Joe Bonamassa: Live from New York - Beacon Theatre DVD

Joe Bonamassa: Live from New York - Beacon Theatre review As the electric guitar ace Joe Bonamassa was so strongly inspired by blues and blues-oriented six-stringers (i.e., Clapton, Johnny Winter), many of his fans would politely pester him about doing a disc of blues standards. Originally done as a lark, the results of such a session were deemed by Bonamassa good enough to be released--hence, BLUES DELUXE, on which he covers some lesser-known songs and includes three originals. Of course, his fierce, scorching guitar is center stage. If axe-men such as Peter Green, Rory Gallagher, and Buddy Guy are your cup of tea, this DELUXE item is a necessity. Recorded at Unique Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Harris Cohen. Personnel: Joe Bonamassa (vocals, guitar); Jon Paris (harmonica); Benny ...

Joe Bonamassa: Live from New York - Beacon Theatre video It's a sign of Joe Bonamassa's increasing profile that he got blues legend B.B. King to guest on his eighth album Black Rock -- and if what you're doing is good enough to rope B.B. in, there's not much reason to change, so Bonamassa doesn't tinker with his formula here, retaining a little of the folky undertow of The Ballad of John Henry, but with its remaining roots in a thick, heavy blues-rock more redolent of `60s London than the `50s Delta. Of course, Bonamassa has never shied away from his love of Brit-blues, even underscoring it with a good streamlined cover of Jeff Beck's "Spanish Boots," but he retains a healthy respect for all manners of classic blues, kicking out a Chicago groove on a cover of Otis Rush's "Three Times a Fool," reaching back to Blind Boy Fuller for "Baby You Gotta Change Your Mind" and ably replicating B.B.'s latter-day soul groove on a horn-smacked cover of Willie Nelson's "Night Life." Bonamassa has an ear for non-blues writers too, cherrypicking Leonard Cohen's "Bird on a Wire" and John Hiatt's "I Know a Place," tying it all together with beefy lead lines, but the provocative moments on Black Rock are all self-penned, whether it's the clattering stomp "When the Fire Hits the Sea," the British folk lilt of "Quarryman's Lament" and "Athens to Athens," or the droning dramatic epic "Blue and Evil." These are easily the most intriguing songs here, suggesting Bonamassa realizes that the familiar covers allow him to stretch out elsewhere, and while it might be interesting hearing him follow this path for a full album, what's here on Black Rock is both satisfying and admirably, if reservedly, ambitious. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Recording information: Black Rock Studios, Santorini, Greece; Document Room; The Cave, Malibu, CA. Photographer: Kevin Shirley. Arranger: Lee Thornburg. Personnel: Joe Bonamassa (vocals, guitar); Manolis Karadinis (bouzouki); David Woodford (saxophone); Thanasis Vasilopoulos (clarino); Lee Thornburg (brass); Rick Melick (keyboards); Bogie Bowles, Anton Fig (drums, percussion). Audio Mixer: Kevin Shirley.

Joe Bonamassa: Live from New York - Beacon Theatre movie For his second solo album in a year -- not counting his excursion with Black Country Communion -- Joe Bonamassa, the hardest working blues-rock guitarist of the 21st century, strikes up a bit of a smoky Black Keys vibe, signaling that he's not quite as devoted to the past as he may initially seem. It's not the only trick he has up his sleeve, either. Appropriately enough for an album entitled Dust Bowl, Bonamassa kicks up some country dirt on this record, enlisting John Hiatt for a duet on the songwriter's "Tennessee Plates" and bringing Vince Gill in to play on the lazy shuffle "Sweet Rowena." These are accents to an album that otherwise sticks to Bonamassa's strong suit of blues in the vein of Cream, Stevie Ray, and Gary Moore, but it's just enough of a difference to give Dust Bowl a distinctive flavor and suggests that the guitarist's constant work is pushing him to synthesize his clear influences into something that is uniquely his own. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Liner Note Author: Joe Bonamassa. Recording information: Ben's Studio, Nashville, TN; Black Rock Studios, Santorini, Greece; The Cave, Malibu, CA; The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, CA. Illustrator: Dennis Friel. Photographer: Kevin Shirley. Personnel: Joe Bonamassa (vocals, guitar); Rick Melick (keyboards); Tal Bergman (drums, percussion). Audio Mixer: Kevin Shirley.

Joe Bonamassa: Live from New York - Beacon Theatre film This musical release from Joe Bonamassa captures the artist's landmark performance at Royal Albert Hall on May 4, 2009. Some of the tracks featured in the concert include So Many Roads, The Ballad of John Henry, So It's Like That, Django, and more. This 2 DVD set, which also features an exclusive interview and behind-the-scenes footage with Bonamassa, presents that magical night in full -- for posterity, and for all the fans that couldn't be among the roughly 5,000 concertgoers filling the seats. The 12-camera HD, surround sound shoot was produced by Bonamassa's longtime collaborator Kevin Shirley. However, this incredible performance features Joe accompanied by an incredible band in addition to guest appearances by Eric Clapton and Paul Jones. Directed by groundbreaking filmmakers Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen, this concert experience will become the benchmark for the genre.

Joe Bonamassa: Live from New York - Beacon Theatre DVD for sale He'll never be the new Stevie Ray Vaughan, but at the rate blues-rock (emphasis on the latter) guitarist Joe Bonamassa is going, he can take a stab at being the next Gary Moore. Like the Irish guitarist, Bonamassa is influenced by the British blues-rockers more than the Americans they lifted their licks from. He's also just as prolific; this is his thirteenth album in twelve years and that's not including side projects with Black Country Communion and Beth Hart, and DVDs grabbed from his 200-night-a-year road schedule filled with sweaty, high-energy performances. Makes you tired just reading about it. Bonamassa isn't much of a songwriter so he wisely contributes only four tunes to this disc's eleven, with some relatively obscure deep blues covers from Howlin' Wolf ("Who's Been Talkin'"), Willie Dixon ("I Got All You Need"), and Robert Johnson ("Stones in My Passway") gravitating toward his roots side. Also included are offbeat choices from Bill Withers ("Lonely Town/Lonely Street") and Tom Waits ("New Coat of Paint"). For better or worse, they all end up sounding like Joe Bonamassa tracks, since he feeds them into his leathery rock sensibilities, churning out requisite hot guitar solos whether they serve the song or not. He's left his road-hardened band on the sidelines and calls in top-notch session guys, including Aerosmith's Brad Whitford, David Letterman drummer Anton Fig, and keyboardist Arlen Schierbaum, whose piano and organ add some much-needed R&B attitude to the hard rock attack. Bonamassa even relinquishes lead vocals to Australian Jimmy Barnes, who goes so over the top singing his own "Too Much Ain't Enough Love" it seems like he is auditioning for AC/DC. Longtime producer Kevin Shirley gets a slick, professional sound from these guys, and when everyone is cooking and the material is solid, such as on the grinding Bonamassa original "Dislocated Boy" and the Wolf cover (including a spoken word sample of the blues legend that kicks off the tune), the arrangements and guitars mesh together like whisky and soda. What Bonamassa lacks in a distinctive sound and singing, he makes up for with sheer determination, which is almost enough to push the album from pretty good to pretty great, especially on the horn-enhanced slow blues of "A Place in My Heart" that explodes out of the speakers in a way Gary Moore could summon at will. In other words, this is a keeper if you've already bought into the guitarist's more-is-more approach that has served him well thus far, and he shows no signs of abandoning it now. ~ Hal Horowitz Liner Note Author: Joe Bonamassa. Recording information: Studio At The Palms, Las Vegas, NV; The Cave, Malibu, CA; The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, CA. Illustrator: Dennis Friel. Photographers: Rick Gould; Marcus Sweeney-Bird. Personnel: Joe Bonamassa (vocals, guitar); Rick Melick (keyboards); Tal Bergman (drums, percussion); Roy Weisman, Evert Wubben, Ed Van Zijl, Rachael Iverson. Audio Mixer: Kevin Shirley.

Joe Bonamassa: Live from New York - Beacon Theatre movie Fans of guitar master Joe Bonamassa will be delighted that 2011 was such a prolific year in his career. First came the fine, rootsy Dust Bowl, then 2, the second chapter in his Black Country Communion project's catalog. Don't Explain, a collection of soul, blues, and jazz-oriented covers in collaboration with vocal firebrand Beth Hart marks his third entry this year. The ten-song set of blues and soul is a logical extension of her vocal contribution to "No Love on the Street" from Dust Bowl. Opening is a thoroughly raucous contemporary blues reading of Ray Charles' "Sinner's Prayer," followed by a quirky version of Tom Waits' "Chocolate Jesus," and an unusual cover of contemporary jazz-pop singer/songwriter Melody Gardot's "You Heart Is as Black as Night." On this cut, a string orchestra adds a touch of perversity; it offers the impression of a femme fatale singing a Brecht-Weill number in a smoky cabaret in front of a moody string orchestra, buoyed by a brooding electric blues quintet. "For My Friends," a Bill Withers' tune, is a big, nasty, jagged blues number that keeps the funky groove intact. The title track, a number closely associated with Billie Holiday, falls flat. Hart tries too hard to employ Holiday's phrasing, the string orchestrations are overblown, and Bonamassa's crew is too reverent. This formula also mars the remake of Aretha Franklin's "Ain't No Way" that closes the set. Far better are readings of Etta James' signatories "I'd Rather Go Blind," and "Something's Got a Hold on Me." Hart's emotive, throaty delivery is perfectly suited to both songs, and she resists trying to ape James' phrasing. Since they follow one another directly, the musical difference between them also showcase's Hart's diverse abilities. The former is a soul burner, the latter a gospel blues. Bonamassa and band accent her every phrase with requisite rowdiness, sting, and grit. The pair's only vocal collaboration is a burning read of Delaney & Bonnie's "Well, Well." With Anton Fig's breaks and rim shots underscoring Arlan Scheirbaum's electric piano fills, Bonamassa's burning leads, the chunky, rhythmic foundation from guitarist Blondie Chaplin, and Carmine Rojas' bassline, Hart and the lead guitarist trade whip-smart call and response vocals with enough raw country-soul to bring the song to a new audience. While not a perfect recording, Don't Explain is a good one, whose strengths are numerous enough to warrant a second go round. ~Thom Jurek Liner Note Authors: Laura Grover; Beth Hart. Recording information: Village Recorders, West L.A. Photographer: Mike Prior. Personnel: Joe Bonamassa (vocals, guitar); Beth Hart (vocals, piano); Blondie Chaplin (guitar); Arlan Scheirbaum (keyboards); Carmine Rojas (bass guitar); Anton Fig (drums, percussion). Audio Mixer: Kevin Shirley.