Joe Bonamassa returns with eleven blistering new tracks on his latest release, Blues of Desperation. The album was recorded in Nashville with long-time producer Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Journey, John Hiatt, Iron Maiden Rush) behind the boards in just 5 days, impressive.
While in Nashville, Joe hooked up with some of the biggest hit makers (James House, Tom Hambridge, Gary Nicholson, Jeffrey Steele & Jeffrey Flowers) to help elevate his already good songs into great ones. I feel that Joe Bonamassa has taken the best elements of classic rock (Bad Company, Led Zeppelin & Cream) and infused it with soul and mixed it in with some of Nashville best songwriters who are allowed to stretch beyond their usual three-minute airplay confines. Although most of these writers are some the biggest hit makers in the country today, they are also professional musicians and solo artists. So, not only can all these guys write songs but they can help execute them into a fine set list; making each and every Bonamassa track a worthy addition to his live set and your playlist. Indeed, Hambridge and Nicholson have an extensive blues catalogue in their own right.
Blues of Desperation is another album that showcases Joe’s fantastic guitar work. However, what really makes this album a sonic assault, is the addition of dual drummers (Anton Fig and Greg Morrow). In my opinion it is the inclusion of the dual drummers that make this latest release such an incredible listen. It gives the album a larger than life sound that needs to be heard, in order to be believed.
Joe Bonamassa may not be exactly reinventing the wheel, with Blues of Desperation but for now and the foreseeable future, there is no one who can deliver this kind of soul infused gritty hard rock blues better than he can.
