“It's the best album I've ever made. Inspired, deep, organic, and raw.”
With these words, JOE BONAMASSA (one of the greatest contemporary guitarists) describes his new work "DUST BOWL."
For this album as well, BONAMASSA collaborated with producer Kevin “Caveman” Shirley, who has produced for Aerosmith and Black Country Communion [A band formed in 2010 that boasts not only Joe Bonamassa on guitar and backing vocals but also Glen Hughes (ex-Deep Purple) on vocals and bass, all seasoned with Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin) and Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater)].
So, what can be said about this album? Well, surely our Joe returns to good old Blues, raw and melancholic, but he does it with a different vein. He explains right after the release of his latest album: “I decided to call it Dust Bowl because it represents my state of mind and my condition in recent months; I’ve spent the last year traveling around the world playing. Don't worry, everything went well but you know! When you're on tour it’s a bit like living in a cloud of dust, you never know how it's going to end because you can't see a meter from your nose due to the continuous frenzy!”.
With this statement in my ears, I’m ready to insert the CD into my faithful bedroom stereo and await the first song like a child eagerly awaits the start of afternoon cartoons.
Here it comes! The first track is titled Slow Train. Well, it surely starts in a cinematic way! The drums imitate (as expected) the slow advance of a tired locomotive, just restarted once again (like our Joe, a tired train moving towards the next tour stop) and explodes after 30 seconds into the most classic melancholic blues which doesn't take long to evolve into a solo as beautiful as it is long.
The second track is the one that gives the name to the entire album: Dust Bowl. In my view, it’s a classic example of contemporary Blues, just poignant enough to make you bow your head to the ground on dark days but still manages to explode into an energetic riff or verse. From how this song starts, it's almost as if good Joe has embraced a more psychedelic genre (also due to the recent collaboration with Mr. Hughes, “guilty” of inserting semi-psychedelic songs like “Medusa” in the Black Country Communion album, which have inevitably influenced the guitarist). The 2:28 minute mark of this song makes it clear that old Joe hasn’t changed at all! An incredible solo, which takes you by the hand and makes you whirl with him in the sandstorm until it leaves you dazed on the bed.
The third track is Tennessee Plates, a pleasant yet improbable Country Blues ride sung not only by Joe (who here plays the role of secondary vocals) but also by John Hiatt (songwriter, pianist, and guitarist American.) However, this song serves as a great break after two quite intense songs like the first two tracks.
The fourth song is my favorite from the album; it’s titled The Meaning Of The Blues. This one also starts in a very strange way, almost reminiscent of the more psychedelic parts of the Black Country Communion album. The Meaning Of The Blues shouldn't be studied, analyzed, or dismantled into its smallest parts to understand it. It’s the classic blues song! You either get it or you don’t, there’s no middle ground. It’s the classic song that can’t be described in words, any attempt would result in a summary too short and poorly made compared to the emotions this track can offer you. Do one thing: grab a glass of wine, a cigar, and put on this record; immediately head to track 4 and let yourself be engulfed by the magic of Blues.
The 5th track is titled Black Lung Heartache and, in my opinion, it can easily fit into the discussion made for Tennessee Plates. It is very artistically enriching, however, that Bonamassa tries to explore other genres close to the blues, trying not to get too entrenched in Blues.
Track number 6 is called “You Better Watch Yourself”, a classic blues song proper. This song starts with Joe's guitar that seems to be complaining, I don’t know about what, but I only know it manages to vent immediately, along with the most classic bass lines and Smokin’ Joe’s warm and inimitable voice. In this song, the idea emerges that Joe isn't simply a Blues guitarist, it would be reductive to define him this way, Joe embodies the classic guitarist at 360 degrees, almost like Gary Moore to make it clear; paired with the simplest and most predictable bass line in the world, there is indeed a guitar (Joe's) incredibly difficult to grasp and reproduce.
Oops, I think I have dilated a bit! I will try to speed up then so as not to bore you too much and leave you time to listen to this magnificent CD.
The CD continues with The Last Matador Of The Bayonne, a song that embodies for one part good old blues but for another introduces the listener to a surely more modern Blues, made of faster and more technical solos (but not quite Dream Theater mind you xD) and reaches the last track going through Heartbreaker (a song created in collaboration with Glen Hughes; whose only flaw is the fact that Joe wanted to sing it himself, thus leaving less room for the incredible voice of the ex-Deep Purple) through No Love On The Street (a song that carries the cosmic pessimism typical of the blues both in the notes and the lyrics). The album finally concludes with a very heterogeneous trio of songs starting with The Whale That Shallowed Johan (semi-modern Blues) passing through Sweet Rowena (very classic Blues) ending with Prisoner (a profoundly deep song, featuring incredible sadness and claustrophobia).
Well, what can be said about this CD? It surely shows how Joe, at this time, is particularly inspired… LONG LIVE SMOKIN’ JOE.
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