Joe Bonamassa – Sloe Gin

Details :

• Year of release : 2007
• Label : Provogue PRD 7218
• Review format : CD

An album I’d already mentioned on these pages when I did an early review for it on the Classic Rock Newswire back in July however unlike many discs I receive for review this one just hasn’t left the playlist and is another in the running for a top 10 album of the year placing. Bonamassa’s seventh solo album, produced by Kevin Shirley of Black Crowes and Aerosmith (amongst many others) fame it follows the extremely successful “You & Me”, an album which débuted at #1 on Billboard’s Blues Chart.

Ball Peen Hammer, the albums opening track, is immediately a work of someone at the height of their game. Drifting from soft acoustic passages into heavier traditional blues rock territory it defies classification as a cover version, it just sounds so natural that you’d think it was from Bonamassa’s own mind not that of writer Chris Whitley. Likewise he superb adaptation of the Ten Years After scorcher One Of These Days. This version just smokes with with the guitarist showing just why he’s touted as the natural successor to Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Now there are a number of other cover versions on this album which initially gave course for concern as there has been a glut of poor cover albums of late (with just the odd good one) but excellent renditions of the Bad Company début ballad Seagull, John Martin’s Jelly Roll and Charles Brown’s Black Night are all so well delivered and importantly fit with the original material that the writer doesn’t really matter in this case. It also makes you remember that so much about the blues over the years, certainly the rock years, has been about interpreting classic material in new ways and Bonamassa appears to have that gift.

The real gems on this album however lie unsurprisingly with the original material an none more so than the outstanding Dirt In My Pocket. One listen to this fine track and anyone who knows me will appreciate straight away why I warmed to this number so much. A real blues drenched rocker that not only demonstrates the man’s considerable guitar feel but also showcases some fine, gutsy vocal work to boot. Title track Sloe Gin, an eight minute epic, is another that features some sublime guitar work within another piece that evolves from quiet beginnings whilst both Richmond and the excellent India impress greatly as well, especially India as it mixes some excellent guitar work with some very Indian styled tones too and lends something different to the album.

Another Kind Of Love is decent, accessible rocker whilst Around The Bend offers a more reflective, laid back take that again offsets some of the incendiary blues playing on the album. And although I’ve failed to stick to the actual running order here, the album flows in such a good way that it just seems to fly by whilst the mixing of covers and originals becomes nothing more than an after-thought as Bonamassa’s own identity is paramount throughout the album. In fact, he’s gone on record as purposely sequencing this album as a throwback to the vinyl days of two sides and the mix of heavy blues and acoustic numbers is in itself influenced by Rod Stewart’s 1969 classic début solo album, and no greater praise can be levelled at this album than to say it can sit proudly when measured against that excellent release.

Summary : Without doubt a fine release and despite the plethora of cover versions a coherent and superbly sequenced album that just flows perfectly. The rock numbers on here really do work so well for me and the album has already ensured that in the UK at least, the name of Joe Bonamassa is becoming increasingly well known and his inclusion on Rock Radio whether it be the national Planet Rock or the regional (but on the internet worldwide!) GTFM Rock Show is no longer a surprise but a very welcome and logical inclusion. Once again I’m late to the party with Bonamassa, only really discovering him personally with last years “You & Me” release but on the positive side I now have a further five albums to track down.

If You Listen To One Track Listen To : Dirt In My Pocket

Score : 4/5

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Title track “Sloe Gin” performed on a Dutch TV compilation of highlights from “North Sea Jazz Festival 2007″…

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BL