What a difference two decades makes. Back in 2003, when Joe Bonamassa released his first Blues Deluxe, he seemed every inch a busted flush, having been jettisoned by two labels and his booking agent.
Fast-forward to 2023 and a different concern hangs over this second covers set: can a financially secure middle-aged star summon the pencil lead of a 26-year-old gunslinger with his back to the wall?
While Vol. 2 is unfailingly upbeat, the opening brace – a molten take on Bobby Bland’s Twenty-Four Hour Blues and aspirited spin through Bobby Parker’s It’s Hard But It’s Fair – suggest Bonamassa no longer feels the need to burn off our eyebrows.
That (relative) lack of scorched-earth fretwork might rankle eternal adolescents, but if you’ve followed his career the evolution makes perfect sense and the soul that has seeped into his playing is preferable: try the masterful, mid-tempo Win-O or the push/pull of his solo in You Sure Drive A Hard Bargain. Roll on Vol. 3.
The Joe Bonamassa Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 bundle edition of Classic Rock magazine is available now.
