I started this list as a playful jab at Neil Young's exhaustingly prolific discography, but the reality turned out to be even more outrageous than the parody. So now, in celebration of Neil's birthday, I present to you the top 30 Neil Young songs with the word "love" in their title. XD
As a disclaimer, although I like grouping songs by theme, I don't enjoy ranking them. But I made an exception in this case. Just know that the rankings are a general estimation. Thirty songs is a lot to put in order from best to worst (especially when some of them are over 10 minutes long).
Also, I'm focused more on song composition than particulars of a performance - so live versions have been ignored (except where, as in some instances, a studio recording is not available).
Top 30 Neil Young Songs With The Word "Love" In Their Title
1. Love And Only Love & Love To Burn [Ragged Glory, 1990]
Comments: Tied for first, because I sampled 31 songs and didn't want to have to chuck one off the bottom of the list. But also because I have a hard time picking one over the other - they're just both so good. Love And Only Love has a great, uplifting chorus ("love and only love will endure"), but of the two, I can play Love To Burn on guitar. Regardless, they're both top tier Crazy Horse jams from Neil's 1990 comeback album, Ragged Glory. They're not just great Neil Young songs with "love" in their title, but great Neil Young songs period.
2. When You Dance I Can Really Love [After The Gold Rush, 1970]
Comments: Originally released on Neil's third album, After The Gold Rush (incorrectly titled with "You" instead of "I"), the reach of this classic was amplified (literally) when Crazy Horse performed it on the Rust Never Sleeps tour in 1979. An ode to dance floor romance, it's hard not to listen to it without singing along and swaying to the rhythm.
3. Standing In The Light Of Love [Toast, 2001*] (*first released in 2022)
Comments: From a shelved turn-of-the-millennium Crazy Horse project (a contemporary to Are You Passionate?, which featured Neil's tribute song to 9/11, Let's Roll) that only managed to reach the light of day a couple of years ago. It's short, but it's heavy, with a strong riff, and a chorus that sticks with you.
4. She Showed Me Love [Colorado, 2019]
Comments: A relatively big investment with its 13-minute runtime, despite hailing from an album only five years old (from an artist that hit it big over ten times that long ago), this sounds like a classic extended Crazy Horse jam. The lyrics aren't afraid (as Neil never is) to broach the subject of environmental activism, but the delivery is softer than in some other songs. For an old white guy, Neil is doing more than his part to ensure that we HAVE a planet for our children to live on (if only that were enough).
5. Peace And Love [Mirror Ball, 1995]
Comments: In 1995, Neil Young swapped out his backing band Crazy Horse to record an album with Pearl Jam - an appropriate collaboration for the man who has been dubbed "the Godfather of Grunge". This song starts out with moderate energy, but picks up intensity, and is raised by the novelty of hearing Eddie Vedder singing on a Neil Young song.
6. A New Day For Love [The Monsanto Years, 2015]
Comments: Don't let the quirky opening fool you - once the guitar kicks in, this song rocks. Not having been previously acquainted with Neil's "Monsanto Years" - featuring the band Promise of the Real - I was pleasantly surprised by how good the two tracks I sampled were.
7. Gateway Of Love [Toast, 2001*] (*first released in 2022)
Comments: Our second entry from Toast, the turn-of-the-millennium Crazy Horse album that almost never was. This track is another extended jam. I feel like it has the vibe of Broken Arrow-era Crazy Horse. That album (from 1996) was good, but didn't really spawn any standout hits. Although I remember the accompanying live album from that tour being pretty tight.
8. Don't Take Your Love Away From Me [Bluenote Cafe, 2015]
Comments: My research indicates that this song was written for Everybody's Rockin', Neil's '80s experiment in rockabilly - but issues with the label prevented its inclusion. Which is unfortunate, because I like it. I actually have two versions. One was included on a compilation of '80s material titled Lucky 13, released in 1993. But I prefer the version from Bluenote Cafe, a live album released in 2015 that was recorded on tour for This Note's For You in 1987-88.
9. Act Of Love [Mirror Ball, 1995]
Comments: Interestingly, in more than one case I've encountered Neil Young albums that include two different songs with the word "love" in their title. This is another track from Neil's collaboration with Pearl Jam, Mirror Ball, and it's a straight-up, no-nonsense rocker.
10. People Want To Hear About Love [The Monsanto Years, 2015]
Comments: More of a rant than an anthem, I feel like this is the kind of stuff that guy that begrudgingly bought my Living With War t-shirt in a yard sale (he liked that it was Army green) meant when he said he wished Neil would just shut up. I, on the other hand, am on board with Neil's political and environmental activism. As Neil sang on A New Day For Love, "it's a bad day to do nothing."
11. Lookin' For A Love [Zuma, 1975]
Comments: Apart from Cortez The Killer (which is choice), Zuma is a mid-range Crazy Horse album from the mid-'70s, and this is a mid-range slow tempo rocker. Not bad, not necessarily great, either. But it's easy to sing and bounce along to.
12. Lotta Love [Comes A Time, 1978]
Comments: Before we get to the bottom half of this list, I just want to point out that a song doesn't have to be a hard rocker for me to like it - but when it comes to this softer fare, there's a good way and a bad way to do it. Not too much country, a good beat, fun lyrics to sing along to, and Neil's voice in prime condition? I can dig it.
13. Love In Mind [Time Fades Away, 1973]
Comments: Part of Neil's "ditch" trilogy of albums, which he recorded in the aftermath of the success that Harvest brought (along with the singles Heart of Gold and Old Man), and the last to be released on CD, Time Fades Away features this track, a moody piano ballad. It's short, but I like the somber mood that it creates.
14. Razor Love [Silver & Gold, 2000]
Comments: On the surface, this gentle acoustic ballad (that introduces the "greedy hand") wouldn't seem to be my kind of song, but for some reason I like it. It's pretty. I'm not even sure what exactly a "razor love" is (other than that it "cuts clean through"), but it's just a really intriguing image.
15. Only Love Can Break Your Heart [After The Gold Rush, 1970]
Comments: From After The Gold Rush, it's not nearly as good as When You Dance I Can Really Love, but I do like the lyrics. They're fun to sing along to. There's not much else going on in this song, but that's something. If you like the sentiment, I recommend you listen to Miley Cyrus on Mark Ronson's Nothing Breaks Like A Heart.
16. Love Is A Rose [Decade, 1977]
Comments: Recorded in 1974 for an album (Homegrown) that went unreleased until 2020, this song was compiled on Neil Young's Decade compilation in '77. Linda Ronstadt scored a hit with her country version of it. It's not the kind of song I'd usually go for, but I have a soft spot for it. It's a catchy little ditty, and I like the lyrics.
17. Love And War [Le Noise, 2010]
Comments: For an album titled Le Noise, you'd expect it to be more energetic. Instead, it's slow and somber. I like the sentiment of this song, though - although it could be described as "mopey", who among us hasn't known the feeling of trying to speak out, and having it just fall flat? I know I have...
18. Look Out For My Love [Comes A Time, 1978]
Comments: Although not scoring as high as the other song from Comes A Time on this list, I don't dislike it. I really think Neil's voice was sounding great on this album. I can't believe this is where I stopped buying his albums chronologically, especially because it's the final link connecting his prime material to Rust Never Sleeps, after which follows the experimental '80s period (where all but the diehard fans could be excused for dropping off).
19. Quit (Don't Say You Love Me) [Are You Passionate?, 2002]
Comments: From the album Neil intriguingly recorded with Booker T. and the MGs, during a time when he was reportedy going through some problems with his marriage. This song doesn't break ground, but it's got a nice, slow shuffle, with a good groove. And I like the guitar lead sprinkled throughout.
20. Sign Of Love [Le Noise, 2010]
Comments: There are songs on this list that I like more than you'd expect, and then there are others that I'd have expected to like more. I like the sound of the feedback on Le Noise - especially compared side by side to some of these other songs, but overall I just feel middling about it. I don't think the vocal effects are doing this song any favors.
21. Fool For Your Love [Bluenote Cafe, 2015]
Comments: Our second track from the Bluenote Cafe live album recorded in the '80s on tour for This Note's For You. Obviously, from its placement on this list, it's not as good as the other one. Not enough guitar, too much brass, a wooden backbeat...
22. Little Thing Called Love [Trans, 1983]
Comments: I'm sure it has its defenders, but Trans (as in Transformer Man, not transgender - unfortunately) is probably one of the most universally panned of Neil's questionable genre experiments in the '80s. The only thing that redeems this song is the slight edge to the guitar, and that it's got a pretty catchy chorus.
23. Train Of Love [Sleeps With Angels, 1994]
Comments: Dedicated to Kurt Cobain after his unfortunate suicide, you'd think this album would be like a Tonight's The Night for the '90s. Although there are a couple of memorable tracks (this isn't one of them), it kind of occupies a limbo space in my mind - despite featuring Crazy Horse.
24. Will To Love [American Stars 'N Bars, 1977]
Comments: I don't hate this track on principle (from the album that brought us Like A Hurricane), but every time it starts playing, my first instinct is to hit "skip". It's just a slog. For a song that's seven minutes long, there's no development. Being an acoustic song, it lacks the energy and the fire of Neil's electric jams. There aren't a lot of acoustic songs that can keep my interest for that long.
25. Love Earth [World Record, 2022]
Comments: I think there's a pattern, where I like Neil's rockers, but not so much his piano ballads - especially the ones that feature country flare. You know, for a singer that's put off a lot of listeners, I was never bothered by Neil's "shakey" voice - in his younger years. But now that he's getting older, the "grampa" voice doesn't do it for me.
26. I've Loved Her So Long [Neil Young, 1968]
Comments: On Neil's solo debut album, I don't think he'd quite developed his sound independent of his work with Buffalo Springfield yet (that wouldn't happen until he recruited Crazy Horse for his second album). With a choir and symphony, and Neil's voice at its shakiest, this definitely isn't one of his best tracks.
27. Hold On To Your Love [Trans, 1983]
Comments: The other track from Trans that made this list had the benefit of at least sounding superficially like a rock song. This song suffers from too much synthesizer - like something you might hear on the merry-go-round at the carnival. I give it a pass.
28. Don't Forget Love [Barn, 2021]
Comments: The first time I listened to Neil's first post-COVID album, the dominant impression was, "damn, he's getting old." In my head I was thinking, this could be the last album he ever records (thankfully, it wasn't). Even in his old age, Neil can still rock out - as evidenced by some of the other songs on this album - but this one is far too gentle for my tastes.
29. The Ways Of Love [Freedom, 1989]
Comments: From the album that brought us Rockin' In The Free World, with pedal steel guitar and harmonies courtesy of Linda Ronstadt, this acoustic ditty - which sounds halfway between Harvest and Harvest Moon - is far too light and countrified for my tastes.
30. For The Love Of Man [Psychedelic Pill, 2012]
Comments: A mostly forgettable track from 2012's otherwise memorable album, Psychedelic Pill - which was Crazy Horse's big resurgence post-2003's Greendale (which covers both times I've seen them live). With a slow shuffle, it's like a melodic funeral dirge.
Now, can you list 30 songs with the word "love" in their title by one of your favorite musical artists? I bet you can't. :-p
Showing posts with label rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rock. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Sunday, June 9, 2024
Zharth's Music Log is reborn!
For those who don't know or don't remember, in 2007-2008 I hosted a "music log" on my website. Every week for a whole year, I picked a theme, and then each day of the week I posted a classic rock or blues song that relates to that theme. It was a fun way to celebrate my love of music, and satisfy my creative and organizational mind, similar to what I used to do as a college radio DJ.
After the series concluded in July of 2008, I added a handful of extra themes as they came to me. I call this the Redux. Then there was a long break, and in 2018 I added the first new theme in six years. It was meant to be the conclusion of the Redux and the final theme. But thinking about the music log again, and also sharing it with a friend, got my creative juices flowing, and I started working on a new series of themes.
Over the past six years, those themes have been stewing in my head. I put a lot of groundwork down on them in 2021, before turning my attention to other things. But early this year, I began to feel inspired, and I decided it was finally time to launch the "third season" of Zharth's Music Log - which I refer to as Threedux. I've been publishing themes low key since February, and have already filled out two new "quarters" (a quarter year's worth of weeks, or 13 themes), when combined with Redux.
I thought that would be the end once and for all. But since I've been polishing and finalizing these themes, I've been coming up with new ones left and right, which I am now working on. I think that I will comfortably be able to fill out a full second year (added to the original run), with 26 more themes than what I have currently published. After that, I plan to stop, but who can say what the future will bring? (The longer I go, the harder it is to avoid repeating songs). But until then, there'll be lots of music to (re-)discover as the weeks go by!
See all the themes at zharth.net/zml.
After the series concluded in July of 2008, I added a handful of extra themes as they came to me. I call this the Redux. Then there was a long break, and in 2018 I added the first new theme in six years. It was meant to be the conclusion of the Redux and the final theme. But thinking about the music log again, and also sharing it with a friend, got my creative juices flowing, and I started working on a new series of themes.
Over the past six years, those themes have been stewing in my head. I put a lot of groundwork down on them in 2021, before turning my attention to other things. But early this year, I began to feel inspired, and I decided it was finally time to launch the "third season" of Zharth's Music Log - which I refer to as Threedux. I've been publishing themes low key since February, and have already filled out two new "quarters" (a quarter year's worth of weeks, or 13 themes), when combined with Redux.
I thought that would be the end once and for all. But since I've been polishing and finalizing these themes, I've been coming up with new ones left and right, which I am now working on. I think that I will comfortably be able to fill out a full second year (added to the original run), with 26 more themes than what I have currently published. After that, I plan to stop, but who can say what the future will bring? (The longer I go, the harder it is to avoid repeating songs). But until then, there'll be lots of music to (re-)discover as the weeks go by!
See all the themes at zharth.net/zml.
Friday, March 22, 2019
Joe Bonamassa - Redemption Tour (2019)
Introduction
It would have been hard for me to have topped the enthusiasm I had in anticipation of the last time I saw Joe Bonamassa live in concert - which sparked my desire to review his entire discography (an unfinished project; although time may give me the perspective I need to continue - I can't say "finish" so long as Joe is still releasing material). The truth is, having just seen Joe about a year and a half prior to the announcement of his next tour in the area, I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I questioned whether I wanted to go and see him again so soon. (Obvious spoiler: I ended up going). Part of that is due to the novelty wearing out of going to live concerts, after I've been to so many, and the logistics of scheduling a night in the city - when the truth is, Joe Bonamassa puts out so many concert DVDs, that if I have the hankering to watch him perform live, I can just pop one in and enjoy it from the comfort of my living room couch (and with a much better view of the stage, at that). Obviously, being there in person is a different experience, but as I grow older, I am also starting to grow concerned about pesky things like taking care of my hearing. But, in spite of my doubts and worries, it seems that fate conspired to send me to that concert anyway, as I was very thoughtfully gifted tickets over the holidays - and I am very grateful that things turned out this way.
Retrospective
This was the fifth time I've seen Joe Bonamassa live in concert, in a year that marks the fifteenth that I've been a fan. All the way back in 2004, three years after Joe began his solo recording career, I discovered the live companion to his first album A New Day Yesterday through the Grooveyard Records label (the patron saint of independent guitar rock). It was his cover of the Jethro Tull title track that blew me away and turned me into an instant fan. But his virtuosic talent, unwavering work ethic, and dedication to the same music that made me a music fan (blues-based rock from the '60s and '70s) is what fuels my undying loyalty to his career and musical output.
During the course of this concert, Joe mentioned (and not for the first time) how he started out playing (in this area) at a small bar named Moondogs. I've been there, but it wasn't until he played the Rex Theatre (a small, converted one-screen theater) that I first saw him live in 2006. He was at the tail end of the first leg of his career, on the verge of initiating what has become a very lucrative creative partnership with famed record producer Kevin Shirley. A yet relative unknown at the time, I remember Joe walking amongst the crowd before and after the show, as if he were one of us, and not the absolute guitar legend he's proven time and time again to be.
The second time I saw Joe live was at an open-air arts festival the following year, which was a lot of fun. It's hard to believe now, but that was the first time I'd ever heard the epic showstopper Sloe Gin (which I earmarked, even at the time, as being "maybe Joe's best song yet"). I also heard for the first time Joe's rendition of Just Got Paid, complete with the instrumental midsection from Led Zeppelin's Dazed and Confused interspersed into the middle. I remember thinking, "I hope there's an album released on this tour, so this song will be immortalized, in case it's just a one-off." Little did I know, there would be several live versions released over the years, starting with the one from 2008's Live From Nowhere in Particular.
The next time I saw Joe live in concert was in 2011, and he'd made his way to Carnegie Hall. He'd matured noticeably as a musician since the last time I saw him, at this point having also played his first show at the Royal Albert Hall in London (available on CD and DVD), which was a landmark for his career. It was the Dust Bowl tour, and I could tell that his music was evolving, with more musical experimentation. Following that was a gap of nearly six years, when I saw him again for the Blues of Desperation tour (two years ago), marking yet another new era for Joe - who has evolved considerably as a songwriter, and is still every bit the consummate performer, also engaged in myriad side projects paying homage to the greats of blues history, on both sides of the pond (between Muddy Wolf, The Three Kings - billed as Live At The Greek Theatre - and the British Blues Explosion). This latest show, touring for the following album, Redemption - which I call one of the best of his career - is in a similar vein.
The Show
Legend: MW = Muddy Wolf, 3K = Three Kings (a.k.a. Greek Theatre), BBE = British Blues Explosion, BoD = Blues of Desperation, R = Redemption, and unmarked tracks are classics from albums predating 2015
Two years and thirteen days after the previous concert, we returned to the Benedum Center for a repeat performance. We arrived on time for a change (after a pleasant dinner with family), and had to line up around the corner of the building to get in (on a very cold and blustery Saturday evening on which most of the city was preemptively celebrating St. Patrick's Day). A staffer announced as we walked past that there would (once again) be no opening act, just two hours and fifteen minutes of Joe and nothing else - and that's precisely what we got. After briefly reviewing the merch table (I went back and bought a nice tour shirt on the way out after the concert), and failing to spot a group of my other relatives that I knew were attending the concert (it was a big crowd - sold out), we climbed the stairs all the way up to our seats in the balcony, three rows from the back wall. No complaints - the music is absolutely loud enough to enjoy equally throughout the auditorium, and ticket prices have risen since the days of the Rex Theatre, now that Joe Bonamassa is a chart-topping artist (the blues chart, at least).
The show opened with a track from the Muddy Wolf album - Tiger In Your Tank. It's not my favorite opener (that would be the first one I heard - Takin' The Hit - from the Rex Theatre show), but I imagine it must be comforting to Joe to have a recording of Muddy Waters kicking off the action. Next we had a healthy set of four tracks from Joe's latest album - what I was most looking forward to, being that I hadn't heard any of them live yet. It started with King Bee Shakedown and Evil Mama making a rollicking pair, followed by Just 'Cos You Can Don't Mean You Should. This subset culminated with Self-Inflicted Wounds (probably my favorite song from the Redemption album), and one of the highlights of the night. It's a downhearted number, with some excellent guitar fretwork, and self-reflective lyrics. This live version concluded with an impressive and unexpected vocal solo (by Jade MacRae. if I'm not mistaken) reminiscent of Pink Floyd's Great Gig In The Sky.
After that, we had a few tunes from Joe's previous album, Blues of Desperation (which we'd heard the last time he came to town). The first one was This Train; although Joe teased us all by kicking it off with the opening section to Jethro Tull's Locomotive Breath (another train-themed song). I'm not gonna lie, This Train isn't my favorite song about trains that Joe plays (I'm partial to So Many Roads, myself, and I'd rather have heard Joe play Mountain Climbing again, from the same album), and judging from the buzz rising through the audience, I think we all would have been more excited to hear the rest of Locomotive Breath instead. Sorry, Joe. The next song was the title track from the album, but neat as it sounds, I have to admit it feels a bit loose in a live context, and I really would have rather heard the title track to Redemption - him not playing that song at all was the only regret I had for the night. I was very excited, on the other hand, to hear No Good Place For The Lonely again - a song containing one of Joe's best and most off-the-hook guitar solos in recent years.
I didn't think I would be so quickly impressed while basking in the glow of satisfaction from hearing that last song, but then Joe followed it up with his old standby, Sloe Gin, which I count as the Stairway To Heaven of Joe's repertoire. It's an amazing song - a very soulful blues, with an incredible guitar part. No matter how many times I've heard it, I don't think I could get tired of it. Since he didn't play it at the last concert, I thought he'd kinda retired it after it had (admittedly) had its fair share of time in the limelight. So I was surprised to hear it again, but very happy that he hasn't given up on it. For a man capable of shredding licks at lightning speed, there's a lot of soul in Joe's playing (moreso than some guitarists who merely regurgitate scales without knowing which notes to hang on), but what I like about the guitar part in Sloe Gin is that it's slower and more meditated and, well, more lucid than a lot of the other solos Joe plays. It's always a treat to hear.
At this point, Joe took a break to introduce his band - the same one, I believe, as on the last tour. Anton Fig on drums, Michael Rhodes on bass. Reese Wynans on keyboards. Paulie Cerra and Lee Thornburg on horns. Jade MacRae and Juanita Tippins on backup vocals. Truly a world-class band - as the level of Joe's talent demands (let alone earns) the best in musical support. At this time, Joe also made a little small talk, about turning the stage into a triage center - apparently he'd cut his finger, and was joking about the day he would become such a diva that he'd have to cancel a show over such a thing ("hashtag goals"); but we all know that would never happen. He also referenced having a cold the last time he played this town, but as then, if the cut on his finger detracted from his performance at all, I couldn't tell, and if he hadn't have mentioned it, I wouldn't have even noticed.
The introductions concluded with a surprise, when Joe drew the audience's attention to an extra amp set up on stage. On walked guitarist David Grissom (who has played for John Mellencamp among others), who joined Joe on a song from the Three Kings tour, Breaking Up Somebody's Home. Playing with one of his idols (like Eric Clapton at the Royal Albert Hall, or B.B. King on the Black Rock album) is one thing, but I was skeptical as to how well anyone could hold their own against a guitarist the caliber of Joe Bonamassa, who could play circles around most anyone on the planet. But David Grissom added some real fire to the song in an exciting duel in which the two guitarists traded licks, building up to a crashing crescendo. It was positively thrilling!
The regular portion of the show concluded with a set from the British Blues Explosion tour, two out of three songs of which I'd heard two years ago. The "Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton" song Little Girl started it off, followed by a double shot from Led Zeppelin's debut album. I think I enjoyed I Can't Quit You Baby more than when I first heard Joe's rendition of it on the live album. It starts with the opening section from a different Led Zeppelin blues, Tea For One (which Joe has previously covered). I felt that it was a little disjointed on the album, trying to combine two songs and losing the conviction of either one, but it was more thrilling to hear it live and in person, being one of my favorite (and not quite as popular, at least inasmuch as a Zeppelin song can be "underrated") bluesy Zeppelin songs.
As on Zep's original album, I Can't Quit You Baby segued into the album (and now show) closer, How Many More Times. This is an epic track (and such a delight to hear live, as if rock history were coming to life right before you) - surely the replacement for Just Got Paid (with its own ode to Zep's first album) in earlier concerts. As you listen to it, you slowly begin to realize that this must be the last song, because you can't imagine anything more bombastic, and anything played after it would be an anticlimax. Excepting the encore of course, for which Joe drug out his acoustic guitar, and played Woke Up Dreaming - the song he uses to stun the audience by playing faster and faster, until it no longer seems humanly possible.
After that, the rest of the band returned to the stage to play the true final song, Mountain Time - another epic number that has matured considerably from its humble days as a sub-four minute track from Joe's oft-overlooked (albeit not without some justification) sophomore studio album. I hadn't heard either of these final two songs at the concert two years ago, so I was a little bit surprised to hear them again, but looking back at the setlists from all the other times I've seen Joe live, they've been played at four out of five concerts, so they can definitely be considered staples of Joe's live setlist, at least as much as Sloe Gin is (if not even more so). It's fascinating to find out what songs stand the test of time, both from the standpoint of fan appreciation, and also what the artist continues to enjoy playing year after year after year.
I know Joe Bonamassa has been hinting at retirement lately, and my opinion as a longtime fan is that he deserves a rest. I don't call him the hardest working musician alive for no reason - he's been incredibly prolific - and "always on the road" is barely an exaggeration. I don't want to see him quit music entirely (I don't know how he could, it's so enmeshed in his DNA); I hope he continues to write and record throughout his life. But I would consider him fully justified in slowing down, quitting touring for a while, not pushing himself but waiting until the inspiration strikes to get back in the studio. Surely he's carved a name for himself (at least within the right circles), though I wish his songs would get more play - whether on the radio, or in movies, or what have you. Not out of any popularity/competition thing, but just because the music is so good. Beyond being a guitar virtuoso - which he's been from day one - his craft has matured and his songs have been very smooth and polished of late, yet without diminishing the raw force of his talent. Anything he puts out between now and retirement I will continue to gobble up hungrily; and if he does come back for another show in a year or two or three (or ten or twenty!), I'll still be game for it. It's always exciting to see what Joe Bonamassa will do next!
It would have been hard for me to have topped the enthusiasm I had in anticipation of the last time I saw Joe Bonamassa live in concert - which sparked my desire to review his entire discography (an unfinished project; although time may give me the perspective I need to continue - I can't say "finish" so long as Joe is still releasing material). The truth is, having just seen Joe about a year and a half prior to the announcement of his next tour in the area, I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I questioned whether I wanted to go and see him again so soon. (Obvious spoiler: I ended up going). Part of that is due to the novelty wearing out of going to live concerts, after I've been to so many, and the logistics of scheduling a night in the city - when the truth is, Joe Bonamassa puts out so many concert DVDs, that if I have the hankering to watch him perform live, I can just pop one in and enjoy it from the comfort of my living room couch (and with a much better view of the stage, at that). Obviously, being there in person is a different experience, but as I grow older, I am also starting to grow concerned about pesky things like taking care of my hearing. But, in spite of my doubts and worries, it seems that fate conspired to send me to that concert anyway, as I was very thoughtfully gifted tickets over the holidays - and I am very grateful that things turned out this way.
Retrospective
This was the fifth time I've seen Joe Bonamassa live in concert, in a year that marks the fifteenth that I've been a fan. All the way back in 2004, three years after Joe began his solo recording career, I discovered the live companion to his first album A New Day Yesterday through the Grooveyard Records label (the patron saint of independent guitar rock). It was his cover of the Jethro Tull title track that blew me away and turned me into an instant fan. But his virtuosic talent, unwavering work ethic, and dedication to the same music that made me a music fan (blues-based rock from the '60s and '70s) is what fuels my undying loyalty to his career and musical output.
During the course of this concert, Joe mentioned (and not for the first time) how he started out playing (in this area) at a small bar named Moondogs. I've been there, but it wasn't until he played the Rex Theatre (a small, converted one-screen theater) that I first saw him live in 2006. He was at the tail end of the first leg of his career, on the verge of initiating what has become a very lucrative creative partnership with famed record producer Kevin Shirley. A yet relative unknown at the time, I remember Joe walking amongst the crowd before and after the show, as if he were one of us, and not the absolute guitar legend he's proven time and time again to be.
The second time I saw Joe live was at an open-air arts festival the following year, which was a lot of fun. It's hard to believe now, but that was the first time I'd ever heard the epic showstopper Sloe Gin (which I earmarked, even at the time, as being "maybe Joe's best song yet"). I also heard for the first time Joe's rendition of Just Got Paid, complete with the instrumental midsection from Led Zeppelin's Dazed and Confused interspersed into the middle. I remember thinking, "I hope there's an album released on this tour, so this song will be immortalized, in case it's just a one-off." Little did I know, there would be several live versions released over the years, starting with the one from 2008's Live From Nowhere in Particular.
The next time I saw Joe live in concert was in 2011, and he'd made his way to Carnegie Hall. He'd matured noticeably as a musician since the last time I saw him, at this point having also played his first show at the Royal Albert Hall in London (available on CD and DVD), which was a landmark for his career. It was the Dust Bowl tour, and I could tell that his music was evolving, with more musical experimentation. Following that was a gap of nearly six years, when I saw him again for the Blues of Desperation tour (two years ago), marking yet another new era for Joe - who has evolved considerably as a songwriter, and is still every bit the consummate performer, also engaged in myriad side projects paying homage to the greats of blues history, on both sides of the pond (between Muddy Wolf, The Three Kings - billed as Live At The Greek Theatre - and the British Blues Explosion). This latest show, touring for the following album, Redemption - which I call one of the best of his career - is in a similar vein.
The Show
| Setlist: | |
| [MW] | Tiger In Your Tank |
| [R] | King Bee Shakedown |
| [R] | Evil Mama |
| [R] | Just 'Cos You Can Don't Mean You Should |
| [R] | Self-Inflicted Wounds (incl. vocal solo) |
| [BoD] | Locomotive Breath Intro/This Train |
| [BoD] | Blues of Desperation |
| [BoD] | No Good Place For The Lonely |
| Sloe Gin | |
| (Introductions) | |
| [3K] | Breaking Up Somebody's Home (feat. David Grissom) |
| [BBE] | Little Girl |
| [BBE] | I Can't Quit You Baby |
| [BBE] | How Many More Times |
| Encore: | |
| Woke Up Dreaming (acoustic) | |
| Mountain Time |
Legend: MW = Muddy Wolf, 3K = Three Kings (a.k.a. Greek Theatre), BBE = British Blues Explosion, BoD = Blues of Desperation, R = Redemption, and unmarked tracks are classics from albums predating 2015
Two years and thirteen days after the previous concert, we returned to the Benedum Center for a repeat performance. We arrived on time for a change (after a pleasant dinner with family), and had to line up around the corner of the building to get in (on a very cold and blustery Saturday evening on which most of the city was preemptively celebrating St. Patrick's Day). A staffer announced as we walked past that there would (once again) be no opening act, just two hours and fifteen minutes of Joe and nothing else - and that's precisely what we got. After briefly reviewing the merch table (I went back and bought a nice tour shirt on the way out after the concert), and failing to spot a group of my other relatives that I knew were attending the concert (it was a big crowd - sold out), we climbed the stairs all the way up to our seats in the balcony, three rows from the back wall. No complaints - the music is absolutely loud enough to enjoy equally throughout the auditorium, and ticket prices have risen since the days of the Rex Theatre, now that Joe Bonamassa is a chart-topping artist (the blues chart, at least).
The show opened with a track from the Muddy Wolf album - Tiger In Your Tank. It's not my favorite opener (that would be the first one I heard - Takin' The Hit - from the Rex Theatre show), but I imagine it must be comforting to Joe to have a recording of Muddy Waters kicking off the action. Next we had a healthy set of four tracks from Joe's latest album - what I was most looking forward to, being that I hadn't heard any of them live yet. It started with King Bee Shakedown and Evil Mama making a rollicking pair, followed by Just 'Cos You Can Don't Mean You Should. This subset culminated with Self-Inflicted Wounds (probably my favorite song from the Redemption album), and one of the highlights of the night. It's a downhearted number, with some excellent guitar fretwork, and self-reflective lyrics. This live version concluded with an impressive and unexpected vocal solo (by Jade MacRae. if I'm not mistaken) reminiscent of Pink Floyd's Great Gig In The Sky.
After that, we had a few tunes from Joe's previous album, Blues of Desperation (which we'd heard the last time he came to town). The first one was This Train; although Joe teased us all by kicking it off with the opening section to Jethro Tull's Locomotive Breath (another train-themed song). I'm not gonna lie, This Train isn't my favorite song about trains that Joe plays (I'm partial to So Many Roads, myself, and I'd rather have heard Joe play Mountain Climbing again, from the same album), and judging from the buzz rising through the audience, I think we all would have been more excited to hear the rest of Locomotive Breath instead. Sorry, Joe. The next song was the title track from the album, but neat as it sounds, I have to admit it feels a bit loose in a live context, and I really would have rather heard the title track to Redemption - him not playing that song at all was the only regret I had for the night. I was very excited, on the other hand, to hear No Good Place For The Lonely again - a song containing one of Joe's best and most off-the-hook guitar solos in recent years.
I didn't think I would be so quickly impressed while basking in the glow of satisfaction from hearing that last song, but then Joe followed it up with his old standby, Sloe Gin, which I count as the Stairway To Heaven of Joe's repertoire. It's an amazing song - a very soulful blues, with an incredible guitar part. No matter how many times I've heard it, I don't think I could get tired of it. Since he didn't play it at the last concert, I thought he'd kinda retired it after it had (admittedly) had its fair share of time in the limelight. So I was surprised to hear it again, but very happy that he hasn't given up on it. For a man capable of shredding licks at lightning speed, there's a lot of soul in Joe's playing (moreso than some guitarists who merely regurgitate scales without knowing which notes to hang on), but what I like about the guitar part in Sloe Gin is that it's slower and more meditated and, well, more lucid than a lot of the other solos Joe plays. It's always a treat to hear.
At this point, Joe took a break to introduce his band - the same one, I believe, as on the last tour. Anton Fig on drums, Michael Rhodes on bass. Reese Wynans on keyboards. Paulie Cerra and Lee Thornburg on horns. Jade MacRae and Juanita Tippins on backup vocals. Truly a world-class band - as the level of Joe's talent demands (let alone earns) the best in musical support. At this time, Joe also made a little small talk, about turning the stage into a triage center - apparently he'd cut his finger, and was joking about the day he would become such a diva that he'd have to cancel a show over such a thing ("hashtag goals"); but we all know that would never happen. He also referenced having a cold the last time he played this town, but as then, if the cut on his finger detracted from his performance at all, I couldn't tell, and if he hadn't have mentioned it, I wouldn't have even noticed.
The introductions concluded with a surprise, when Joe drew the audience's attention to an extra amp set up on stage. On walked guitarist David Grissom (who has played for John Mellencamp among others), who joined Joe on a song from the Three Kings tour, Breaking Up Somebody's Home. Playing with one of his idols (like Eric Clapton at the Royal Albert Hall, or B.B. King on the Black Rock album) is one thing, but I was skeptical as to how well anyone could hold their own against a guitarist the caliber of Joe Bonamassa, who could play circles around most anyone on the planet. But David Grissom added some real fire to the song in an exciting duel in which the two guitarists traded licks, building up to a crashing crescendo. It was positively thrilling!
The regular portion of the show concluded with a set from the British Blues Explosion tour, two out of three songs of which I'd heard two years ago. The "Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton" song Little Girl started it off, followed by a double shot from Led Zeppelin's debut album. I think I enjoyed I Can't Quit You Baby more than when I first heard Joe's rendition of it on the live album. It starts with the opening section from a different Led Zeppelin blues, Tea For One (which Joe has previously covered). I felt that it was a little disjointed on the album, trying to combine two songs and losing the conviction of either one, but it was more thrilling to hear it live and in person, being one of my favorite (and not quite as popular, at least inasmuch as a Zeppelin song can be "underrated") bluesy Zeppelin songs.
As on Zep's original album, I Can't Quit You Baby segued into the album (and now show) closer, How Many More Times. This is an epic track (and such a delight to hear live, as if rock history were coming to life right before you) - surely the replacement for Just Got Paid (with its own ode to Zep's first album) in earlier concerts. As you listen to it, you slowly begin to realize that this must be the last song, because you can't imagine anything more bombastic, and anything played after it would be an anticlimax. Excepting the encore of course, for which Joe drug out his acoustic guitar, and played Woke Up Dreaming - the song he uses to stun the audience by playing faster and faster, until it no longer seems humanly possible.
After that, the rest of the band returned to the stage to play the true final song, Mountain Time - another epic number that has matured considerably from its humble days as a sub-four minute track from Joe's oft-overlooked (albeit not without some justification) sophomore studio album. I hadn't heard either of these final two songs at the concert two years ago, so I was a little bit surprised to hear them again, but looking back at the setlists from all the other times I've seen Joe live, they've been played at four out of five concerts, so they can definitely be considered staples of Joe's live setlist, at least as much as Sloe Gin is (if not even more so). It's fascinating to find out what songs stand the test of time, both from the standpoint of fan appreciation, and also what the artist continues to enjoy playing year after year after year.
I know Joe Bonamassa has been hinting at retirement lately, and my opinion as a longtime fan is that he deserves a rest. I don't call him the hardest working musician alive for no reason - he's been incredibly prolific - and "always on the road" is barely an exaggeration. I don't want to see him quit music entirely (I don't know how he could, it's so enmeshed in his DNA); I hope he continues to write and record throughout his life. But I would consider him fully justified in slowing down, quitting touring for a while, not pushing himself but waiting until the inspiration strikes to get back in the studio. Surely he's carved a name for himself (at least within the right circles), though I wish his songs would get more play - whether on the radio, or in movies, or what have you. Not out of any popularity/competition thing, but just because the music is so good. Beyond being a guitar virtuoso - which he's been from day one - his craft has matured and his songs have been very smooth and polished of late, yet without diminishing the raw force of his talent. Anything he puts out between now and retirement I will continue to gobble up hungrily; and if he does come back for another show in a year or two or three (or ten or twenty!), I'll still be game for it. It's always exciting to see what Joe Bonamassa will do next!
Monday, May 14, 2018
ZML^2 - Yardbirds Covers
Preface: The last edition of Zharth's Music Log was posted almost six years ago, if you can believe that. But though this might not seem like a sufficiently awesome theme to resurrect the mlog over, the truth is, this is a theme I've been sitting on for a long, long time. And the Yardbirds - the quintessential guitar supergroup of the '60s, featuring no less than Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page on guitar (at various times) - interestingly, the focus of Joe Bonamassa's triple tribute to the British Blues Explosion, which is finally being released this month - is one of my favorite bands of all time. And they're not like Bob Dylan - official covers by high profile bands are few and far between. But every once in awhile I stumble upon one, and it's always a treat. And that's what we're celebrating this week.
The James Gang - Lost Woman (Live) [Live In Concert, 1971]
Comments: I think this is one of the first Yardbirds covers I stumbled across, and it's certainly the longest, being stretched out to a near 18 minute long mostly-instrumental jam by the early band that featured Joe Walsh of later Eagles fame - The James Gang, better known for their radio hit Funk #49 (you may not know it by name, but you'd probably recognize it if you heard it).
Rainbow - Still I'm Sad [Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, 1975]
Comments: Fresh from Deep Purple, guitar virtuoso Ritchie Blackmore paired up with one of heavy metal's first and foremost poster children - Ronnie James Dio - to form Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. Opening with the radio hit Man On The Silver Mountain, their debut album closed with an interesting choice of a Yardbirds cover, the melancholy Still I'm Sad, ably interpreted as an instrumental with a very lyrical lead guitar part.
Fleetwood Mac - For Your Love [Mystery To Me, 1973]
Comments: Sandwiched between the trailblazing Peter Green era and the chart-topping Buckingham-Nicks era, comes this Bob Welch-era cover of what was itself a transitional song for The Yardbirds - For Your Love. It's rumored that Eric Clapton quit the band after the release of this song, their first hit single (on which he refused to play), because the band was going in a more experimental direction, away from their blues roots. He transferred to John Mayall's Bluesbreakers for a short stint before setting off on his own progressive experiment with the Cream. His replacement in The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck, had and never has had a problem with musical experimentation.
Jeff Beck - Shapes of Things [Truth, 1968]
Comments: Recorded by a former Yardbird himself, not long off of his tenure with the band, on the debut album that paralleled Jimmy Page's own reinvention with Led Zeppelin's first album (a band that was originally billed as The New Yardbirds for contractual reasons), this is undoubtedly the least distilled cover we'll listen to this week, and yet, underneath Rod Stewart's distinctive vocals, Jeff Beck still manages to make it sound unique.
Rush - Heart Full Of Soul [Feedback, 2004]
Comments: One of two Yardbirds covers (the other being the band's most popular and most frequently covered song, Shapes of Things) featured on Rush's 21st century EP of covers, appropriately titled Feedback, also including the likes of Buffalo Springfield and The Who. Though never having been a diehard fan of Rush (but Working Man was one of the hardest rocking songs of the '70s), when this EP came out, I sat up and took notice. A band is only as good as its influences, after all.
Aerosmith - Think About It [Night In The Ruts, 1979]
Comments: Speaking of influences, Aerosmith is another band with great influences - and one of the few I know of who has covered both The Yardbirds and the Peter Green era of Fleetwood Mac. If you've ever listened to their song Livin' On The Edge, it contains a not-so-subtle homage to The Yardbirds' Mr. You're A Better Man Than I (I'd've liked to've heard them cover that one!). Although Aerosmith is somewhat known for doing The Yardbirds' signature cover of The Train Kept A Rollin', and I also have a live version of them doing I Ain't Got You, for this theme I picked the somewhat more obscure Think About It, which is interesting in that it features the guitar solo that Jimmy Page recycled for the middle section of Led Zeppelin's epic Dazed and Confused.
David Bowie - I Wish You Would [Pinups, 1973]
Comments: Perhaps the most unexpected artist to show up this week, from David Bowie's own album of covers (preceding Rush's Feedback by three decades, however) - also including the likes of The Who (as well as Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd), and yet another version of Shapes of Things - comes Bowie's tripped-out version of the harp-heavy blues I Wish You Would.
Honorable Mention: I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Tom Petty's cover of I'm A Man, which can be heard on his Live Anthology box set, released in 2009. Truth be told, I'd been holding off this theme for the sake of this very song, until I'd reached a point where I realized I had at least seven other Yardbirds covers accounted for! I'm not including it here because its heritage as a Bo Diddley tune is possibly even stronger than The Yardbirds' claim to it (although Muddy Waters might have something to say about that), and because it gives me an excuse to rule out another version of the song covered by The Who on their debut album from 1965, which I just don't have room for - there are only seven days in a week! It is absolutely still worth mentioning, however, as, like Aerosmith, Tom Petty was also an artist with strong influences, including both The Yardbirds and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. His unexpected passing last year has left a devastating hole in the music world.
The James Gang - Lost Woman (Live) [Live In Concert, 1971]
Comments: I think this is one of the first Yardbirds covers I stumbled across, and it's certainly the longest, being stretched out to a near 18 minute long mostly-instrumental jam by the early band that featured Joe Walsh of later Eagles fame - The James Gang, better known for their radio hit Funk #49 (you may not know it by name, but you'd probably recognize it if you heard it).
Rainbow - Still I'm Sad [Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, 1975]
Comments: Fresh from Deep Purple, guitar virtuoso Ritchie Blackmore paired up with one of heavy metal's first and foremost poster children - Ronnie James Dio - to form Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. Opening with the radio hit Man On The Silver Mountain, their debut album closed with an interesting choice of a Yardbirds cover, the melancholy Still I'm Sad, ably interpreted as an instrumental with a very lyrical lead guitar part.
Fleetwood Mac - For Your Love [Mystery To Me, 1973]
Comments: Sandwiched between the trailblazing Peter Green era and the chart-topping Buckingham-Nicks era, comes this Bob Welch-era cover of what was itself a transitional song for The Yardbirds - For Your Love. It's rumored that Eric Clapton quit the band after the release of this song, their first hit single (on which he refused to play), because the band was going in a more experimental direction, away from their blues roots. He transferred to John Mayall's Bluesbreakers for a short stint before setting off on his own progressive experiment with the Cream. His replacement in The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck, had and never has had a problem with musical experimentation.
Jeff Beck - Shapes of Things [Truth, 1968]
Comments: Recorded by a former Yardbird himself, not long off of his tenure with the band, on the debut album that paralleled Jimmy Page's own reinvention with Led Zeppelin's first album (a band that was originally billed as The New Yardbirds for contractual reasons), this is undoubtedly the least distilled cover we'll listen to this week, and yet, underneath Rod Stewart's distinctive vocals, Jeff Beck still manages to make it sound unique.
Rush - Heart Full Of Soul [Feedback, 2004]
Comments: One of two Yardbirds covers (the other being the band's most popular and most frequently covered song, Shapes of Things) featured on Rush's 21st century EP of covers, appropriately titled Feedback, also including the likes of Buffalo Springfield and The Who. Though never having been a diehard fan of Rush (but Working Man was one of the hardest rocking songs of the '70s), when this EP came out, I sat up and took notice. A band is only as good as its influences, after all.
Aerosmith - Think About It [Night In The Ruts, 1979]
Comments: Speaking of influences, Aerosmith is another band with great influences - and one of the few I know of who has covered both The Yardbirds and the Peter Green era of Fleetwood Mac. If you've ever listened to their song Livin' On The Edge, it contains a not-so-subtle homage to The Yardbirds' Mr. You're A Better Man Than I (I'd've liked to've heard them cover that one!). Although Aerosmith is somewhat known for doing The Yardbirds' signature cover of The Train Kept A Rollin', and I also have a live version of them doing I Ain't Got You, for this theme I picked the somewhat more obscure Think About It, which is interesting in that it features the guitar solo that Jimmy Page recycled for the middle section of Led Zeppelin's epic Dazed and Confused.
David Bowie - I Wish You Would [Pinups, 1973]
Comments: Perhaps the most unexpected artist to show up this week, from David Bowie's own album of covers (preceding Rush's Feedback by three decades, however) - also including the likes of The Who (as well as Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd), and yet another version of Shapes of Things - comes Bowie's tripped-out version of the harp-heavy blues I Wish You Would.
Honorable Mention: I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Tom Petty's cover of I'm A Man, which can be heard on his Live Anthology box set, released in 2009. Truth be told, I'd been holding off this theme for the sake of this very song, until I'd reached a point where I realized I had at least seven other Yardbirds covers accounted for! I'm not including it here because its heritage as a Bo Diddley tune is possibly even stronger than The Yardbirds' claim to it (although Muddy Waters might have something to say about that), and because it gives me an excuse to rule out another version of the song covered by The Who on their debut album from 1965, which I just don't have room for - there are only seven days in a week! It is absolutely still worth mentioning, however, as, like Aerosmith, Tom Petty was also an artist with strong influences, including both The Yardbirds and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. His unexpected passing last year has left a devastating hole in the music world.
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Joe Bonamassa - Blues of Desperation Tour (2017)
Joe Bonamassa - March 3, 2017 - Benedum Center
"The Guitar Event of the Year" may sound like promotional hyperbole - and with most acts, that would be the case - but when Joe Bonamassa is involved, it's nothing but the stone cold truth. I'd even go so far as to call it "the guitar event of your life", although I've now had four such events in my life (going back 11 years to 2006, when I saw Joe Bonamassa live for the first time), and I hope to have still more in the future.
| Setlist: | ||
| This Train | (om) | Blues of Desperation |
| Mainline Florida | (BB) | Eric Clapton |
| Mountain Climbing | (om) | Blues of Desperation |
| Blues of Desperation | (om) | Blues of Desperation |
| No Good Place For The Lonely | (om) | Blues of Desperation |
| How Deep This River Runs | (om) | Blues of Desperation |
| Boogie With Stu | (BB) | Led Zeppelin |
| Never Make Your Move Too Soon | (3K) | B.B. King |
| Angel of Mercy | (3K) | Albert King |
| (Introductions) | ||
| Love Ain't A Love Song | (om) | Different Shades of Blue |
| Dust Bowl | (om) | Dust Bowl |
| Little Girl | (BB) | John Mayall's Bluesbreakers |
| Pretending | (BB) | Eric Clapton |
| Black Winter/Django | (BB) | Led Zeppelin[-ish] |
| How Many More Times | (BB) | Led Zeppelin |
| Encore: | ||
| Hummingbird | (3K) | B.B. King |
(om) = original material, (3K) = Three Kings, (BB) = British Blues Explosion
I made a prediction for this concert. Judging from the trajectory of his career (and rumors that he was ejecting long-time staples such as Sloe Gin from his repertoire), I predicted that Joe would play nothing but original songs on this tour. In spite of the fact that he rose to prominence as a singularly talented cover artist, for his last couple of studio albums, Joe Bonamassa has dedicated himself solely to original compositions (with a little professional assistance). Presumably, if one is to play in the big leagues, one has to develop a songwriting craft, and not rely indefinitely on borrowing others' tunes (if we look at the history of The Rolling Stones, for example, we see a group that started out as a blues cover band, and only really hit it big when frontrunners Jagger and Richards decided to start writing their own tunes - and discovered they were pretty good at it). And if ever there was a time for Joe to take off the water wings (for better or worse), and see if he would sink or swim on the strength of his music alone, it seemed to me that this was the time.
But I was dead wrong. And I'm a little bit embarrassed, because I of all people should know Joe better than that. Leave it to him to eschew the traditional path to mainstream notoriety. I had forgotten one critical fact - Joe Bonamassa is not just a musician. He's also a music lover. And while a good half of the concert's setlist consists of original tunes - the vast majority of which hail from his latest studio album, Blues of Desperation - and none of them digging any further back than from the album Dust Bowl, I had underestimated the extent to which this tour would be an advertisement for Joe's other recent projects: the Three Kings and British Blues Explosion concept tours (featuring nothing but covers). The former has already been released under the title Live At The Greek Theatre (at least two of its highlights are represented here, including the encore, which was that show's climax). The latter is still on the way, explaining the fact that it brought all of the big surprises at this show, including the few songs I was not immediately able to identify.
In fairness, Joe played a good half of his latest album Blues of Desperation - and all the songs I'd have been most interested to hear (especially Mountain Climbing with its mean riff, and No Good Place For The Lonely with its off-the-hook outro solo). The show actually began with an audio recording of Muddy Waters playing Mean Old Frisco as the band took to the stage, before blasting into This Train, hinting back at Joe's other recent concept tour, Muddy Wolf, and emphasizing the fact that, basically - at its heart - the blues hasn't changed in the last 50+ years. It's just grown and evolved. The title track from Blues of Desperation sounded really good, as did How Deep This River Runs - leave it to a live performance (as ever) to enhance my appreciation for a song. I'm surprised Joe didn't play Drive - a mellower track, but one that I sense has been getting good press. I also would have expected to hear You Left Me Nothing But The Bill and the Blues and/or Livin' Easy, but I'm not disappointed, because what we did hear was probably even better.
I am, however, disappointed that I didn't get to hear either Oh Beautiful or Never Give All Your Heart - two of my favorite of Joe's more recent songs, from the preceding album, Different Shades of Blue - live and in person. I have to admit I'm surprised that he didn't play more tracks from that album, dragging out only Love Ain't A Love Song (albeit a popular one), while leaving off such songs as the title track, Living On The Moon, and I Gave Up Everything For You, 'Cept The Blues (all of which turned up on the recent Live At Radio City Music Hall album). Nor was there an acoustic set (not that I cried any tears over that development). The only other original tune Joe played - and the only song pre-dating 2014's Tour de Force - was the title track from Dust Bowl, which has received a bit of a makeover.
Clearly, I'm more of a thinker than a feeler - as I have an easier time analyzing the show than explaining how it made me feel. But what can I say? Joe Bonamassa is an amazing guitar player. I actually caught myself wondering a few songs into the show, is it possible to play a guitar solo in every song without it eventually getting stale? I guess that's a stupid thing for me to wonder, because I'm a huge guitar fan, and I could listen to an artist as talented as Joe play guitar for hours nonstop (and this show went for a full two plus hours from start to finish, without more than a minute or two's break before the encore). But a great show isn't just about the guitar (did I really just say that?) - it's also about the songs.
And the backing band. Joe's got a world class band backing him up - Anton Fig on drums, Michael Rhodes on bass, Reese Wynans on piano/organ. He's also got Lee Thornburg on trumpet, and Paulie Cerra on sax, plus Jade McRae and Juanita Tippins singing backup. The music veers a little more toward the horns and piano than I'd prefer, but that seems to be the direction Joe's going these days. When the band pulled out Never Make Your Move Too Soon (from the Three Kings tour - although Joe also previously recorded this song - in a slightly different arrangement - for his Had To Cry Today album), Joe left plenty of room for the band to shine, and I could just imagine B.B. King smiling down proudly from his lofty perch in blues heaven.
If pressed to choose a favorite song from this show, I'd be tempted to name Angel of Mercy, another remnant from the Three Kings tour. I noted when I listened to the recent Live At The Greek Theatre album that Joe has recycled the formerly-retired riff from A New Day Yesterday for this song, much to my delight. When he started playing it in concert, I recognized it, but couldn't quite place it, on account of it being such an old song in Joe's repertoire (that I hadn't heard live since the first time I saw him). But it came to me at the last minute before the first verse started, and for a brief moment, I thought that Joe was playing the first song of his that I ever heard, and the song that turned me into a lifelong fan. Alas, it was "only" Angel of Mercy (still a good song, though), but it was a thrill to hear nonetheless, as it's an incredible riff, and Joe plays it well. The song ended with an extended drum solo, so I think that Joe was intentionally channeling his earlier power trio days. Hats off to you, Joe, for not turning your back on your past, even if you have to cloak it in the vestiges of the ever-advancing present. (Isn't that just a metaphor for Joe's entire career?).
But there was more than one highlight that night - another one being the encore, Hummingbird, another song from the Three Kings tour (penned by Leon Russell and later recorded by B.B. King), which highlights the backup singers well. I didn't put two and two together at first, so much of the British Blues Explosion material threw me for a loop. I didn't recognize Mainline Florida (an Eric Clapton song), and though I heard Robert Plant singing in my head during Boogie With Stu, I naively presumed that Joe was covering an older song (Ooh, My Head/Soul?). I also recognized the lyrics from Little Girl, but couldn't place it as one of the 'b' tracks from the otherwise infamous "Beano" album by John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, featuring Eric Clapton on guitar. (Some obscure choices for covers - but they sounded pretty good in concert, providing some lighter rock fare between Joe's heavier, bluesy numbers).
It wasn't until Joe started playing the Eric Clapton song Pretending - which I recognized from having spied the British Blues Explosion tracklist previously - that I figured out what was going on. Surprisingly, there didn't appear to be any representation from either Freddie King or Jeff Beck (both of which could have been accomplished in one blow if Joe had played the song Going Down, which I've heard he played the night before - alas), but there's only so much time in one night. The show's climax was a spectacular rendition of Led Zeppelin's How Many More Times - another song that muddies up the distinction between these artists and tours (what with Albert King's The Hunter mixed into that song; on a related note, did you know that Jimmy Page recorded a version of Hummingbird for the 1988 album Outrider? I'll bet you could write up a setlist that you could just as easily call a tribute to American Blues as British Rock!). Hailing from the band's first album, it fills the hole left in the concert setlist by the removal of Just Got Paid, during the extended solo of which Joe liked to throw in the guitar solo from Dazed and Confused.
But before Joe broke into the very recognizable riff from How Many More Times, he spent several minutes in one corner of the stage playing guitar furiously and nonstop, culminating in a run-through of the instrumental Django that he recorded for You & Me (which really sounds great, by the way), and would usually play in concert as an intro to either Just Got Paid or Mountain Time. Researching other setlists, it would appear that this extended intro is a track Joe (or his fans) has taken to calling "Black Winter" - mimicking Jimmy Page's White Summer/Black Mountain Side. I wouldn't have made the comparison from the song alone - I don't know how similar musically they are - but as an extended solo instrumental emphasizing the player's virtuosity, they serve an identical role.
You know, when Joe addressed the audience midway through the night, he told us he had a terrible cold and was pumped up on prescription meds, but honestly, if he hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have even noticed. It didn't detract from his playing at all. And he seemed to be enjoying himself, in spite of it, as the audience was, too - enthusiastically. I know I was. This time around, I had the opportunity to bring my brother back to see Joe again for his second time, and to introduce a new fan who is now begging me to see him again the next time he comes around. I know musical tastes can be very individual - which is why I really enjoy being able to share what has become my all-time favorite guitarist and musical act with other people. Keep doing what you do, Joe Bonamassa - I look forward to seeing what you'll come up with next. (More Peter Green and Ten Years After covers, hint hint!)
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards The Daylight (2012)
1. Dislocated Boy
2. Stones In My Passway
3. Driving Towards The Daylight
4. Who's Been Talking
5. I Got All You Need
6. A Place In My Heart
7. Lonely Town Lonely Street
8. Heavenly Soul
9. New Coat Of Paint
10. Somewhere Trouble Don't Go
11. Too Much Ain't Enough Love
(w/Jimmy Barnes)
This is Joe's last studio album of his middle period (what I would call - at this point - his "golden age") - though this period also includes a following acoustic live album, and the monumental 8-disc Tour de Force. Afterward, Joe will redirect his efforts more fully toward producing original material, but we'll talk about that when the time comes. Like Blues Deluxe and Had To Cry Today, I like to group this album together contextually with Dust Bowl. Although the maturity of Joe's original songs (once again among the album's highlights) point toward his future reinvention, the record radiates a loose and effortless virtuosity that stands in contrast to the more deliberate craftsmanship that Joe will apply on his next studio album. This album also contains more covers than Dust Bowl (so, in inverted chronology, this would be the Blues Deluxe to Dust Bowl's Had To Cry Today) - yet the best ones are again those that are less obvious (e.g., surprisingly not the Robert Johnson or Howlin' Wolf covers).
Of the three original Bonamassa songs on this album, at least two are all-time greats. The album opens with Dislocated Boy, a different kind of slow rocker coming from Joe Bonamassa. The song starts with Arlan Schierbaum's organ, which is a welcome presence on the entirety of the album. There are some acoustic strings in the background, but the focus of the song is entirely on the electric rhythm. It has a bit of a Dust Bowl flavor, but the punctuated lyrics evoke images of a bar brawl ("knock down, drag out, bar fight - knuckles on the floor; and there's shattered glass, and one hell of a scar") - perhaps a modernized version of an Old West shootout. I'd call it a perfect compromise between Joe's musicianship, and listener accessibility.
Driving Towards The Daylight - the album's title track - is a more melodic, subdued affair, but no less seductive. I'd call it gently melancholic, but more wistful than your typical down-hearted blues. Joe's voice sounds fantastic, and the lyrics are perhaps even stronger yet (Danny Kortchmar shares a writing credit) - but I'll refrain from typing up half the song in my review. It's a stronger balance towards songwriting than virtuosity this time, but it still sounds damn fine. The other original on this album, Heavenly Soul, is more upbeat and plodding, with a good guitar tone and some vocal echo on the chorus. It sounds good; I like it. But I can't say it's a song that has left a very lasting impression on me.
Now on to the blues covers. Stones In My Passway is a good rock adaptation of one of my favorite Robert Johnson tunes, but I feel that it lacks the pathos of the original - which, to me, is a song about anxiety and depression ("I got stones in my passway, and my road seems dark at night; I have pains in my heart, and they're takin' my appetite") as much as the blues cliché of "bad luck and trouble". Lance Lopez - another guitar virtuoso I discovered through Grooveyard Records - also covered this song, and this is one of the rare cases where I prefer his high-octane version. Sonically speaking, Joe's recording may be more loyal to the original, but there's a reason I like British rock more than the blues legends upon whose music an empire was built. In Led Zeppelin terms, this song is less Whole Lotta Love and more Traveling Riverside Blues.
And on that note, we come to a cover of Who's Been Talking? by Howlin' Wolf - featuring an audio clip of the original bluesman talking in the intro (leading us into the call-and-response nature of the tune). It's got a swinging rhythm (some would say suspiciously reminiscent of a certain riff in Whole Lotta Love - or, rather, vice versa), but honestly it's a bit of a one-trick pony, and at only three and a half minutes (more than thirty seconds of which is just Howlin' Wolf talking), it doesn't stick around long enough to accomplish anything substantial. It is, however, an excellent preview (if but a small taste) of the "Muddy Wolf" tribute concert Joe would go on to perform in a few years.
Next up is a Willie Dixon tune originally recorded by Koko Taylor, an upbeat song filled with brazen confidence - I Got All You Need. The guitar part is bluesy, but I wouldn't be uncomfortable categorizing it as another of Joe's "junk food rockers". Following that, A Place In My Heart (originally by Bernie Marsden - guitarist of Whitesnake fame) carves out a nice, slow groove, proving that ballads ("no matter who you are, no matter what you do; there's a place in my heart for you") are so much better with a soulful blues guitar lead. Like Dust Bowl's Heartbreaker, this was another great choice for a cover by a surprisingly obvious artist. I suppose even Joe's "classic rock" covers are growing up.
Like Dust Bowl, this album closes with one of its strongest tracks, and this time it's one of Joe's covers featuring the original artist as a special guest. The song is Too Much Ain't Enough Love, and the guest is Jimmy Barnes. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you might not have heard of him, but he's one of the elder statesmen of Australian rock, past and current member of the band Cold Chisel. He's a fantastic singer, and this is an excellent song, to which Joe's guitar serves as stirring accompaniment. Time and age haven't dulled Barnes' talent, and Joe is in top form, at a point in his career when he's accomplished much, but still has further to go. It's a perfect time for him to release a killer live album - or four - but first, he'll experiment with an all-acoustic show.
Rating: 💿💿💿 Frequent Spin
Friday, February 17, 2017
Joe Bonamassa - Beacon Theatre: Live From New York (2012)
1-1. 72nd St. Subway Blues
1-2. Slow Train
1-3. Cradle Rock
1-4. When The Fire Hits The Sea
1-5. Midnight Blues
1-6. Dust Bowl
1-7. The River
1-8. I'll Take Care Of You (with Beth Hart)
1-9. Sinner's Prayer (with Beth Hart)
1-10. You Better Watch Yourself
1-11. Steal Your Heart Away
2-1. Bird On A Wire
2-2. Down Around My Place (with John Hiatt)
2-3. I Know A Place (with John Hiatt)
2-4. Blue And Evil
2-5. Walk In My Shadows (with Paul Rodgers)
2-6. Fire And Water (with Paul Rodgers)
2-7. Mountain Time
2-8. Young Man Blues
2-9. [Bonus] If Heartaches Were Nickels
Beacon Theatre is another live album that originally flew under my radar, at a point when Joe's creative output was beginning to exceed the typical one album per year - what with all the side projects he was getting involved in, between Black Country Communion, Beth Hart, and in another year or so, Rock Candy Funk Party. Compared to his last live album, this one feels less like a coherent show than a collection of live tracks, although that might just be because there's no real centerpiece. Sloe Gin is conspicuously absent - although, to be fair, we've heard two live versions by this point already (and will get two more on the soon to come Tour de Force) - as is the showstopping Just Got Paid. This may be a blessing in disguise, however, as you wouldn't really want every live album to have the same tracklist (and Joe has been really great about this). Instead, the spotlight here is spread out between three special guests (I like to informally refer to this album as "Joe Bonamassa & Friends"), none with quite the clout of Eric Clapton (who appeared on Live From The Royal Albert Hall), although I suppose Paul Rodgers comes pretty close.
The setlist for this concert consists largely of tracks from Joe's latest two albums, Black Rock and Dust Bowl - which is just as you would want. The show opens with a live version of Slow Train, giving you a chance to hear what it sounds like in concert. Then Joe dips back to his first album for the Rory Gallagher cover Cradle Rock, before pulling out Black Rock's When The Fire Hits The Sea, plowing through these songs like he's just getting warmed up. Following that is a cover of Gary Moore's Midnight Blues ("in the darkest hour of the darkest night, it's a million miles to the morning light"), which is a moody, slow blues with a searing guitar solo, that won't turn up on any of Joe's studio albums, but that we'll hear again on the Tour de Force.
It's definitely one of the highlights of this show, as is the title track from Dust Bowl, which, in my personal opinion, sounds even better live, with more emphasis on the electric instruments, and an extended solo. Joe also digs out The River, one of my favorites from his earlier days, but, while still sounding good, most of Joe's songs peak early in concert, as Joe continuously turns his attentions to his contemporary material. You might consider this a shame if you like those old songs (as I do), but it's good that so far Joe hasn't had to fall back and rely on past glories. (Even the nostalgia-heavy Tour de Force could be viewed as a ritual to honor the past in order to give Joe the freedom to move forward into a new era). Maybe a day like that will eventually come - although with his talent, I can't imagine Joe ever plateauing, just changing directions - but it hasn't come yet.
The first special guest on this album is Beth Hart (who I would describe as a "gloomy" soul singer), with whom Joe has recorded a couple of albums. I've voiced my opinions on her before; suffice to say, she's a very talented singer, but I don't enjoy Joe Bonamassa's collaborative material with her as much as his solo output. That having been said, this live album features the two best tracks from their first album together, Don't Explain, which are the two that feature Joe most prominently (which makes sense, as this isn't a Beth Hart concert). Those two tracks are I'll Take Care Of You - a dramatic, slow burner - and the rocking blues, Sinner's Prayer - which you might remember Eric Clapton covering on his '90s blues album, From The Cradle. Simply put, it's Beth Hart for Joe Bonamassa fans, which is just the introduction you'd expect from this live album.
The show continues with Dust Bowl's You Better Watch Yourself, which, like most songs in Joe's repertoire, is improved by its live energy. It has a great solo, falling into the tradition of what I like to refer to as "junk food rockers". These are songs that aren't showstoppers, and could even be called "filler" - but not because they're boring. They fill you up and never let you down. In contrast, Steal Your Heart Away, from Black Rock, is more of a "take it or leave it" track - it has a good chorus, but the guitar part pales in direct comparison to the last song. Disc two of this album opens with a cover of Leonard Cohen's Bird on a Wire. On Black Rock, this was a pretty acoustic ballad that didn't do much for me, personally. It's still not one of my favorites, but this live version is interesting, because, though still pretty laidback, it's fully electric.
Special guest number two is John Hiatt. You'd think he'd be performing Tennessee Plates, which he recorded with Joe on Dust Bowl. But instead, he pulls out a haunting acoustic number called Down Around My Place, to which Joe applies a thrilling electric crescendo. I'd say we got the benefit of that substitution. The duo also plays I Know A Place, a song that Hiatt wrote, and that Joe recorded for Black Rock. Following that is a live version of a song I wouldn't have expected to hear in concert - my favorite track from Black Rock, Blue And Evil. It skips the acoustic part completely (ironically, in one of the few cases where I think it adds to the song), making me wonder if Joe consciously steered clear of acoustic music on this live album because he was anticipating the full acoustic tour he'd be doing in the near future. Regardless, this is one of those rare cases where I actually prefer the polish of the studio version.
Joe's third guest is none other than Paul Rodgers of Bad Company fame - although Joe's interest in the musician goes back further, primarily to his days with the underappreciated band Free (which is, I'm discovering, a whole lot more than the one hit wonder who put out All Right Now). Like Hiatt, Rodgers has another surprise for the audience. Instead of doing Heartbreaker, which Joe performed with Glenn Hughes on Dust Bowl, they pull out one of Joe's songs from his first album, Walk In My Shadows - which also happens to be a cover of a song by Free! Honestly, I think I would have preferred to hear Heartbreaker, but what can you say? Their second song together, Fire and Water, is a classic Free tune with a killer riff - and one that Joe hadn't previously covered.
The concert concludes with another soaring, twelve minute long version of Mountain Time - which still sounds fantastic. This is a song that hasn't yet begun to lose steam. Following that is an extended cover of The Who's Young Man Blues. Like Just Got Paid, it's a live-only song that Joe hasn't recorded in the studio. I suppose it should be considered Joe's next big classic rock cover, but it only goes to show that Joe's moved into another phase of his career, that I've never gotten as excited about this song as many of his earlier ones. I hate to say this, but it actually feels uncharacteristically sloppy (it really does sound like an encore). Not that it doesn't have a lot of rock energy (channeling the sort of wild abandon that might one day have concluded with Pete Townshend demolishing a guitar), but it's not as tight as The Who's best live performances were. Still, I'm glad it made it onto an album for posterity.
Bringing up the rear - and listed as a bonus track on my CD - is a unique version of one of my earliest favorites from Joe's repertoire, the slow blues If Heartaches Were Nickels ("if wine and pills were hundred dollar bills, I might keep you satisfied; if broken dreams were limousines, I might take you for a ride"). This version is sparser than the one found on A New Day Yesterday Live, with a heavy emphasis on the vocals (but not without a suitably searing guitar solo) - demonstrating how far Joe has come as a singer in the decade separating these two recordings. I love it. This is a song that consistently gives me goosebumps, and puts a lump in the back of my throat, even after all these years. It's amazing, but with the acoustic version on Live From Nowhere In Particular, this is the third distinct version of the song that I think is worth putting on a greatest hits collection (or, more likely, series of collections).
I couldn't call Beacon Theatre Joe's best or most characteristic concert, and it likely wouldn't be one of the first ones you'd turn to if you wanted to demonstrate to a prospective fan what a Joe Bonamassa concert could sound like. But it's still a very good live album; I might even rate it higher than Live From The Royal Albert Hall. Within the next few releases, however, we'll encounter both my top favorite, and least favorite live album in Joe's discography...so far.
Rating: 💿💿 Occasional Spin
Monday, February 13, 2017
Joe Bonamassa - Dust Bowl (2011)
1. Slow Train
2. Dust Bowl
3. Tennessee Plates (feat. John Hiatt)
4. The Meaning Of The Blues
5. Black Lung Heartache
6. You Better Watch Yourself
7. The Last Matador Of Bayonne
8. Heartbreaker (feat. Glenn Hughes)
9. No Love On The Street
10. The Whale That Swallowed Jonah
11. Sweet Rowena (feat. Vince Gill)
12. Prisoner
Following the experimental departure of Black Rock, Joe returns with another solid album in the vein of The Ballad of John Henry, even reviving its American frontier theme. There are some familiar beats here, but this is an album representative of another transitional period in Joe's career. Having attained the polish of a professional artist, Joe would play around for a couple more albums before striking out more confidently as a songwriter. But if his next studio album ends up feeling like a premonition of things to come, this album still features a blend of the themes from The Ballad of John Henry, with some of the instrumentation carried over from Black Rock.
This will not be Joe's last album to start with a song about trains, but as far as opening tracks go, Slow Train is one of the better ones. It revs up like a steam-powered locomotive, featuring sound effects (interestingly, producer/impresario Kevin Shirley shares a credit on this song) that, as I've written before, take the old blues tradition of simulating the sound of trains with one's instrument to its hard-rocking conclusion. The third time I saw Joe Bonamassa in concert was during his Dust Bowl tour, and in the years since, the most enduring memory from it was hearing the band bring this train to life (sonically speaking) right before our very ears. Joe stays in character for the next song - the title track, with its wistful guitar tone that evokes the melancholy mood of Chris Isaak's Wicked Game. A Bonamassa original, the lyrics are catchy ("lifting me up, tearing me down; all you give me is indecision, the classic runaround"), and it sounds just as good (if not better) both live and in acoustic form.
The two songs that rest inside the album's bookends are guest spots, and both veer toward country territory (also with piano accompaniment). The earlier one features John Hiatt (who wrote Black Rock's I Know A Place) on a lightweight ditty called Tennessee Plates; and the later one, called Sweet Rowena, balances the line between country and blues, as Joe plays his guitar very much in B.B. King mode over the contributions of Vince Gill. Neither of these tracks are among my favorites - not because they aren't any good, but simply because they wander outside of my musical comfort zone. My next least favorite song on the album would probably be Black Lung Heartache, despite its contribution to the album's overarching concept. It's bluesy, and it rocks pretty hard at times, but it marries the worst parts of my least favorite Bonamassa albums, utilizing the eclectic instruments of Black Rock with the acoustic/electric hybrid approach of Sloe Gin.
In the middle distance, we have a scattering of solid songs to fill out the album. The Meaning of the Blues has a good concept, and a crunchy guitar tone throughout, but it doesn't go that extra mile to distinguish itself, in my opinion. With heritage owing to Little Walter, You Better Watch Yourself is a classic blues rocker with a heavy emphasis on the wah pedal (and whatever Joe might say about the need for restraint, I've always enjoyed a good wah song - White Room, anyone?). The Last Matador of Bayonne (conjuring some of that European imagery from Black Rock) slows it down a bit, evoking a similar, mournful atmosphere to The Great Flood, but inevitably feels like a retread in the wake of that song (not that it isn't still fun to listen to). It's more imaginative, but less raw - and I like my blues raw. And then there's The Whale That Swallowed Jonah, with its upbeat tempo and a guitar part that reminds me of Lonesome Road Blues. It sounds good, but has otherwise not made a lasting impression in my mind.
Then we come to Heartbreaker - a cover of a song by Free (not Led Zeppelin - sorry!) - which is an exciting tune ("I said my maker must have been a heartbreaker"). It features guest vocals by Glenn Hughes, the Deep Purple alum with whom Joe was performing in rock supergroup Black Country Communion around that time. In spite of the musical pedigree of these two giants, I don't think this cover necessarily rivals the distinct sound and attack of Pauls Rodgers and Kossof on the original. I'd be inclined to put it on the shelf with One Of These Days as a cover that doesn't improve on the original. That having been said, it really does sound good, and the more I listen to it, the more I'm liking it.
Opening with sirens, No Love On The Street (also a Tim Curry cover) passes itself off as a direct coda to one of Joe's best recorded songs - Sloe Gin (as a matter of fact, I enjoy playing these two tracks back to back). It doesn't spend its time building up to a crescendo, but is instead solid guitar energy throughout, with Joe playing the way I like best - attacking those notes like sharpened steel. I rate it one of my all-time favorite "deep cuts" from Joe's discography, and my favorite track on this album. As much as I love the way Sloe Gin ends in concert, in my fantasies, I'd love to hear a live version of it with this song tacked on to the end.
The album closes with Prisoner, a dramatic Barbra Streisand cover ("I'm like a prisoner, captured in your eyes; I've been taken, I've been hypnotized") that lends itself surprisingly well to Joe's musical approach - although listening to the original now, Joe's guitar-heavy adaptation sounds like a natural evolution for the song. Without being a traditional blues, it has the kind of emotion and intensity you typically find in Joe's best slow blues. Along with Reconsider Baby from Had To Cry Today, I rate this as one of the all-time best unsung covers in Joe's discography. It's a stunning end to a stellar album from what I would consider Joe Bonamassa's "golden age" (the period that began with You & Me, and continues through the Tour de Force). I don't know if I'd prefer it to The Ballad of John Henry, but it's essential middle-period Bonamassa nonetheless.
Rating: 💿💿💿 Frequent Spin
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Joe Bonamassa - Black Rock (2010)
1. Steal Your Heart Away
2. I Know A Place
3. When The Fire Hits The Sea
4. Quarryman's Lament
5. Spanish Boots
6. Bird On A Wire
7. Three Times A Fool
8. Night Life
9. Wandering Earth
10. Look Over Yonders Wall
11. Athens To Athens
12. Blue And Evil
13. Baby You Gotta Change Your Mind
Like Sloe Gin, Black Rock is another experimental departure for Joe. It was recorded in Greece (at Black Rock Studios in Santorini), and features a mediterranean, "world music" sort of flavor, with the addition of various folk instruments. It rocks considerably harder than Sloe Gin, but the songs feel a little disjointed, and in my opinion actually suffer from an attempt to fuse different musical forms, instead of planting themselves firmly in one camp or the other. Prior to reminding myself of the extent to which Sloe Gin is an acoustic album during this retrospective listening marathon, I had considered Black Rock to be my least favorite Joe Bonamassa album (even below So, It's Like That), and it's still among those I listen to the least frequently, surpassed only by the likes of An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House.
But saying that I don't especially like the album doesn't mean that it is entirely without merit. Notable highlights might include the Jeff Beck cover, Spanish Boots (though appropriately European-themed, it pales in comparison to the best of Joe's earlier period classic rock covers); Joe's "long time coming" duet with lifetime mentor and celebrated blues legend B.B. King on Night Life (although, as with Eric Clapton's guest appearance on Live From The Royal Albert Hall, the recording cannot hope to reflect the momentousness of the occasion); and my personal favorite, Blue And Evil, which opens with an acoustic riff but quickly blasts into full electric force (with the meanest riff since Cream's Politician), reminding me of an earlier favorite: The River from Had To Cry Today.
The album opens on what is probably its strongest foot, with Steal Your Heart Away, a solid rocker, and the John Hiatt-penned I Know A Place, followed by When The Fire Hits The Sea (a title that evokes mental images of Greek fire). That last one has a strong vocal part, but like much on this album, I don't feel that it reaches the extra mile to distinguish itself as "great". Upon repeated listening, Quarryman's Lament (possibly a sequel to Story of a Quarryman from The Ballad of John Henry) has grown on me the most, and is what I would call the best demonstration of the bouzouki and clarino accompaniment on this album (which, quite honestly, can get in the way on some of the other songs), giving it a flutey, stringy kind of sound.
For an album that features both a Freddie King and an Otis Rush cover (Look Over Yonders Wall and Three Times A Fool, respectively), I don't really feel that it brings the blues. Maybe it's just the context of the album they appear on, or that they're more blues fillers than showstoppers, but I like the original artist's version better in both cases. Wandering Earth (an original) is probably the most traditional-sounding Joe Bonamassa track on the album, but as an electric blues, it feels kind of lethargic. Joe's cover of Leonard Cohen's Bird on a Wire is sweet and gentle, but it makes me wonder if this is part of Kevin Shirley's ploy to expand Joe's popularity into the female demographic. The other strictly acoustic track on this album, Athens to Athens, similarly leaves me dry.
Finally, the album closes with a lightweight acoustic ditty - a cover of Blind Boy Fuller's Baby You Gotta Change Your Mind - that reminds me of Van Halen's Ice Cream Man, albeit not so gimmicky, and with less vocal theatrics (as opposed to, say, Joe's cover of Jelly Roll from Sloe Gin). It also kinda dulls the thunder of Blue and Evil, which directly precedes it, and would have made for a more climactic finish to the album. Coming to Black Rock as a fan of Joe Bonamassa the blues rock titan, it doesn't get me very excited. But you might find it considerably more interesting if you're someone with a deeper appreciation of Greek or "world" music. And, hey, every new fan of Joe helps to build his legacy as one of the greats! But if I had to choose, I'd just as soon put another of Joe's discs on the turntable for a spin.
Rating: 💿 Rare Spin
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Joe Bonamassa - Live From The Royal Albert Hall (2009)
1-1. Django1-2. The Ballad Of John Henry
1-3. So, It's Like That
1-4. Last Kiss
1-5. So Many Roads
1-6. Stop!
1-7. Further On Up The Road
1-8. Woke Up Dreaming
1-9. High Water Everywhere
1-10. Sloe Gin
1-11. Lonesome Road Blues
2-1. Happier Times
2-2. Your Funeral My Trial
2-3. Blues Deluxe
2-4. Story Of A Quarryman
2-5. The Great Flood
2-6. Just Got Paid
2-7. Mountain Time
2-8. Asking Around For You
The theme of this era of Joe's career is making it as an established artist, and this concert is the crystallization of that concept - Joe's first performance at the esteemed Royal Albert Hall in London, proof positive that he had very well and truly "made it". I would actually recommend you get the DVD over the CD, because this is a concert that's more fun to watch than listen to, because the DVD really hammers home the personal significance of this show for Joe, and the road he's taken to get there. And though it may have been, as Joe says, the "greatest night of [his] life" (up to that point), I have to be completely brutal here, because sonically, it's not his best live album.
And I hate to say anything bad about a Joe Bonamassa concert (much less one as monumental as this), because he's a remarkably consistent musician, and even on his "off" days, he still delivers an incredible show, and is heads and shoulders above his competition. And I'm sure this would have been a phenomenal show to have attended (and the DVD gives you a better feel for that), but when you have many different concert recordings to choose from (including another one at the Royal Albert Hall during the fantastic Tour de Force), the merely good inevitably gets passed over for the great. That's just how it goes.
From the very first time I listened to this show, I felt that Joe seemed uncharacteristically nervous, and that it affected his playing. Now, this is completely understandable - being such a landmark show, and having the pressure of performing a song with a lifelong idol and one of his biggest inspirations. But it's like he's trying too hard to put on a good show, when most of his shows seem effortlessly flawless. A lot of the songs sound loose and untamed (but with less of a wild ferocity than an aimless wandering), he pushes his vocals a little harder than they really need to go, and some of the older songs (particularly from the power trio days) suffer from overinstrumentation.
To start with, Eric Clapton's guest spot on Further On Up The Road is a bit anticlimactic. I hate to say that, because I'm sure it meant the world to Joe, but I've always had the opinion that Eric Clapton is a little bit overrated as a guitarist, given how massively influential he was. And in the category of special guests, Paul Jones shows up to play harmonica on Your Funeral My Trial. A lot of the songs heard on Live From Nowhere In Particular are repeated here, and don't necessarily sound any better than they did before. The acoustic powerhouse Woke Up Dreaming has notably been extended a couple more minutes, with an interesting new opening section. And it's great to hear a live version of Blues Deluxe, but though the guitar part sounds fantastic, the rest of the song drowns in the brass and piano accompaniment.
The highlights of this concert, musically speaking, would have to be the new songs from The Ballad of John Henry, heard for the first time live. Among those is, of course, the title track, which is exciting to hear, but it will take some time yet for it to grow into an epic rivaling Joe's other showstoppers such as Mountain Time and Just Got Paid (here pushed back to the end of the concert), and the encore, Asking Around For You, which - itself at ten minutes - is beginning to grow a little unwieldy. The rest constitute the best tracks from the album, including Stop!, Last Kiss, Lonesome Road Blues, Happier Times, and The Great Flood, although many of these are worth waiting for their Tour de Force versions. I know it probably doesn't sound like it from my review, but this is by no means a bad album. (And I still recommend the DVD). It's just that there are better ones out there, and I don't listen to this one as frequently.
Rating: 💿💿 Occasional Spin
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Joe Bonamassa - The Ballad of John Henry (2009)
1. The Ballad of John Henry
2. Stop!
3. Last Kiss
4. Jockey Full of Bourbon
5. Story of a Quarryman
6. Lonesome Road Blues
7. Happier Times
8. Feelin' Good
9. Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter
10. The Great Flood
11. From The Valley
12. As The Crow Flies
Whether or not you call it his best (there is a lot more greatness to come!), I feel like this is the quintessential Joe Bonamassa album. Upon reflection, John Henry is a perfect choice to symbolize what Joe stands for. A true American legend, John Henry was the steel-driving man who raced a steam-powered engine, and won. And though the effort conquered him, in The Ballad of John Henry, Joe Bonamassa sings, "bring me the hammer that killed John Henry, 'cause it won't kill me." What a show of bravado and confidence! And yet, coming from Joe - the hardest working musician alive - it sounds completely genuine. It's the reason why I count Joe Bonamassa not just an amazing artist whose music I enjoy listening to, but a genuine role model that I look up to in my life - someone with a dream, guided by a true passion for what he does, who just keeps on chugging along like a railroad train no matter what obstacles lie in his path. In my case, it may be a bit of wishful thinking, but we all need something to live up to, to drive us forward.
The Ballad of John Henry is a mature album. I said that Joe's music started sounding "modern" as far back as Had To Cry Today, but this is Joe as a professional musician, and not just a guitar wunderkind (as if that wasn't enough!). And if Joe demonstrated newfound control over his raw, unbridled talent on You & Me, on this album he displays a remarkable level of command - not just as a guitarist and singer, but as a songwriter, too, as a full half of the tracklist consists of Bonamassa originals (not including his contribution to adapting the title track from a blues ballad by Mississippi John Hurt). The music here is polished, with less reliance on clichés, and songs that aren't so easy to categorize into preconceived roles (such as "the slow blues", or "the pretty ballad"). Apart from the title track, there are less peaks (songs that immediately jump out at you), but the background quality of the album as a whole is higher than ever before.
Take The Great Flood, for example. This is a song I didn't even really notice until I was blindsided by the live version from Joe's Tour de Force. Now it's one of my favorites. It's unassuming, but it constructs a very melancholy atmosphere, before laying out a subdued (albeit less so on the live version) yet very soulful guitar solo, accompanied by a distant, wailing saxophone. It doesn't reach out and say "look at me!"; it's the man in the corner nursing a bottle whom you'd just as soon overlook, but given a chance, would regale you with incredible stories of woe from his life. And then there's Happier Times, which sounds like it would be more upbeat than it actually is, until you realize that it's not called "Happy Times". A couple albums ago, Joe was boasting that he'd go down any road there is, but now he's singing like a man who's already been around the block a few times, and has seen some things. But don't despair, for in the very next song, Joe sings about how he's Feelin' Good. And why not? He's managed to carve out success for himself with his own bare hands.
We've already been introduced to the recurring railroad theme in a lot of Joe's songs, but this album takes a detour from the cotton fields of the Mississippi delta, and the electric blues clubs up north in Chicago, to head out west, molding those influences with a reverence for the American frontier (which we'll hear more of on Dust Bowl). To wit, Jockey Full of Bourbon (a truly inspired Tom Waits cover) sounds like something straight out of a wild west saloon (if, you know, they had electric guitars back then). On that note, and perhaps inspired by the success of Sloe Gin, there are some less obvious choices for covers on this album, such as Ike & Tina Turner's humorously titled Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter. For better and worse, Joe has evolved beyond the stage where his albums are defined by big name classic rock covers. (And though I've always enjoyed those covers, I love the new direction he's gone in - and it's better for his career and reputation in the long run).
The Sam Brown cover Stop! is an infectious hit (I tell you, Joe is introducing me to some eclectic music), and the Bonamassa original Last Kiss is another one that tends to stick in you ear ("tell me how long supposed to keep a good man down, 'fore he packs his suitcase and gets the hell out of town?"). Story of a Quarryman rocks pretty hard, with a nice, chunky riff, while Lonesome Road Blues is the best rock filler track Joe's recorded yet - but hold out for live versions if you want to hear some even more frenetic solos. The album finishes with a sparse and airy gospel-flavored acoustic instrumental titled From The Valley, which sounds very much like something from Michael Bloomfield's collaboration with Woody Harris, followed by an electric cover of Tony Joe White's As The Crow Flies (which I remember hearing on Rory Gallagher's Irish Tour album from 1974). It's a mature album from a mature artist, and a great record to spin. What's next for Joe? Headlining one of the most prestigious concert halls in the world (a far cry from "nowhere in particular"!), and inviting one of his lifelong idols up onto the stage to play with him!
Rating: 💿💿💿 Frequent Spin
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Joe Bonamassa - Live From Nowhere in Particular (2008)
1-1. Bridge To Better Days1-2. Walk In My Shadows
1-3. So Many Roads
1-4. India/Mountain Time
1-5. Another Kinda Love
1-6. Sloe Gin
1-7. One Of These Days
2-1. Ball Peen Hammer
2-2. If Heartaches Were Nickels
2-3. Woke Up Dreaming
2-4. Django/Just Got Paid
2-5. High Water Everywhere
2-6. Asking Around For You
2-7. A New Day Yesterday/
Starship Trooper/Wurm
This is an album that kind of snuck up on me. It was before the era when Joe would begin to pump out live albums almost as prolifically as he's done with studio albums. As far as I know, in 2008, there was only the live counterpart to Joe's debut album (which is, nevertheless, fantastic), and the much-forgotten (but not un-memorable) Live At Rockpalast concert video. As the title implies, this was not a "destination" live gig, like a lot of Joe's subsequent live albums (which read like a who's who of prestigious concert venues - Royal Albert Hall, Beacon Theatre, Vienna Opera House, Red Rocks, Radio City Music Hall, Greek Theatre, etc.), but sounds more like a hodgepodge of recordings gathered throughout a tour (which, sometimes, is the way you get the best live recordings, rather than staking everything on a single night - although Joe is a very consistent performer).
The second time I saw Joe Bonamassa live in concert (in 2007), he was still a small and relatively unknown act, playing an outdoor arts festival. But, already a huge fan by this time, I brought my dad and my brother out to hear him play. When he launched into the extended instrumental section of ZZ Top's Just Got Paid, and started jamming out on a solo lifted from Led Zeppelin's Dazed and Confused, I was blown away. I felt like I was listening to Led Zeppelin in concert during the '70s! I thought for sure this was going to be a limited concert special, as Joe had seemed to largely avoid the "obvious" choices for classic rock covers, whether to solidify his reputation as a "true" fan of the music (who doesn't just play the popular tracks), a "serious" artist, or otherwise. But I thought to myself, I hope he puts out a live album from this tour, because I want a recording of this song to listen to over and over again.
Little did I know, Just Got Paid (complete with its extended jam solo) would become one of Joe's enduring live staples (never recorded in the studio - not that there'd be anything to gain if it was), along with Sloe Gin, heard for the first time live here (as I heard it for the first time ever - even before the album came out - at that show I attended, and instantly pegged it as one of Joe's best songs), and one we won't hear until Joe's next studio album. Regardless, that's where Live From Nowhere in Particular came in, which also contains recorded evidence of the soaring, ten minute epic that Mountain Time had grown into, since its humble beginnings as a sweet but mostly forgettable track on So, It's Like That. And those are just the highlights of this incredible live album.
Even the acoustic set is capable of holding my attention, with an unplugged version of one of my favorite of Joe's electric blues, If Heartaches Were Nickels, and the much anticipated live version of Woke Up Dreaming (eight minutes long!), that I've been hyping up since Blues Deluxe. Meanwhile, the last two albums' opening tracks have been converted into full-on acoustic numbers (it's no wonder I have trouble remembering which of these songs are acoustic and which are electric sometimes). Ball Peen Hammer is a little too "jangly" for my tastes, but the stripped-back arrangement (not trying to be an electric song half the time) draws more attention to its lyrical merits. I still prefer High Water Everywhere, though, which makes for a pretty rollicking acoustic song, featuring some of that fancy fretwork that must have been left over from Woke Up Dreaming.
Hailing from You & Me, this album also features the first live version of Bridge To Better Days, which sounds great as a set opener, with its chunky riff and extended solo. Walk In My Shadows dips back into Joe's early catalog, proving that he's lost none of his fire in his recent attempt to branch out and reach wider audiences - even placed alongside a typically searing live version of the slow blues So Many Roads. Another Kinda Love fulfills its function as a satisfying filler song, and a funkier take on One Of These Days manages to improve upon its studio counterpart. The show's encore features an especially dynamic version of the pretty piano ballad Asking Around For You, which places keyboard player Rick Melick in the spotlight. (Joe's band at this time also includes Carmine Rojas on bass, and Bogie Bowles on drums).
Finally, we get to hear how Joe's first big hit - A New Day Yesterday - has evolved over the years, shortly before he would retire it from his live shows. It still sounds heavy, but it's not as pure and undiluted as it was before - almost as if Joe had gotten bored of playing it the same way so many times. Now he wanders off onto a musical tangent - albeit an interesting one, incorporating the instrumental portion from Yes' Starship Trooper/Wurm. It's an apt demonstration of the simultaneous principles of homeostasis and transistasis that Joe - ever the evolving musician - paradoxically embodies in his career. Every time you hear him, he's the same Joe you know and love, but he's always got something new and exciting to play for you.
Rating: 💿💿💿 Frequent Spin
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