This may seem hard to believe given how prolific Joe Bonamassa is, but it’s actually been four years since his last proper studio album of originals, the prog-blues effort Time Clocks.
Make no mistake, Joe has been quite busy in that stretch, touring behind that album, then releasing a covers album that harkened back to his millennial beginnings (Blues Deluxe Vol. 2) and, of course, a Christmas album. Yet his new album, like his others, is invigorating and never less than very good.
The title is something of a misnomer; there are no real breakthroughs here, though when it comes to blues rock, the “breakthrough” ship sailed a long time ago. What Joe does, has always done, is write solid songs in the genre and use all manner of guitar tones, riffs, fills and chords to express himself. Unlike the stylistic detour of Time Clocks, these 10 songs are direct and propulsive.
Because you’ve heard this before, there’s little to make this one stand at the level of Joe’s best albums (Blues of Desperation and The Ballad of John Henry, in this writer’s opinion); it’s along the lines of Different Shades of Blue and Driving Toward the Daylight. The highlights here are unquestionably the acoustic “Shake This Ground” and the powerful rocker “Trigger Finger,” both of which were early singles and for good reason. “You Don’t Own Me” is also right up there, a snarling rocker with Velvet Revolver-like overtones (anyone who was in college in the early aughts remember that spinoff project, besides me? No? OK then).
Most of the songs are upbeat, not really wallowing in the slower blues, which keeps the album briskly moving, right up through the six-minute finale “Pain’s On Me” and its extended closing guitar solo, which just sort of fades out before you want it to. I imagine Joe will extend this in concert, if he hasn’t already. The same goes for the more languid “Broken Record,” one of the few slower moments here that is nevertheless punctuated and closed by a heartfelt guitar solo.
Kevin Shirley produces, as usual, and Joe evidently wrote around three dozen songs during various trips to Greece, Egypt, Nashville and L.A., selecting 10 of them for this effort. As noted, this is not a departure from his sound or a classic addition to the blues-rock genre, but it is a well-made, solid blues-rock album of the kind Joe delivers every time out. Check out the highlights and go from there; you really can’t go wrong with the guy.
