone still in his 30’s the result is truly spectacular . Rojas and the drummer, Tal Bergman just about kept up but were set loose on solo’s such is Joe’s lack of ego. The double neck Gibson SG was put up against the pedigree of Rojas in Young Man Blues. From a playlist of over 140 Joe pulled out his own songs such as The Ballad of John Henry, Lonesome Road Blues, Dustbowl, Mountain Time and Last Kiss and timeless covers with the JB interpretation of Midnight Blues, Blues Deluxe and the Gibson Flying V rendition of Just Got Paid as an extended encore.
Something was witnessed in Sheffield which made you just want more. The new CD comes out in May and if the premiere of ‘Driving into the Daylight’ represents even the weakest of tracks then Joe has achieved yet more greatness in his own lifetime-but the wider world have just not realised it.