Joe Bonamassa - Sloe Gin

180 Gram Vinyl! Growth & Confidence as a Songwriter! Wonderfully Nuanced Vocals!

As Joe Bonamassa grows his reputation as one of the world's greatest guitar players, he is also evolving into a charismatic blues-rock star and singer-songwriter of stylistic depth and emotional resonance. His ability to connect with live concert audiences is transformational.

In May '09, he played to a sold out crowd at London's Royal Albert Hall, arguably the most prestigious concert venue in the world. During the show, Bonamassa's hero, Eric Clapton, joined him on stage for a joint-performance of Clapton's hit "Further On Up The Road." London's The Independent said about the show, "The man has arrived, and there's no turning back."

In 2009, Joe was awarded the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award at the U.K.'s prestigious Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards and Classic Rock magazine has said, "They're calling him the future of blues, but they're wrong – Joe Bonamassa is the present; so fresh and of his time that he almost defines it." He was also named Best Blues Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine's 2009 Readers' Choice Awards for the third consecutive year. Guitar Player writer Matt Blackett has said, "He's an old soul, and that comes through in his bends, vibrato, singing voice, and note choices, which – with each passing year – get more restrained and refined."

2009 also marked Bonamassa's twentieth year as a professional musician, an extraordinary timeline for a young artist just into his '30s. A child prodigy, Bonamassa was finessing Stevie Ray Vaughan licks when he was seven and by the time he was ten, had caught B.B. King's ear. After first hearing him play, King said, "This kid's potential is unbelievable. He hasn't even begun to scratch the surface. He's one of a kind." By age 12, Bonamassa was opening shows for the blues icon and went on to tour with venerable acts including Buddy Guy, Foreigner, Robert Cray, Stephen Stills, Joe Cocker and Gregg Allman.

"Bonamassa has... stepped up his songwriting (four of the 11 tracks here are originals; the rest are blues and hard rock covers) and cut way down on his clichés, delivering in the process his most varied and impressive album yet. The lead track, a version of Chris Whitley's 'Ball Peen Hammer,' is an atmospheric gem, as is the title tune, a cover of a song written by Bob Ezrin and Michael Kamen that first appeared on Tim Curry's solo debut album in 1978. Bonamassa's singing on both of these is wonderfully nuanced and shows he can do way more than just shout out blues-rockers. Also worth noting is his Dobro work on a fine cover of John Martyn's 'Jelly Roll,' and then there are the four originals -- 'Dirt in My Pocket,' 'Richmond,' 'Around the Bend,' and the striking 'India' -- which show Bonamassa's continued growth and confidence as a songwriter." - Steve Leggett, allmusic.com

Features:
• 180 Gram Vinyl
• Import LP

Selections:
Side A:
1. Ball Peen Hammer
2. One Of These Days
3. Seagull
4. Dirt In My Pocket
5. Sloe Gin
Side B:
1. Another Kind of Love
2. Around The Bend
3. Black Night
4. Jelly Roll
5. Richmond
6. India