The Guitar BUZZ...

...Totally Random 6-String Discussion...

  • Home Page
  • Great Players
    • Should Be (more) Famous
    • Guitarist Birthdays
    • Guitar Faces
  • Backing Tracks
  • Guitars
    • Guitar Gear
    • Amps
    • Pedals & Effects
    • Instruction
      • Practice Tips
    • Guitar Art
    • Rare Guitars
    • Travel Guitars
  • CDs, DVDs
    • Movies
  • Video
    • Technology
    • Sunday Afternoon Blues
    • Rig Rundown
    • Apps
  • Books
    • Web Sites
  • Twitter
    • Guitar Jokes
  • About Me
    • Personal Gear
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure Policy

CD REVIEW: Joe Bonamassa “Driving Towards The Daylight”

May 8, 2012 By GuitarDaddy

SPOILER ALERT: Sample clips on unreleased music below… if you are not into cutting edge blues rock, don’t click to listen!

Regular readers of TheGuitarBuzz.com know that Joe Bonamassa is a favorite around here and his recently announced 13th album, “Driving Towards the Daylight” is the perfect example of why.

Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards the Daylight

Producer Keven Shirley first teamed with Joe Bonamassa to release “You and Me” back in 2006 making “Driving Toward the Daylight” their seventh collaboration in as many years.

Their time together has proven to be a marriage made in blues heaven as they continue to push the evolution of blues rock to new and higher levels.

As expected, this CD highlights Bonamassa’s signature style of blues, roots, and rock & roll. There is plenty of old and plenty of new. The old feels new and the new feels newer. It includes four “Bon-originals” and seven cover songs.

Shirley wanted to pull more out of Bonamassa and did so by bringing in a stellar group of session players the likes of Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford and son Harrison Whitford on guitar, Anton Fig on drums, Arlan Schierbaum on keyboards, Michael Rhodes on bass and Jeff Bova and The Bovaland Brass on horns.

The track list is well balanced, starting off with Bonamassa’s own “Dislocated Boy”, a power-filled-rocker that will hopefully make the set lists on Joe’s summer/fall tour. The hard driving beat is a perfect opening track and sets the stage for what lies ahead.

[LISTEN TO A PREVIEW OF “DISLOCATED BOY”]

Next, Joe covers Robert Johnson’s “Stones In My Passway”, and demonstrates yet again that “The Blues Ain’t Dead” by taking a 75-year-old blues roots classic and transforming it to the Zeppelin age. According to Joe, the song was Kevin’s idea – which certainly explains the vibe!

[LISTEN TO A PREVIEW OF “STONES IN MY PASSWAY”]

The title-track follows and illustrates Joe’s talent going well beyond six-strings — to the pen — as Joe releases his creativity on one of his strongest authoring’s yet. The lyrics pull you in and the melody holds you there…

Here is the official “Driving Towards the Daylight” video:

The entire “Driving Towards The Daylight” track is available as a free download here.

“Who’s Been Talkin” is a Howling Wolf cover that’s one of my favorites. Starting with a clip of Wolf’s actual voice, Joe rips into the main riff and turns the listener back once again to the roots. It’s also has that Zepp’ish-like feeling with a melody that just sticks in your gut.

[LISTEN TO A PREVIEW OF “WHO’S BEEN TALKIN”]

The Bluesy trend continues with a cover of Willie Dixon’s “I Got All You Need”, It’s a tune that Joe refers to as a “Greasy Chicago Shuffle”…with a 60’s British flair. Lot’s of fun with this one!

“Joe does Whitesnake” with Bernie Marsden’s “A Place In My Heart” and adds enough emotion to make you believe Gary Moore has come back to record one more song. Close you eyes and get lost in the tribute. I sure did.

[LISTEN TO A PREVIEW OF “A PLACE IN MY HEART”]

The gears shift back to blues-rock with a killer version of Bill Withers “Lonely Town Lonely Street”. About half-way through the song you realize there is only one chord being played…attribute that to Shirley’s magic on the board.

“Heavenly Soul” shows off Bonamassa’s well matured (he just celebrated his 35th birthday) vocals. For a guy that at one time did not want to sing…he’s come a long way.

Next up is Tom Waits’ “New Coat Of Paint” with the massive guitar solo we have come to expect from Joe… and he does not disappoint.

“Somewhere Trouble Don’t Go” is an upbeat and Rockish version of an original Gospel tune with awesome lyrics. Let me say it now…this guy can turn any song into a blues-rock masterpiece!

The surprise closing track is the Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes classic, “Too Much Ain’t Enough Love” featuring Jimmy Barnes himself on vocals. The blending of Jimmy’s vocals and Joe’s Les Paul chops are seamless.

Recent attendees of Joe’s concerts have heard Joe’s jokes about not having a hit record after 12 albums and 140+ tracks – which is frankly, utter blastpheme.

Most of us have our own definition of what makes a hit record (which differs greatly from the music industry rules). For me, a hit is simply defined as a song I can’t wait to play again. Using that criteria, Joe Bonamassa has a lot of hits…. 11 of them on this record alone.

“Driving Towards the Daylight” will be released on Monday, May 22nd by Provogue Records.


Want to Hang Joe Bonamassa on Your Wall?

Be sure to check out Creative Bone Artworks,: “Art That Rocks” Collection – specifically the totally cool Joe Bonamassa print titled: GOLDFINGERz from artist Tom Noll!

Tom’s “Art That Rocks” print collection includes Limited Edition prints from original oil paintings of many famous Blues and Rock guitarists and bands – available for immediate purchase!

Limited Edition prints are still available of this amazing Joe Bonamassa artwork!

Contact Tom Noll directly to inquire about ALL art prints for sale.

I will personally testify that the quality of these art prints will exceed your expectations!

Contact Tom and place your order!


  •  

Related posts:

  1. Joe Bonamassa Album #13, “Driving Towards The Daylight”
  2. Joe Bonamassa – Dislocated Boy OFFICIAL Music Video
  3. 3 Blues Music Award Nominations for Joe Bonamassa
  4. Blues Rock Review Album Sampler – Vol. 2 Coming April 2

Filed Under: CDs, DVDs Tagged With: Joe Bonamassa

Comments

  1. tom noll says

    May 9, 2012 at 4:42 am

    Awesome review!
    Thanks for the insight on the CD. I’ve had one pre-ordered for a month.

Guitar Backing, Practice and JAM Tracks!

Tom Noll – The Rock n’ Roll Portrait Artist

Take The GuitarBuzz Poll

Follow TheGuitarBuzz on Twitter!

Tweets by @TheGuitarBuzz

Tags

Art Billy Gibbons Birthdays Black Country Communion Blues Books Carlos Santana CDs Cool Guitars Derek Trucks DVD Eric Clapton Eric Johnson Gary Hoey Gary Moore Great Guitarists Inspiration Instruction iPad iPhone It Might Get Loud Jeff Beck Joe Bonamassa Joe Satriani Joe Walsh Jonny Lang Kenny Wayne Shepherd King of the Blues Learning To Play Les Paul NAMM Orianthi Robben Ford Ronnie Earl Rory Gallagher Santana Seymour Duncan Slash SRV Steve Senes The Beatles The Blues Foundation Tom Noll Warren Haynes ZZ Top

Categories

  • Amps (13)
  • Apps (11)
  • Backing Tracks (4)
  • Bands (8)
  • Books (12)
  • CDs, DVDs (109)
  • Concerts (40)
  • Contests (13)
  • General (95)
  • Great Players (114)
  • Guitar Art (40)
  • Guitar Blogs (1)
  • Guitar Faces (4)
  • Guitar Gear (16)
  • Guitar Jokes (3)
  • Guitar Photo of the Week (2)
  • GuitarDaddy Polls (2)
  • Guitarist Birthdays (16)
  • Guitars (49)
  • Inspiration (22)
  • Instruction (13)
  • Movies (14)
  • NAMM (7)
  • Pedals & Effects (9)
  • Practice Tips (12)
  • Random BUZZ (2)
  • Rare Guitars (4)
  • Rig Rundown (2)
  • Should Be (more) Famous (3)
  • Software (6)
  • Sunday Afternoon Blues (4)
  • Technology (2)
  • Top Six (2)
  • Travel Guitars (2)
  • Video (118)
  • Web Sites (16)

Blogroll

  • Bonamassa Live
  • Gilmourish
  • Guitar Collecting
  • Guitar Lifestyle
  • I Heart Guitar
  • Rock House Method
  • Stevie Snacks

Websites

  • Backing Tracks
  • Best Travel Guitars
  • Freelance Cartoonist
  • Guitar Lessons

Recent Posts

  • A Duke Robillard Masterclass – Blues for T-Bone
  • I Hear the Music…
  • Cream, Clapton and a Stormy Monday Blues
  • Jeff Beck Band and Billy Gibbons play “Foxy Lady”
  • Jonny Lang Gives a Rig Rundown to Premier Guitar

Pages

  • About Me
  • Disclosure Policy
  • Personal Gear
  • Privacy Policy
  • Twitter

Recent Comments

  • Dean Danbury on CONTEST: Name This Joe Walsh Painting to WIN A FREE ART PRINT!
  • John Heckel on CONTEST: Name This Joe Walsh Painting to WIN A FREE ART PRINT!
  • Sheila Clark on CONTEST: Name This Joe Walsh Painting to WIN A FREE ART PRINT!
  • Michael Di Girolamo on CONTEST: Name This Joe Walsh Painting to WIN A FREE ART PRINT!
  • John Daniels on CONTEST: Name This Joe Walsh Painting to WIN A FREE ART PRINT!

Spam Blocked

685,110 spam blocked by Akismet

Copyright (c) 2014 Metro Fox Media