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| Joe Bonamassa's New Live Album "Right now, there's no better blues-rock artist than Bonamassa, " Gibson.com recently noted in a Lifestyle section piece titled "Five New Blues Guitar Releases To Blow Your Mind." Joe Bonamassa's Billboard #1 Blues masterpiece Sloe Gin was named as one of them, in addition to being cited as one of Gibson Lifestyle's Best Blues Albums of 2007. On the heels of this success, Bonamassa will release From Nowhere In Particular, a 2-CD live album recorded during his fall 2007 U.S. tour, on June 3, 2008. It comes out on the artist's own J&R Adventures label. A full touring and recording schedule notwithstanding, Joe also currently writes a monthly instructional column for Guitar World called "Bluesbreaker, " and films a video companion for the DVD/CD-ROM that comes with each issue, giving fans the opportunity to watch Joe and play along. He hosts "Daily Cup Of Joe" as well, a Monday-Friday show on Sirius Satellite Radio's Blues Channel 74 that airs from 12PM-12:15PM/ET. Joe, who's on the road over 200 days annually, records many of the segments from the mobile studio in the back of his tour bus. Like Sloe Gin, and 2006's also chart-topping You & Me, FROM NOWHERE IN PARTICULAR was produced by Kevin Shirley, recently acclaimed for his remixes of Led Zeppelin. The band heard performing live with singer-songwriter and master guitarist Bonamassa is the same tight unit that played on Sloe Gin (with the exception of guest drummer Anton Fig), and Joe says, "It's the best touring band I've ever had, and this record really documents our sound. During the mixing process, it was incredible to see how Kevin separates sounds, and frequencies, layering them just right so everything can be heard." Joe sings lead and delivers tour de force guitar heroics throughout the thirteen-track, two-disc set, and cites songs including "Sloe Gin, " "One Of These Days, " "So Many Roads" and "Bridge To Better Days" as ones that, "came out awesome." Other signature Bonamassa stand-outs include "Woke Dreaming, " "If Heartaches Were Nickels, " the moving "Asking Around For You, " the live-only gem "Just Got Paid" and the blues groove "Walk In My Shadows." The band's plugged-in glory is balanced with nuanced acoustic takes on songs including "Ball Peen Hammer" and "High Water Everywhere." True to form, Bonamassa is leading up to FROM NOWHERE IN PARTICULAR's release while on tour. He's currently underway with over thirty European dates that will keep the band on the road through the end of March, followed by an April 6 show in Bahrain. Joe's guitar virtuosity at live shows is legendary, and is central to the loyal, worldwide fan base he's built through a marathon touring schedule as intense as the heat generated by his playing. Look for a North American itinerary later in '08 as Bonamassa's globe-circling brings him closer to home. Early '08 also finds Bonamassa named "Artist Of The Year" yet again by online blues review BluesWax.com. It's his third time receiving the honor from the largest of the fan-voted blues awards, an unprecedented feat (he previously won in '04 and '05). In assessing Joe's epic ability to connect with fans, BluesWax's Steve Sloan said, "I think it's his honesty onstage, his ability to relate to people and play really solid music. He's making great albums and touring constantly, and I've never seen a bad Joe Bonamassa show. He's young, he's doing great things to the blues and he's bringing a lot of people to it. He's giving it a shot in the arm, and staying true to what the genre's all about, soulful good music." Later this year, Bonamassa plans to begin work on his next studio album, slated for 2009, with Kevin Shirley producing once again. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |