Joe Bonamassa - Blues Of Desperation (Album Review)
Tuesday, 29 March 2016
Written by Simon Ramsay
Photo: Rick Gould
"His early stuff was better, he used to rock harder, he's too polished and predictable now..." Since Joe Bonamassa had the audacity to become successful, some fans have been quick to hurl these accusations at him. While the veracity of their claims is debatable, naysayers should be stoked by 'Blues of Desperation', a record that not only delivers the edgier thrills they've been missing, but also finds the guitarist pulling a few rabbits out of his hat.
This may be Bonamassa's second successive album of all-original material, but rather than pick up where 2014’s glossy 'Different Shades of Blue' left off, he's fashioned a raw, aggressively guitar-driven effort that was recorded in a whirlwind five days, fuelled by seat-of-the-pants performances that bristle with fiery vitality and unshackled spontaneity.
In order to enhance that approach and get Bonamassa working harder, producer Kevin Shirley cut the tracks with only guitar, bass and drums (sometimes two drummers, but we'll get to that). Keys, brass and backing singers were added afterwards, delivering a back-to-basics attack in tandem with some rich, but not obtrusive, sonic decoration.
This Train's shoots out of the blocks in high-energy style, its piston-pumping rhythmic sprint, howling slide and eye-popping bass augmented by Reese Wynans’ sparkling piano flourishes. How Deep This River Runs, meanwhile, travels from casual groove to emotionally wrought chorus, its sensational choir of backing vocals topped off by a solo that's one of the most intense of Bonamassa’s career.
There's a sizzling atmospheric quality throughout this record. On the head-snapping crunch of Mountain Climbing, and rumbling hard-rock tornado Distant Lonesome Train, the combination of two drummers creates a thunderous backbone that's phenomenally propulsive and invigorating. Drive and The Valley Runs Low, on the other hand, cast a more ambient spell.
Where the latter is a lilting southern gospel jewel that's vintage Nashville, the former has a classic Bonamassa dusky-cowboy vibe, only with a twist. Eschewing the need for any huge pay off, its consistent, unhurried pacing creates a hypnotic aura that mirrors the meditative lyric. Boundaries are stretched too, with the epic title-track shifting between simmering eastern bleakness and supercharged Led Zeppelin riffing, before a Theramin-flavoured freak out passage that renders Whole Lotta Love dull by comparison.
The blues are also kicked up the backside on No Good Place For The Lonely, its luscious orchestral strings and snappy, strutting phrases building to three minutes of delightfully OTT guitar pyrotechnics. And then there's Livin' Easy, an off kilter jazz cut with squealing saxophone, acoustic runs and a noirish seediness. The only misstep here is What I've Known For A Very Long Time. It's pleasant, but Bonamassa has written better songs in this vein before - see Asking Around For You – and should have ended an album like this with a bang, not a swoon.
Although 'Blues of Desperation' is a superb record, and possibly Bonamassa's finest to date, he's continuing to perfect - and safely expand on - his winning formula when he clearly has the talent and ability to tear up the rulebook and write a brand new equation of his own. He's been threatening to craft something truly extraordinary for the last decade and, if he's to deliver an album that matches the calibre of the ones he grew up worshipping, needs to take off the handbrake and dive wholeheartedly into uncharted territory. Only then will he stop standing on the shoulders of giants, and become one in his own right.
Joe Bonamassa Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed June 29 2016 - DUBLIN Vicar Street
Thu June 30 2016 - DUBLIN Vicar Street
Sat July 02 2016 - PRESTON Hoghton Tower
Sun July 03 2016 - GLASGOW SECC
Tue July 05 2016 - BRISTOL Colston Hall
Thu July 07 2016 - LONDON Old Royal Naval College
Fri July 08 2016 - NEWARK Newark Castle
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