look: Joe Bonamassa - You & Me - Premier Artists 60282 - BUY

listen:

I Don't Believe

Palm Trees, Helicopters, and Gasoline

Your Funeral And My Trial

buy:

True growth of an artist is the one thing this reviewer loves to see. In an age of reinventing the wheel, trying on other's musical clothes and chipping away at the art of Blues, some artists have---and others don't. Joe Bonamassa certainly has it! He has had it since he was a child playing with BB King and others. He had it as one of the three top prodigies on guitar, (along with Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Jonny Lang). He had it with his group, Bloodline. He cultivated his playing and his voice, particularly, over several years of not playing much. He came back on the scene several years ago and has made a super-human effort to learn and grow. That effort shows real emotional involvement and dedication to the art of Blues.

You & Me shows what can be done with constant practice, playing night after night on the road, never giving up, but learning and growing as an artist. This CD is really one of the best this reviewer has heard in a LONG time. Serious and fiery, sizzling with Blues to Rock to Jazz to Folk, Bonamassa invokes so many themes and influences it's truly amazing. His comprehension of musical styles and how to use them to create something very original is a feat not many can accomplish. He does it with taste, style and depth. His collaboration with Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, The Black Crowes, Aerosmith, and Joe Satriani) works to his great advantage here. The return to more of a Rock sound may be controversial to purists, but here it is done right and it works!

While I could tell you that he sounds like "so & so", that really isn't correct. He sounds like Joe Bonamassa at his highest level yet. I believe there is more in there still. Nevertheless, his solo on the Otis Rush perennial "So Many Roads" is truly amazing - as emotional and heartfelt as any Rush guitar. Sweet and strong, his guitar drifts and burns over the listener's head, mirroring the intensity of the lyric and proving that an artist of Bonamassa's ilk can grow to great heights. "Tea for One" (an obscure Led Zeppelin song) is a stunner, featuring Jason Bonham on drums. The orchestral backing is beautiful, and entirely appropriate, even on a "Blues" CD. Even better, let the Ray Charles-like "Asking Around For You" wash over your soul. You'll think it is Ray!

Aside from three self-penned tunes, most of this cd is covers. Charlie Patton, Ry Cooder, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Don Robey are all here, but vaguely. You'd never believe it, since they are so changed from the originals that it would be hard to tell. Joe Bonamassa is sculpting modern Blues and he's doing a helluva job at it. This CD is thrilling! This CD is fantastic!

(©) 2006, Gary W. Miller
BluesSource.com