Review: Joe Bonamassa Blues Deluxe Vol. 2
By Stephen Guppy
For Joe Bonamassa, the UK “guitar gods” of the sixties were the gateway drug that led him to develop a passion for the blues. He cites hearing John Mayall & the Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (the “Beano” album) as a particularly revelatory encounter. That seminal album, along with the first Paul Butterfield LP, The Blues Project Live at the Café Au Go Go, and a few other white-kids-play-the-blues collections, led many a bedazzled young lad or lass to seek out the hard stuff—Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James, the Three Kings, John Lee Hooker, the list goes on.
The “Beano” album was over ten years old by the time Bonamassa was born, and its reverential takes on Chicago blues had long since morphed into the bone-crushing blues-rock of the Jeff Beck Group, Led Zeppelin, the early version of Fleetwood Mac, and other off-shoots of the London blues scene. The title of Bonamassa’s back-to-the-blues diptych is borrowed from a cut on another enormously-influential album of the ‘sixties, the Jeff Beck Group’s Truth. Twenty years ago, he covered that Beck/Stewart number in the first of what turns out to be a two-volume set in which he re-visits some of the talismanic moments of his immersion in the blues.
For this second excursion into the modern blues canon, Bonamassa relies on his core group of close associates: producer and guitarist Josh Smith and JB have co-produced sessions for other artists, and keyboard ace Reese Wynans, bassist Calvin Turner, and drummer Lamar Carter are their go-to session men. Turner also provided string and horn arrangements on some tracks.
Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 references a fairly specific sub-set of the blues tradition, and a slightly different one than JB conjured up in Volume 1. The arrangements lean toward Memphis R&B while the guitar solos reference Chicago blues by way of late-sixties London. Imagine there’s a juke joint at the corner of Beale Street, Memphis, and Wardour Street, Soho, and let’s have a gander inside.
Bonamassa doesn’t waste any time reminding us what a supremely talented guitarist he is. His take on “Twenty-four Hour Blues”, originally recorded by Bobby “Blue” Bland, is full of those OMG moments that blues-guitar fans live for. Bonamassa’s early mentor, Danny Gatton, was reputedly obsessed with dialing in the perfect tone, and JB was obviously an attentive acolyte. The sustain and clarity he achieves on the treble strings is extraordinary, and there’s a shimmer of echo at the end of his ascending licks that’ll send shivers down your spine. JB covered Bland’s “I Don’t Believe” back in 2006 on his You & Me album, so this latest tribute is further evidence of his abiding regard for one of his most important influences.
The Bobby Bland song flows seamlessly into the second track, a cover of Bobby Parker’s “It’s Hard But It’s Fair” from 1968. Parker has been compared to Bobby Bland and Bland’s guitarist Wayne Bennett; they’re blues artists who have one foot in the soul/R&B genre, and that, again, is a territory that Bonamassa’s exploring in this latest set. JB covered Parker’s “Steal Your Heart Away” on his Black Rock album (2010), and it’s interesting to compare the two.
“Well, I Done Got Over It”
“Well, I Done Got Over It” was written by Eddie “Guitar Slim” Jones and released on Specialty Records in 1953. Although Slim was—as his stage name implies—known for his influential guitar style (as well as his wild performances), his recording features a sax solo. Bonamassa sticks fairly close to the arrangement of the original, but he’s not about to miss the opportunity to wail on guitar: the solo here is another highlight. Bonamassa said that “We did a very British take on this Guitar Slim song, it’s like the Blues Breakers meets Guitar Slim meets Joe Bonamassa, Josh Smith and company.” What’s perhaps most notable about this cover, however, is JB’s vocal. He was apparently concerned about his singing chops going into the sessions for this album, but he needn’t have worried: his whiskey-voiced delivery suits the material perfectly.
Bonamassa wrote “Hope You Realize It (Goodbye Again)” with Grammy-winning songsmith Tom Hambridge. They’ve worked together before, on JB’s Blues of Desperation album, and Hambridge is of course one of the most prolific and celebrated of contemporary songwriters. The band bites into a serious slice of funk here, and JB howls through another high-energy solo before Wynans takes over with an organ outro. It’s a short but punchy segue, leading us from the ‘fifties and ‘sixties R&B stuff to some straight-up electric blues.
“Lazy Poker Blues” comes from Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac—welcome back to Wardour Street, the Marquee Club, and an audience of dolly birds and shaggy-haired ravers. JoBo has already done a tribute to those times in his British Blues Explosion Live (2018). Here, he and his bandmates stay fairly close to the quick shuffle rhythm of the original, punctuating the verses with staccato licks much as Green does on Fleetwood Mac’s several studio and live recordings.
Texas wizard Albert King influenced everyone from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Ally Venable, and JB is obviously another of his fans. “You Sure Drive a Hard Bargain” was written by Stax staff writer Bettye Crutcher and Allen Jones and recorded in 1967. The original is a showcase for King’s guitar style, and Bonamassa follows that example with some choice licks of his own—the outro is a special treat for blues guitar fans.
JoBo, Kirk Fletcher, and producer Josh Smith get together for an energetic jam on Kenny Neal’s hard-driving “The Truth Hurts”, trading vocals and indulging in some good-natured sparring while the horns and rhythm section egg them on. These three amigos have jammed on a few classic blues songs, and a quick tour of YouTube will get you a front-row seat.
Josh Smith’s “Is It Safe to Go Home?” wraps up Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 with an aching slow blues. It’s an impressive new song, and JB does it justice with an intensely emotional performance as both vocalist and guitarist.
In the promo material for this set, JoBo voices some concern about whether he’s still able to conjure up the spirit of the blues that moved and motivated him twenty years earlier: “Does the fire still burn like it did? Am I still playing hungry? Am I even good enough to pay tribute to my heroes all over again?”
After listening to this new collection of (mostly) old favs, there’s only one thing Bonamassa’s fans can tell him: “No worries, Mate, you’re still at the top of your game—and everyone’s. Now, can we please have Volume 3?”
Pre-order link Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 HERE
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