Blues Update

Press Release

Guitar Rock Star Redefines Blues Rock with New Studio Album

Joe Bonamassa evolves as blues-rock musician with highly-anticipated new album Blues of Desperation, out March 25

Blues guitarist is Facebook phenomenon

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — GRAMMY-nominated blues-rock guitar icon Joe Bonamassa announces his brand-new studio solo album,Blues of Desperation (J&R Adventures), which will be released March 25, 2016. Like his previous solo disc, 2014’s Top 10 Billboard hit Different Shades of Blue, this record features all-original material, and it sees the maverick superstar guitarist, singer and songwriter tossing away the rule book as he continues to reinvent and redefine the blues-rock genre like no other artist working today.

Watch a sneak-peak EPK of Joe recording in the studio here:https://youtu.be/xXMnxkYt7BU

Pre-order now athttp://joeb.me/bod-album, Amazon, and iTunes.

“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.”

The writing sessions for Blues of Desperation took Bonamassa back to Nashville, where he’d composed Different Shades of Blue, to work with some of Music City’s top tunesmiths, people like James House, Tom Hambridge, Jeffrey Steele, Jerry Flowers and Gary Nicholson.

“These are some of the best guys in the business,” Bonamassa raves. “Lyrically, you’ll hear the proverbial trains, mountains, valleys and other blues references about heartbreak and loneliness but there are also some poignant moments about getting away from the stressful, crazy demands of life and losing yourself with your special someone. I think anybody will be able to relate.”

Best Guitarists Bonamassa and his longtime producer Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Journey) convened at Nashville’s Grand Victor Sound Studios (formerly known as RCA Studio A), and during an intense, five-day period they recorded 11 galvanizing songs with a crack group of musicians including drummers Anton Fig and Greg Morrow, bassist Michael Rhodes, keyboardist Reese Wynans, horn players Lee Thornburg, Paulie Cerra and Mark Douthit, and background singers Mahalia Barnes, Jade McRae and Juanita Tippins.

Of his decade-long collaboration with Shirley, 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.” Of the results, Shirley raves, “Recording ‘Blues of Desperation‘ is one of the most exciting recording projects I’ve done. What a joyful noise we made!”

Blues of Desperation is King Of Blues Bonamassa’s most powerfully diverse and boldly realized album yet, with the material ranging from the gutsy, gritty blues call to arms of “This Train” (Joe’s guitar is set to “rude” throughout) to the elegant yet emotionally shattering ballad “What I’ve Known for a Very Long Time” to the soul-nourishing, acoustic-based Americana of “The Valley Runs Low,” on which Bonamassa’s voice rises up majestically to meet Barnes, McRae and Tippins in gospel-like rapture. And then there’s the bleary, tequila-soaked “Drive,” dripping with the kind of raw, wicked and unsettling sensuality that could make David Lynch green with envy.

Throughout the record, Bonamassa’s epic guitar playing conjures up stirring benedictions and explosive exorcisms of sound. “No Good Place For the Lonely” features some of the guitarist’s most cauterizing licks yet, and the walloping title track is a white-knuckled, six-string thrill ride guaranteed to jolt the senses. Guitar fans everywhere (like those who recently voted Bonamassa “Best Blues Guitarist” in Guitar World magazine by an overwhelming margin) will consider Blues of Desperation a treasure trove of axe riches.

“There are some long solos on this record and even some mini-jams in the middle of a track where the band would just jive and crank it out,” he says. “[During those jams], we do a tip of the hat to Beck and Clapton from the ’70s. I think guitar nerds and music fans like myself will love it.”

Packed with unparalleled musicianship and teeming with the most enthralling collection of songs in Bonamassa’s career,Blues of Desperation is guaranteed to knock out critics and fans alike. By exceeding his own vertiginously high artistic goals, Bonamassa is bound to shatter all other expectations with this record and reach new audiences – no mean feat when you continue his astonishing track record of hits now includes 15 #1 Billboard Blues Albums (more than any other artist in history). 2014’s Different Shades of Blue debuted at #8 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart, making it his highest charting album, his first top 10 and accounting for his biggest sales week ever. In 2014, the guitarist received his first-ever Grammy nomination (for Best Blues Album) for the album Seesaw, his second collaboration with blues singing star Beth Hart, and was named 2014’s Billboard Blues Artist of the Year.

Bonamassa’s stature in the music industry has built steadily over the years. Along with his longtime manager, Roy Weisman, the iconoclastic guitarist built his own successful record label, management and concert promotion company called J&R Adventures. In addition, his connection to fans on social media has grown to over 2.4 million Facebook friends, over 131K Twitter followers and 130K Instragram followers.

Prior to the release of Blues of Desperation, Bonamassa – a touring monster who averages about 100 shows a year – will be kicking off the year with a January DVD recording of his intimate acoustic show at New York’s Carnegie Hall before embarking on his second annual Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea blues cruise in February and a full-on electric band trek through the U.S. in April.

Blues Update

Blues Update 

 

Blues Concerts Joe’s latest tour comes hot on the heels of the release of his latest #1 Billboard Blues Album, Blues of Desperation, a tour-de-force blues-rock experience filled with power and vigor, produced by Joe’s longtime collaborator Kevin Shirley. The set list from the first show of the tour was chock-full of the amazing material from that album. This includes an opener consisting of the gutsy, gritty blues call to arms of “This Train”, the rock and steel-shattering potency of “Mountain Climbing”, the bleary, tequila-soaked “Drive,” dripping with the kind of raw, wicked and unsettling sensuality that could make David Lynch green with envy, and the album’s title track “Blues of Desperation”, which captivates with its world-music flair and its battering-ram like riffs. The set list was rounded out with some choice covers like Nobody Loves Me But My Mother and Hummingbird and Joe Bonamassa classics such as Oh Beautiful! And Sloe Gin.

Best Guitarist in the World Joe came to the show prepared with an army of his incredible guitars. The show featured some of our favorite of Joe’s instruments, including his 1958 Mary Kaye Stratocaster, Amos the famous 1958 Gibson Flying V, his 1959 Gibson Les Paul “Carmelita”, and another Gibson Les Paul, this one from 1960, “The Runt”.

Blues Concerts Ah yes, Spring is in the air, and that means Joe Bonamassa tour time once again. Joe is thrilled to be back on the road with this band, these songs, and those guitars, and we hope you’re just as excited to see it. It’s going to be quite a set of shows. See you on the road!

Bonamassa is back with his best Blues Songs studio album since The Ballad of John Henry.

Joe Bonamassa continues to push the boundaries of blues rock. With each new record, he challenges himself to deliver something new, something fresh, and keep things interesting whilst, at the same time, staying true to the roots of blues music.

For this album, Joe has assembled a formidable lineup of talent including amongst others dueling drummers Anton Fig and Greg Morrow, bassist Michael Rhodes, and the legendary keyboardist Reese Wynans of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble fame. In the command room, Joe’s long-time producer Kevin Shirley returns to the helm.

Blues of Desperation is packed full of masterful and technical guitar wizardry as you would expect from Joe. However, the album exhibits diversity which you won’t find on his other records. Bonamassa traverses both the familiar blues rock ground such as opening track “This Train,” which comes hurtling at you like a locomotive. He also takes a step outside of his comfort zone with the sweet, soulful acoustic number “Valley Runs Low” and makes it pays off.

The album’s production value is incredible; producer Kevin Shirley has worked his magic on this record. Subsequently, the addition of a second drummer, Greg Morrow, gives tracks like the infectious “Mountain Climbing,” one of the standout tracks on the album, additional texture and depth. The inclusion of orchestral elements like the slow blues number, “No Good Place For The Lonely,” is also incredibly effective.

Several tracks on the album have an immersive feel transporting the listener to another place or time. With “Livin’ Easy,” oozing with soulful sax and honky-tonk piano, it’s a downtown Chicago speakeasy bar. By comparison, Joe’s latest single “Drive” takes you on a late night road trip to New Mexico. The song feels as though it would be an equally suitable fit on a Hollywood movie soundtrack as it exhibits some of those atmospheric characteristics.

The epic, slide guitar monster of a title track has an almost Led Zeppelin-esque quality to it. The album closes with the superb slow blues number, “What I’ve Known For A Very Long Time.”

There is most certainly nothing desperate about Bonamassa’s latest offering; there isn’t a bad track on the album. Blues of Desperation is a future classic in the making.

The album is scheduled for release via J&R Adventures/Provogue (Europe) on March 25th and is available for pre-order on Amazon and iTunes on jbonamassa.com.

-Adam Kennedy, 08 Mar, 2016

Source: Blues Songs

Best Guitarist in the World Joe Bonamassa has two very important anniversaries to celebrate this week. The first is the anniversary of his birth, 39 years ago this Sunday, May 8th. The other cause for celebration is the 25th anniversary of when Best Guitarists Joe truly started out in the music industry with his Blues Concerts, a journey that would take him from small city New York wunderkind to international guitar hero.

It all began when a young Joe Bonamassa, already a master of his instrument and who at the age of 12 opened for blues icon B.B. King, was featured on the NBC show Real Life with Jane Pauley. Jane Pauley had seen Joe’s story on the AP wire and was blown away by what he was accomplishing. NBC’s Real Life with Jane Pauley aired a story on Joe that included coverage of Joe’s experience with B.B. King, who touted Joe as something truly special. This was the moment that his career would change forever – the real official start of his music industry career was born!

By being featured on the NBC program, the guitar prodigy was seen around the country and sought after by the music industry. He was soon signed by an ecstatic management company. Joe’s new business partners shopped his music to labels, but the recording labels didn’t see the commercial viability of Joe due to the fact that Joe didn’t sing or write.

So Joe’s management company decided to build a band around Joe to package him amidst a musical environment that was currently enamored with teenage bands.

Joe met Berry Oakley Jr., a bass player who was 18, and who was also friends with Waylon Krieger, son of Robby Krieger. Erin Davis, son of Miles Davis, was brought on board to play drums.

Thus, the band Bloodline was born to feature Joe and help him take his career to the next level. EMI signed Bloodline to a record deal, and Joe made his first record with Bloodline. The Bloodline project lasted for five years but then the band broke up.

At this point, Best Guitarist in the World Joe decided to pursue a solo career. Realizing he needed to be able to sing too, he spent two years taking vocal lessons ever before pursuing another record deal.

He was then signed by N2K Records but that company folded, leaving Joe in limbo with hisBlues Songs. A year later he was signed by Epic Records, who helped him record A New Day Yesterday with legendary producer Tom Dowd. Unfortunately, Sony Music was faced with bad earnings at that time, and they pulled the plug on the Joe Bonamassa project.

Instead of seeking a new label, Joe and his manager Roy Weisman formed their own label, J&R Adventures. They bought back the rights to A New Day Yesterday and released the album independently. Joe has been releasing albums that way since that time in 2000, which has given Joe the creative freedom he desired to put out records his way and create the best music possible. In 2006, Joe and Roy Weisman took Joe’s destiny even further into their own hands by promoting their own shows, elevating Joe from the club circuit that he’d been limited to, to much larger theaters.

By 2009, Joe’s career was becoming an unstoppable force, and that year culminated in a sold out show at Royal Albert Hall where Joe was joined by his hero Eric Clapton. Joe has an unbelievable fan base that truly loves and understands the music, and Joe knows that without the fans, this entire venture would have been impossible. He is humbled and extremely grateful for their passionate interest in his music. Since that time, Joe’s fans have continued to help his career become a true phenomenon, and the rest of this incredible journey is still in the making.

Check out Joe’s entire catalog now!

Soruce: Best Guitarist in the World

Blues Update

 

Other musicians joining Bonamassa on the Four-Day Music-Filled Voyage include Beth Hart, Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Anders Osborne, Eric Gales, and more

ATLANTA, GA – Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation, Joe Bonamassa, and Sixthman are proud to present Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea III, year three of the incredible four-day floating music festival featuring Bonamassa and some of the most celebrated names in blues. This year’s festival will journey across the Caribbean aboard Norwegian Jade onFebruary 6-10, 2017, sailing from Tampa, Florida to Costa Maya, Mexico. Guests will enjoy performances from some of the biggest names in music, while discovering new favorites among emerging blues artists on multiple stages throughout the ship. From rare artist collaborations to intimate gatherings with musically inclined cruisers, the festival will have something for everyone to enjoy.

Previous Updates:

Blues Concerts Joe’s latest tour comes hot on the heels of the release of his latest #1 Billboard Blues Album, Blues of Desperation, a tour-de-force blues-rock experience filled with power and vigor, produced by Joe’s longtime collaborator Kevin Shirley. The set list from the first show of the tour was chock-full of the amazing material from that album. This includes an opener consisting of the gutsy, gritty blues call to arms of “This Train”, the rock and steel-shattering potency of “Mountain Climbing”, the bleary, tequila-soaked “Drive,” dripping with the kind of raw, wicked and unsettling sensuality that could make David Lynch green with envy, and the album’s title track “Blues of Desperation”, which captivates with its world-music flair and its battering-ram like riffs. The set list was rounded out with some choice covers like Nobody Loves Me But My Mother and Hummingbird and Joe Bonamassa classics such as Oh Beautiful! And Sloe Gin.

Best Guitarist in the World Joe came to the show prepared with an army of his incredible guitars. The show featured some of our favorite of Joe’s instruments, including his 1958 Mary Kaye Stratocaster, Amos the famous 1958 Gibson Flying V, his 1959 Gibson Les Paul “Carmelita”, and another Gibson Les Paul, this one from 1960, “The Runt”.

Blues Concerts Ah yes, Spring is in the air, and that means Joe Bonamassa tour time once again. Joe is thrilled to be back on the road with this band, these songs, and those guitars, and we hope you’re just as excited to see it. It’s going to be quite a set of shows. See you on the road!

Bonamassa is back with his best Blues Songs studio album since The Ballad of John Henry.

Joe Bonamassa continues to push the boundaries of blues rock. With each new record, he challenges himself to deliver something new, something fresh, and keep things interesting whilst, at the same time, staying true to the roots of blues music.

For this album, Joe has assembled a formidable lineup of talent including amongst others dueling drummers Anton Fig and Greg Morrow, bassist Michael Rhodes, and the legendary keyboardist Reese Wynans of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble fame. In the command room, Joe’s long-time producer Kevin Shirley returns to the helm.

Blues of Desperation is packed full of masterful and technical guitar wizardry as you would expect from Joe. However, the album exhibits diversity which you won’t find on his other records. Bonamassa traverses both the familiar blues rock ground such as opening track “This Train,” which comes hurtling at you like a locomotive. He also takes a step outside of his comfort zone with the sweet, soulful acoustic number “Valley Runs Low” and makes it pays off.

The album’s production value is incredible; producer Kevin Shirley has worked his magic on this record. Subsequently, the addition of a second drummer, Greg Morrow, gives tracks like the infectious “Mountain Climbing,” one of the standout tracks on the album, additional texture and depth. The inclusion of orchestral elements like the slow blues number, “No Good Place For The Lonely,” is also incredibly effective.

Several tracks on the album have an immersive feel transporting the listener to another place or time. With “Livin’ Easy,” oozing with soulful sax and honky-tonk piano, it’s a downtown Chicago speakeasy bar. By comparison, Joe’s latest single “Drive” takes you on a late night road trip to New Mexico. The song feels as though it would be an equally suitable fit on a Hollywood movie soundtrack as it exhibits some of those atmospheric characteristics.

The epic, slide guitar monster of a title track has an almost Led Zeppelin-esque quality to it. The album closes with the superb slow blues number, “What I’ve Known For A Very Long Time.”

There is most certainly nothing desperate about Bonamassa’s latest offering; there isn’t a bad track on the album. Blues of Desperation is a future classic in the making.

The album is scheduled for release via J&R Adventures/Provogue (Europe) on March 25th and is available for pre-order on Amazon and iTunes on jbonamassa.com.

-Adam Kennedy, 08 Mar, 2016

Source: Blues Songs

Blues Update is here & It’s the most wonderful time of the year – the beginning of a newBest Guitarist in the World Joe Bonamassa tour! The Joe Bonamassa U.S. Spring Tour 2016 officially kicked off Saturday, April 23rd at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach, California. Joe’s killer band – and he’ll tell you they’re the best in the world – includes former member of Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble Reese Wynans on keys, Anton Fig from Dave Letterman’s former House Band on the drums, ridiculously in-demand session musician-magician Michael Rhodes, master of all things trumpet and horn arrangements Lee Thornburg, and ace saxophone player Paulie Cerra.

Blues Concerts Joe’s latest tour comes hot on the heels of the release of his latest #1 Billboard Blues Album, Blues of Desperation, a tour-de-force blues-rock experience filled with power and vigor, produced by Joe’s longtime collaborator Kevin Shirley. The set list from the first show of the tour was chock-full of the amazing material from that album. This includes an opener consisting of the gutsy, gritty blues call to arms of “This Train”, the rock and steel-shattering potency of “Mountain Climbing”, the bleary, tequila-soaked “Drive,” dripping with the kind of raw, wicked and unsettling sensuality that could make David Lynch green with envy, and the album’s title track “Blues of Desperation”, which captivates with its world-music flair and its battering-ram like riffs. The set list was rounded out with some choice covers like Nobody Loves Me But My Mother and Hummingbird and Joe Bonamassa classics such as Oh Beautiful! And Sloe Gin.

Best Guitarist in the World Joe came to the show prepared with an army of his incredible guitars. The show featured some of our favorite of Joe’s instruments, including his 1958 Mary Kaye Stratocaster, Amos the famous 1958 Gibson Flying V, his 1959 Gibson Les Paul “Carmelita”, and another Gibson Les Paul, this one from 1960, “The Runt”.

Blues Concerts Ah yes, Spring is in the air, and that means Joe Bonamassa tour time once again. Joe is thrilled to be back on the road with this band, these songs, and those guitars, and we hope you’re just as excited to see it. It’s going to be quite a set of shows. See you on the road!

Best Guitarist in the World Joe Bonamassa has two very important anniversaries to celebrate this week. The first is the anniversary of his birth, 39 years ago this Sunday, May 8th. The other cause for celebration is the 25th anniversary of when Best Guitarists Joe truly started out in the music industry with his Blues Concerts, a journey that would take him from small city New York wunderkind to international guitar hero.

It all began when a young Joe Bonamassa, already a master of his instrument and who at the age of 12 opened for blues icon B.B. King, was featured on the NBC show Real Life with Jane Pauley. Jane Pauley had seen Joe’s story on the AP wire and was blown away by what he was accomplishing. NBC’s Real Life with Jane Pauley aired a story on Joe that included coverage of Joe’s experience with B.B. King, who touted Joe as something truly special. This was the moment that his career would change forever – the real official start of his music industry career was born!

By being featured on the NBC program, the guitar prodigy was seen around the country and sought after by the music industry. He was soon signed by an ecstatic management company. Joe’s new business partners shopped his music to labels, but the recording labels didn’t see the commercial viability of Joe due to the fact that Joe didn’t sing or write.

So Joe’s management company decided to build a band around Joe to package him amidst a musical environment that was currently enamored with teenage bands.

Joe met Berry Oakley Jr., a bass player who was 18, and who was also friends with Waylon Krieger, son of Robby Krieger. Erin Davis, son of Miles Davis, was brought on board to play drums.

Thus, the band Bloodline was born to feature Joe and help him take his career to the next level. EMI signed Bloodline to a record deal, and Joe made his first record with Bloodline. The Bloodline project lasted for five years but then the band broke up.

At this point, Best Guitarist in the World Joe decided to pursue a solo career. Realizing he needed to be able to sing too, he spent two years taking vocal lessons ever before pursuing another record deal.

He was then signed by N2K Records but that company folded, leaving Joe in limbo with hisBlues Songs. A year later he was signed by Epic Records, who helped him record A New Day Yesterday with legendary producer Tom Dowd. Unfortunately, Sony Music was faced with bad earnings at that time, and they pulled the plug on the Joe Bonamassa project.

Instead of seeking a new label, Joe and his manager Roy Weisman formed their own label, J&R Adventures. They bought back the rights to A New Day Yesterday and released the album independently. Joe has been releasing albums that way since that time in 2000, which has given Joe the creative freedom he desired to put out records his way and create the best music possible. In 2006, Joe and Roy Weisman took Joe’s destiny even further into their own hands by promoting their own shows, elevating Joe from the club circuit that he’d been limited to, to much larger theaters.

By 2009, Joe’s career was becoming an unstoppable force, and that year culminated in a sold out show at Royal Albert Hall where Joe was joined by his hero Eric Clapton. Joe has an unbelievable fan base that truly loves and understands the music, and Joe knows that without the fans, this entire venture would have been impossible. He is humbled and extremely grateful for their passionate interest in his music. Since that time, Joe’s fans have continued to help his career become a true phenomenon, and the rest of this incredible journey is still in the making.

Check out Joe’s entire catalog now!

Soruce: Best Guitarist in the World

Best Guitarist in the World

Best Guitarist in the World Diaries

Best Guitarist in the World Joe Bonamassa has two very important anniversaries to celebrate this week. The first is the anniversary of his birth, 39 years ago this Sunday, May 8th. The other cause for celebration is the 25th anniversary of when Best Guitarists Joe truly started out in the music industry with his Blues Concerts, a journey that would take him from small city New York wunderkind to international guitar hero.

It all began when a young Joe Bonamassa, already a master of his instrument and who at the age of 12 opened for blues icon B.B. King, was featured on the NBC show Real Life with Jane Pauley. Jane Pauley had seen Joe’s story on the AP wire and was blown away by what he was accomplishing. NBC’s Real Life with Jane Pauley aired a story on Joe that included coverage of Joe’s experience with B.B. King, who touted Joe as something truly special. This was the moment that his career would change forever – the real official start of his music industry career was born!

By being featured on the NBC program, the guitar prodigy was seen around the country and sought after by the music industry. He was soon signed by an ecstatic management company. Joe’s new business partners shopped his music to labels, but the recording labels didn’t see the commercial viability of Joe due to the fact that Joe didn’t sing or write.

So Joe’s management company decided to build a band around Joe to package him amidst a musical environment that was currently enamored with teenage bands.

Joe met Berry Oakley Jr., a bass player who was 18, and who was also friends with Waylon Krieger, son of Robby Krieger. Erin Davis, son of Miles Davis, was brought on board to play drums.

Thus, the band Bloodline was born to feature Joe and help him take his career to the next level. EMI signed Bloodline to a record deal, and Joe made his first record with Bloodline. The Bloodline project lasted for five years but then the band broke up.

At this point, Best Guitarist in the World Joe decided to pursue a solo career. Realizing he needed to be able to sing too, he spent two years taking vocal lessons ever before pursuing another record deal.

He was then signed by N2K Records but that company folded, leaving Joe in limbo with hisBlues Songs. A year later he was signed by Epic Records, who helped him record A New Day Yesterday with legendary producer Tom Dowd. Unfortunately, Sony Music was faced with bad earnings at that time, and they pulled the plug on the Joe Bonamassa project.

Instead of seeking a new label, Joe and his manager Roy Weisman formed their own label, J&R Adventures. They bought back the rights to A New Day Yesterday and released the album independently. Joe has been releasing albums that way since that time in 2000, which has given Joe the creative freedom he desired to put out records his way and create the best music possible. In 2006, Joe and Roy Weisman took Joe’s destiny even further into their own hands by promoting their own shows, elevating Joe from the club circuit that he’d been limited to, to much larger theaters.

By 2009, Joe’s career was becoming an unstoppable force, and that year culminated in a sold out show at Royal Albert Hall where Joe was joined by his hero Eric Clapton. Joe has an unbelievable fan base that truly loves and understands the music, and Joe knows that without the fans, this entire venture would have been impossible. He is humbled and extremely grateful for their passionate interest in his music. Since that time, Joe’s fans have continued to help his career become a true phenomenon, and the rest of this incredible journey is still in the making.

Check out Joe’s entire catalog now!

Soruce: Best Guitarist in the World

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“Bonamassa is back with his best studio album since The Ballad of John Henry… Blues of Desperation is a future classic in the making.”

Bonamassa is back with his best studio album since The Ballad of John Henry.

Joe Bonamassa continues to push the boundaries of blues rock. With each new record, he challenges himself to deliver something new, something fresh, and keep things interesting whilst, at the same time, staying true to the roots of blues music.

For this album, Joe has assembled a formidable lineup of talent including amongst others dueling drummers Anton Fig and Greg Morrow, bassist Michael Rhodes, and the legendary keyboardist Reese Wynans of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble fame. In the command room, Joe’s long-time producer Kevin Shirley returns to the helm.

Blues of Desperation is packed full of masterful and technical guitar wizardry as you would expect from Joe. However, the album exhibits diversity which you won’t find on his other records. Bonamassa traverses both the familiar blues rock ground such as opening track “This Train,” which comes hurtling at you like a locomotive. He also takes a step outside of his comfort zone with the sweet, soulful acoustic number “Valley Runs Low” and makes it pays off.

The album’s production value is incredible; producer Kevin Shirley has worked his magic on this record. Subsequently, the addition of a second drummer, Greg Morrow, gives tracks like the infectious “Mountain Climbing,” one of the standout tracks on the album, additional texture and depth. The inclusion of orchestral elements like the slow blues number, “No Good Place For The Lonely,” is also incredibly effective.

Several tracks on the album have an immersive feel transporting the listener to another place or time. With “Livin’ Easy,” oozing with soulful sax and honky-tonk piano, it’s a downtown Chicago speakeasy bar. By comparison, Joe’s latest single “Drive” takes you on a late night road trip to New Mexico. The song feels as though it would be an equally suitable fit on a Hollywood movie soundtrack as it exhibits some of those atmospheric characteristics.

The epic, slide guitar monster of a title track has an almost Led Zeppelin-esque quality to it. The album closes with the superb slow blues number, “What I’ve Known For A Very Long Time.”

There is most certainly nothing desperate about Bonamassa’s latest offering; there isn’t a bad track on the album. Blues of Desperation is a future classic in the making.

The album is scheduled for release via J&R Adventures/Provogue (Europe) on March 25th and is available for pre-order on Amazon and iTunes on jbonamassa.com.

-Adam Kennedy, 08 Mar, 2016

Source:Best Guitarist in the World