Joe Bonamassa- As amazing as everyone says?

[Rickenbacker]

Seems in the last 2 years, he's the greatest guitar player you'd never heard of. Super well-known to many among music/ guitar circles, but I'm seeing his popularity rising among casual listeners. I'm minimally familiar.

[mogrooves]

Good player, he's listened to all the right albums, has all the right influences (but he's yet to transcend them, except for perhaps in chops). A guitar version of painting-by-numbers. He does nothing for me.....

[trurl]

A really good session guitar player I work with worships the guy but he's very into blues and Chet Atkins style players. He doesn't really know about Steve Morse or a lot of other guys I want to turn him on to.

[rapidfirerob]

I'd rather turn to my Stevie Ray Vaughan albums in this blues vein. Still miss him.

[Sean]

About as good as a blues guy can be.

[Sean]

That ain't saying much...

[Bake 1]

My aunt really digs him... I can tell she get's a little miffed when someone points out that he's lifted this bit or that bit from x, y or z guitarist and will say things like he's "improving" what was done before.

[bobert]

He is a really good guitar player, a blues guy first but as he proved in Black Country Communion he is also an excellent rock guitarist.

He was a child prodigy who in my opinion has developed into one of the very best blues/rock guitar players in the business.

And by the way he has done covers by Yes, Starship Trooper-Wurm and Genesis-Los Endos as well as a few other prog gems in his live shows and did them quite well, the dude has a ton of talent.

[Sean]

He needs to join a fusion band and live up to his potential. Throw some real changes at him (for a change) and see how deftly he navigates them. Jimmy Herring is another guy like that. Amazing player that only hinted at his greatness thanks to be hemmed in by boring "jam band" changes, or lack of them. "Yeah you can shred over an E for 1/2 hour, now lets see how well navigate some hair pin turns".

[Supersonic Scientist]

Agree that he has all of the classic blues cliches down pat and can "sew" them together very nicely but as was stated above, it all ends up being a neatly done paint-by-numbers affair....with most of the "colors" being some variation of beige.

[Rickenbacker]

Yeah, after seeing a couple of videos (I think both live), I was left kinda cold. Like blues by rote. Played very well, but rote. I felt no excitement at all. Like what someone said above- did nothing for me.

[sotdude]

I dig him, extremely talented player in the blues-rock style, good voice, can basically do it all, though I don't think he's quite hit his peak yet. I have all the BCC albums, 2 of his live albums and his latest studio album, and I like them all. He can shred, no doubt, but also does some nice, subtle acoustic blues things which are quite nice. Might not be SRV but as far as todays best blues-rock players he's up there.

[Sean]

I'm glad he isn't SRV. That sound too got pretty old. Imgaine if he lived and we got ANOTHER two decades of the same shit from him!

[sotdude]

I'm glad he isn't SRV. That sound too got pretty old. Imgaine if he lived and we got ANOTHER two decades of the same shit from him!

Good point Sean-tremendous player but I think he was trapped within that style with no way of getting out. That album he did with his brother was different, but I thought it was terrible.

[arabicadabra]

On his own stuff, the Live videos can hold my interest pretty well, but it depends on the song. With Black Country Communion, however, he's a fireball.

[Jerjo]

Love his tone and his technique. His vocals are not as rough n' ready as SRV. He's almost too prolific for his own good, a little quality control would be a good thing. I do love the way he incorporates classic rock and prog into his live material.

[bobert]

He's almost too prolific for his own good, a little quality control would be a good thing.


I agree 100% with this statement, I really think if he took some time off , say waited a couple of years to release a new album instead of churning a new one out year after year he might just come up with something really special.

[Supersonic Scientist]

I think the underlying point is: the Blues is a "dead" genre. The chord progressions have not changed and the formulas are VERY limiting. Bands like; Zepplin, P. Floyd and other "pushed" the Blues bounderies and it became Hard Rock. But the guys who are staying "true" to the Blues formulas are in-fact trapped.

[yogibear]

Love his tone and his technique. His vocals are not as rough n' ready as SRV. I do love the way he incorporates classic rock and prog into his live material.his tone (depending on the time period) was stolen from eric johnson he has a bunch of tunes where he sounds uncannily like eric johnson and while its cool its also like "why?" eric johnson is a better player overall and much more meticulous when it comes to tone. Eric is much more unique and and individuall while joe seems to have taken bits and pieces of other players and hasn't really settled on one defining style. i think joe is killer but he is not unique his playing of old rock tunes on his albums are always sweet though.

[nosebone]

Good player.

Fuse Gary Moore with Eric Johnson and you've got Joe.

I bet he sounds better in a small bar.

[meimjustalawnmower]

I'm glad he isn't SRV. That sound too got pretty old. Imgaine if he lived and we got ANOTHER two decades of the same shit from him!

Oh, c'mon! Really? Joe Bonamassa wouldn't know the blues if he had them. And he hasn't. He can play guitar just like any other white kid who grew up in a guitar store in New York. I don't fault him for that, but he's no SRV.

[Rickenbacker]

Oh, c'mon! Really? Joe Bonamassa wouldn't know the blues if he had them. And he hasn't. He can play guitar just like any other white kid who grew up in a guitar store in New York. I don't fault him for that, but he's no SRV.

:lol

Sometime very soon I'm gonna use that quote.

[SteveSly]

I love his stuff. I have most of his albums and have seen him live once. It was in a club before he got very well known here in the U.S. There were maybe 100 people there and I stood about 2 feet from the stage. He totally blew me away.

Steve Sly

[Supersonic Scientist]

[QUOTE=nosebone;12604]Good player.

Fuse Gary Moore with Eric Johnson and you've got Joe.

Sorry Chris, I have to disagree with ya on this one.

How can the sum be LESS than the parts? Moore: a True Blues player, Johnson: A player at least at the same level as Steve Morse. Joe: (See my post #10)

[ronmac]

I've seen him five times, from a small club to a big theater. Yes, many here don't appreciate the blues, and many blues players, Joe included (and SRV, especially), don't venture far from the formula. But, this guy can really play and is a good showman with a very good voice. Yeah, he's a bit too white.

He ain't no SRV? That's fine with me, because SRV brought absolutely nothing to the table. Joe actually did a lot of non-blues work earlier in his career that was very good. And he will throw in some prog influences here and there. I would love to see him play more in that arena.

But both of them ain't no Johnny Winter. Johnny showed that you can do a lot within the genre.

[nosebone]

[QUOTE=nosebone;12604]Good player.

Fuse Gary Moore with Eric Johnson and you've got Joe.

Sorry Chris, I have to disagree with ya on this one.

How can the sum be LESS than the parts? Moore: a True Blues player, Johnson: A player at least at the same level as Steve Morse. Joe: (See my post #10)

I meant in terms of stylistics influences, not BETTER.

[spacefreak]

Great player. Very cliche. Never transcends. Get Sloe Gin and you 've heard it all...

[Scott Bails]

Imgaine if he lived and we got ANOTHER two decades of the same shit from him!

I wish for this all the time. :(

[sonic]

2 more decades of Hendrix ... now that might have been interesting.

[Reid]

I'd rather listen to some of the black contemporary players who write good songs, have some personality, and can make me feel something about life. Mem Shannon or Larry Garner are great when I want to hear this type of music.

Mem is very funky, soulful, and plays with a clean tone. He's done some nice nylon string acoustic solos too.

I used to go hear Bonamassa when he was a kid. He could play great at age 12. But I don't care for his records.

[Jerjo]

The thing with SRV is he only made two albums after sobriety: In Step and the one with his brother, Family Style. In Step was pretty safe in some respects but his songwriting had gotten far more personal ("Crossfire", "Wall of Denial") and when you make that jump the personal connection in the blues goes a lot deeper. And then there's "Riviera Paradise", the extended jazz piece that was recorded live in studio. It's those things that might have predicted the direction he was heading in. He had conquered his demons, channeled those struggles into his songs, and was starting to stretch out as an artist. That's the truly frustrating thing about his death. The other frustrating thing is that Sony and Jimmy Vaughan's promised trip into the vaults to dig out live shows has gone unfulfilled.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UIptI2rcjg

[rapidfirerob]

He needs to join a fusion band and live up to his potential. Throw some real changes at him (for a change) and see how deftly he navigates them. Jimmy Herring is another guy like that. Amazing player that only hinted at his greatness thanks to be hemmed in by boring "jam band" changes, or lack of them. "Yeah you can shred over an E for 1/2 hour, now lets see how well navigate some hair pin turns".
Have you heard Jimmy Herring's two solo albums? No shredding over E for a half hour. Jimmy does it all. Or check out Lenny White's Anomaly album, where Jimmy is amazing as well.

[Sean]

Have you heard Jimmy Herring's two solo albums? No shredding over E for a half hour. Jimmy does it all. Or check out Lenny White's Anomaly album, where Jimmy is amazing as well.

Yes. Seen the band a few times too. It's the only time I have seen him live up to his potential.

[No Pride]

Good player, he's listened to all the right albums, has all the right influences (but he's yet to transcend them, except for perhaps in chops). A guitar version of painting-by-numbers. He does nothing for me.....
Sums up my feelings pretty well.

Funny, with both Joe and SRV, I liked them better when they admitted in interviews that they got all of their shit from other guitar players and knew they weren't doing anything very unique. But at the same time, I can't understand that mentality, being a guitar player myself. I don't know how unique I actually am, but I know I always at least strived to be and I always figured that would be any musician's top priority, at least the ones involved in improvising.

I've seen some live videos of Joe and heard a few albums. He can certainly play and he has plenty of chops, feel and tone, but like others here are saying, it's all been done before. I don't get why he's getting so popular; I guess I just have trouble relating to people getting excited about something that they've already heard before... and in a more sincere, heartfelt way.

[Scott Bails]

The thing with SRV is he only made two albums after sobriety: In Step and the one with his brother, Family Style. In Step was pretty safe in some respects but his songwriting had gotten far more personal ("Crossfire", "Wall of Denial") and when you make that jump the personal connection in the blues goes a lot deeper. And then there's "Riviera Paradise", the extended jazz piece that was recorded live in studio. It's those things that might have predicted the direction he was heading in. He had conquered his demons, channeled those struggles into his songs, and was starting to stretch out as an artist. That's the truly frustrating thing about his death. The other frustrating thing is that Sony and Jimmy Vaughan's promised trip into the vaults to dig out live shows has gone unfulfilled.



Great points, Jerol. I think he could have done some great things, had he lived. I'd have loved to hear him explore more along the lines of "Riviera Paradise," and explore his horizons some.

[rapidfirerob]

Yes. Seen the band a few times too. It's the only time I have seen him live up to his potential.
Widespread Panic is boring IMO. Money in the bank for Jimmy. Brett Garsed played with the Nelson twins, as an example. Does that mean everything he does sucks? His solo albums and Uncle Moe albums are brilliant.

[Reginod]

I have a buddy that was gonna go see Bonamassa the other night until he found out that the tix were almost $75 . . . . . . . . . . uhhhhhh, not!

[No Pride]

He needs to join a fusion band and live up to his potential. Throw some real changes at him (for a change) and see how deftly he navigates them. Jimmy Herring is another guy like that. Amazing player that only hinted at his greatness thanks to be hemmed in by boring "jam band" changes, or lack of them. "Yeah you can shred over an E for 1/2 hour, now lets see how well navigate some hair pin turns".
Some musicians are lucky enough to choose their own path and be succesful with it, but more often than not, it's the path that chooses the musician, usually out of necessity (i.e. making a living). I think that's what happened with Jimmy Herring and how he ended up finding himself in the jam band circuit. He's obviously a jazz/jazz fusion player and his first real solo album, "Lifeboat" makes it clear where his heart really lies. He's great at improvising over chord changes! The odd thing with that album (for me anyway) is that he mostly plays pretty "inside" on it; all the "right" modes over the various chords and progressions. I found myself missing the kind of "out" playing he does with the jam bands a bit. Haven't heard his new one, but I'm curious to see if he integrated the two approaches a little more on it.

[Sean]

Widespread Panic is boring IMO. Money in the bank for Jimmy. Brett Garsed played with the Nelson twins, as an example. Does that mean everything he does sucks? His solo albums and Uncle Moe albums are brilliant. Not sure where you are going with this. I never suggested that Jimmy sucked in any way becasue of the jam bands he is involved with, only that they showcased a portion of his potential.

[trurl]

But both of them ain't no Johnny Winter. Johnny showed that you can do a lot within the genre.I can get behind that; Johnny's the shit!

[Big Ears]

I like everything he did with Black Country Communion, but I'm more selective with his solo work.

[SteveSly]

Sums up my feelings pretty well.


I've seen some live videos of Joe and heard a few albums. He can certainly play and he has plenty of chops, feel and tone, but like others here are saying, it's all been done before. I don't get why he's getting so popular; I guess I just have trouble relating to people getting excited about something that they've already heard before... and in a more sincere, heartfelt way.

Yea, but can't you say that about just about everyone? I mean, at this point is there really anything in rock / blues that has not been done before? Even the more avante experimental prog bands are still following a blueprint laid down by similar bands over the last 5 decades.

Steve Sly

[ronmac]

I can get behind that; Johnny's the shit!

Greatest blues guitarist ever, IMO. Although, Johnny would certainly disagree.

[mogrooves]

I don't get why he's getting so popular; I guess I just have trouble relating to people getting excited about something that they've already heard before...

I think it's because one doesn't really have to do any work in listening to him. He lays it all out for you, no fuss, no muss. He's buffed it all to a high gloss, and stylized, rationalized, and otherwise disciplined the music to a fare-thee-well, smoothed out all the rough edges and purged it of any wayward deviance. All style and no substance; there's no there there. Blues rock muzak (bluzak?), occasionally mesmerizing, but undemanding and easy on the ears.....

[ronmac]

I wonder how many of these staunch critics here have actually listened to more than a sampling of his work. Yeah, he's an upper-middle-class-suburban-white-boy-blues player. Genuine or not, this dude delivers the goods as well as anyone out there these days. He puts on a hell of a show and has a seriously kick-ass band. It's taken him a very long time to finally reach the mass audiences, although he has been picking up guitar awards for many years. There's a big market for blues-based rock, more than, uh, progressive rock. And he certainly mixes it up much more than is being described here. I think he's more diverse than the great Stevie Ray and all his cliches ever was.

[SteveSly]

Here is a clip of Bonamassa covering Yes. I think he is the shit:

[yt]qp9SpfxCIo[\yt]

[SteveSly]

Here is a clip of Bonamassa covering Yes. I think he is the shit:

[yt]qp9SpfxCIo[\yt]

So.....apparently the way you post youtube videos is different on this new progressive ears than on the old one? Can someone clue me in?

Steve Sly

[Vic2012]

I think he's great. He's a pretty good singer too. A while back I downloaded some of his stuff. I have the first couple of Black Country albums too. He's more than a blues guitarist, he's a rock guitarist. I wonder if he's ever tried doing jazz. Something tells me he could pull it off. Well, he's coming to town this month. I'd go but it's on a Thursday night or something. No way I can make that. I gotta be up at 4:30am the next morning.

[Jay G]

Biggest issue for me is that his music lacks balls. Tired of seeing guys play guitar in suits or sport coats. I think he needs to rock it up a bit though i do love his covers and his overall attitude. There are some great you tube links, I think still available, of Joe as a young prodigy jamming with the late great Danny Gatton and also BB King.

[Jerjo]

Steve, this is the new format: use video instead of YT in the brackets, with the complete URL in between. You don't cut off the "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v="


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qp9SpfxCIo

[ronmac]

I think the Eric Johnson comparisons can go a little too far. Yes, a lot of Joe's runs sound like Johnson, but he plays harder and has a stronger voice. Although JB's singing gets cliched. EJ is one of the best, but I always found his singing to be a bit too girly.

But, aside from that, I don't see a whole lot of similarities. Joe's bluesier. Eric brings more atmosphere to his style with less edge, for the most part.

I will say that JB has written some very good ballads, which could easily get mainstream top 40 airplay, under a different scenario. He's a very good songwriter.

[nosebone]

I think the Eric Johnson comparisons can go a little too far. Yes, a lot of Joe's runs sound like Johnson, but he plays harder and has a stronger voice. Although JB's singing gets cliched. EJ is one of the best, but I always found his singing to be a bit too girly.

But, aside from that, I don't see a whole lot of similarities. Joe's bluesier. Eric brings more atmosphere to his style with less edge, for the most part.

I will say that JB has written some very good ballads, which could easily get mainstream top 40 airplay, under a different scenario. He's a very good songwriter.

The similarities between EJ and JB are guitar technical.

They both sweep pick pentatonic scales the same way......., all the time.

[Sean]

The similarities between EJ and JB are guitar technical.

They both sweep pick pentatonic scales the same way......., all the time.

Like one pick stroke across the strings with hammer and/or pulls? I never thought of that before for a box pattern like that, just for arpeggios minus the hammers or pulls.

[Jerjo]

I always found his singing to be a bit too girly.


Indeed. Whenever I make an Eric Johnson compilation, I always skip the songs where he sings. Shut up an' play yer guitar.

[Sean]

Thirded.

[sonic]

He's a bit too tight a blues player for my liking. A think the blues needs a bit of slop or abandoned emotional playing to be the blues. Think Hendrix or Buddy Guy.
JB is super tight. He has the kind of chops more suitable to metal or sophisticated rock, which is why I prefer his rock tunes to his blues material. He does have a good voice.

[sonic]

Here he is talking about his influences:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0UPejYTp0o

[Big Ears]

He's a bit too tight a blues player for my liking. A think the blues needs a bit of slop or abandoned emotional playing to be the blues. Think Hendrix or Buddy Guy.
JB is super tight. He has the kind of chops more suitable to metal or sophisticated rock, which is why I prefer his rock tunes to his blues material. He does have a good voice.

A good point. Some guitarists, like Gary Moore, Slash and others, can be tight or loose to suit the material. I am not sure Hendrix was loose, although he was a bit funkier with Gypsy Sun and Rainbows.

[Big Ears]

I wonder how many of these staunch critics here have actually listened to more than a sampling of his work.

I haven't heard much more than a sampling outside BCC. If I liked his solo work as much as BCC, I would listen to more.

[nosebone]

Like one pick stroke across the strings with hammer and/or pulls? I never thought of that before for a box pattern like that, just for arpeggios minus the hammers or pulls.

If you can sit through this slow instruction, you'll see the approach/sound that I saw from an EJ instructional video years ago.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDSAohI0cqM

[trurl]

Well, this is fairly poop...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-qp9SpfxCIo

He gets the main riff a little wrong and devolves it into a very stock blues lick. I don't know if that's he he hears it or just how he likes it. It's just... gah, some very tight bar band trying to play Yes.

[nosebone]

:upAbsolutely love the sound of his Les Paul in that clip!

[progholio]

Good player, he's listened to all the right albums, has all the right influences (but he's yet to transcend them, except for perhaps in chops). A guitar version of painting-by-numbers. He does nothing for me.....



me either.

no matter how hard i try to like the guy i would much rather go right to the source and listen to a real Santana or SRV or Eric Johnson or Deep Purple or Gov't Mule or Johnny Winter record.

i have yet to hear anything that i could point to and say - "wow, now that's the Bonamassa Sound!"

[Howler Monkey]

I own and enjoy the two latest Joe solo albums. I like what he does. Guess I am a man of simple tastes. I don't require innovation. I don't listen to music with my brain only.

However, I still prefer all three Black Country Communion albums to any solo Joe I have heard.

[Jerjo]

Oh man, I could go for a Gov't Mule thread about now. X)

[Vic2012]

I finally picked up the third BCC album "Afterglow." I've heard a little more than half of it. So far nothing's really jumped out at me but the most memorable track so far is "Cry Freedom." I'll need to give it a few complete spins but I think I can say I enjoy this one more than the second album. I understand that the controversy about this recent BCC album is that it's dominated by Glenn Hughes. Well, all the BCC albums are dominated by Glenn Hughes but at least you can expect Joe to sing 2-3 songs. So far I've only heard his voice on Cry Freedom, and he's not even the lead vocal on that track. Okay I'm getting ahead of myself. I need to hear the rest of it. But so far I'm enjoying it. More comments later.

[No Pride]

A good point. Some guitarists, like Gary Moore, Slash and others, can be tight or loose to suit the material. I am not sure Hendrix was loose
I think Jimi adapted to the time feel of whatever drummer he was playing with. He was loose with Mitch Mitchell and tighter with Buddy Miles.

RE: Gary Moore: I noticed a funny little quirk with Gary's blues playing. He would often hit the open strings before launching into a phrase (regardless of what key he was playing in); almost like it was his way of inhaling before blowing into the "horn." I never heard him do that during his hard rock or fusion phases, only when he got into his "I'm a blues guy now" phase.

Speaking of Hendrix and Moore, there's a recently released Gary Moore live album called "Blues For Jimi." It's basically Gary doing a Hendrix tribute band... and it's really good! Gary pays hommage to all of the key licks in Jimi's tunes without actually playing them verbatim; he's basically doing Hendrix his way. I'd recommend it to anybody who's a fan of either guitar player.

[Vic2012]

I've heard the whole album. Eh, not all that impressed. I'll give it some more spins later this week. I just don' t feel like forcing myself to play it again to see if it grows on me.

[Jerjo]

I heard it and there's way too much Hughes for me. Not buying it.

[bobert]

Although I like the 3rd BCC album I don't like it as much as the first two, mainly because of the fact that Joe doesn't get to sing lead vocals, the music is still very good but I think Glenn made a mistake by doing all of the lead vocals, JB has a lot to offer was just not utilized enough on this one.

[Vic2012]

Although I like the 3rd BCC album I don't like it as much as the first two, mainly because of the fact that Joe doesn't get to sing lead vocals, the music is still very good but I think Glenn made a mistake by doing all of the lead vocals, JB has a lot to offer was just not utilized enough on this one.

I'm afraid I have to agree. I love Glenn Hughes but frankly, I'm tired of him. When I listen to a BCC album I wanna hear a balance between Glenn and Joe. Although I will say that Joe plays some sick, wah wah guitar solos on the third album. I'm not crazy about it but I'm glad I bought it. IMO, BCC blew their wad on that first album. I still love that first album. It's a neo-classic/rock masterpiece.

[kayfabe58]

Here is a clip of Bonamassa covering Yes. I think he is the shit:

[yt]qp9SpfxCIo[\yt]

He can play other peoples stuff...

[Nearfest2]

I caught the "Live at the Beacon Theater" show the other night on Palladia. It was damn good IMO.

[Big Ears]

Speaking of Hendrix and Moore, there's a recently released Gary Moore live album called "Blues For Jimi." It's basically Gary doing a Hendrix tribute band... and it's really good! Gary pays hommage to all of the key licks in Jimi's tunes without actually playing them verbatim; he's basically doing Hendrix his way. I'd recommend it to anybody who's a fan of either guitar player.

I know I'm going off topic, but there is also a Pat Travers and Mick Rogers tribute to Jimi Hendrix, which is worth a listen if you can find a copy.

[Vic2012]

Played "Afterglow" again today. What the hell, I think it's a fine album. Good songs, great playing, big guitar riffs, killer guitar solos. I guess if you like Glenn Hughes, and you think of this as a solo Glenn Hughes, rock album you shouldn't be disappointed. I like it better than the 2nd album, but I think it could've been better with more involvement from Joe B. I also wish they'd stretch out a little and do some instrumental jams. I dig Glenn Hughes' singing but this new album is too song driven. Whatever, I'm glad I have it. It might be the last BCC studio album we'll ever see again.

[bigbassdrum]

I caught a bit of his 'An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House' the other night on PBS - pretty impressive

[ronmac]

I caught a bit of his 'An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House' the other night on PBS - pretty impressive

Ooh, I haven't seen anything about that. I'll have to keep my eyes open. Thanks for the heads-up.

[ChrisXymphonia]

http://youtu.be/IPhyRxNJD-A

Think the location is pretty much what spoils it for me. They should have filmed it at a nice small club or maybe even more Transatlantic Sessions (the folk / americana tv-series) style.

[bigbassdrum]

D'OH - I was mistaken. It was Tommy Emmanuel I saw, and not Joe Bonamassa. Joe's concert was on after Tommy's on my PBS station



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLsbWk9t7Fc