NoMoreTails wrote:Peartree12249 wrote:This was posted on Kevin Shirley's Facebook page today:
"Four KS productions made Classic Rock magazine’s “Top 50 Albums of 2011” (January 2012 issue).
(#21) Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa – “Don’t Explain”
(#18) Journey - "Eclipse"
(#13) Black Country Communion – “2”
(#5) Joe Bonamassa “Dust Bowl”
"Can I get a "wa-hoo"?
Looks like music fans in the UK get it even if the Grammy nominating committee have their heads up their asses.
So is BCC 2 better than the first? Is Sherinian more present on 2? Does Glenn Hughes reel it in a bit? While its obvious Joe is a great blues player, I wasn't blown away by Ballad of John Henry, the first thing I bought by him.
Could you provide a ranking of what you think are his best? I read an interview with Kevin Shirley where he said he was ecouraging Joe to branch out more but I believe I would probably prefer his more purely blues stuff.
1. Yes I think it is better, but there are some tunes on BCC1 I really love like "Black Country", "Song of Yesterday" "Sista Jane " & "Too Late For The Sun". BCC2 seems more cohesive & less rushed. (After all they had 2 whole weeks to record this one ) LOL. Derek has a much stronger presence in this CD. My favorites on this one are: "Battle For Hadrian's Wall", "Cold", " Little Secret", "Save Me" & "Ordinary Son". I do think Glenn has stepped it down a few notches on this CD. It seems much more of a group effort this time around. If you get Palladia on your satellite or cable, look for "BCC Live over Europe. It's also out on dvd.
2. The thing about Joe is while he plays and embraces traditional Blues, he was also heavily influenced by british blues-based rock of the late 60's and 70's, so for the blues purist, Joe may not be their cup of tea. For me, I love it, I grew up listening to Paul Kossoff, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Peter Green & Rory Gallagher. I hear those influences in his music and that is what I respond to. So I love the fact that Joe isn't trying to be the next Stevie Ray Vaughn. Besides you can't top perfection and SRV will always be one of my top 3 favorite guitarists.
3. As far as my favorite JB cd, That's hard, I like them all for different reasons, Black Rock is interesting as on a few songs he blended native Greek instruments with the blues. I love the sheer audacity of that! Talk about thinking outside the box. Dust Bowl is a great album but I could have done without the Vince Gill collaboration. Although Gill is a fantastic guitarist in is own right. I like John Henry & Sloe Gin as well. I haven't purchased anything earlier than that. Again it depends on your taste. If you want flat out hard core American blues, Joe may not be the guy for you. But I applaud the fact that he has moved beyond his roots while not forgetting that the Blues is still the foundation of everything he does. While I really love his cds it in the live performance where Joe really shines. I would encourage you to get to one of his shows. Or at least pick up his live DVDs. He'll make you a believer.
By the way check out the cd Joe recorded with Beth Hart, "Don't Explain" She's a fabulous singer and they complement each other very well.
Grammar, the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit.
