I’m excited to welcome Joe Bonamassa as a new sponsor of Guitar Lifestyle. They are offering Guitar Lifestyle readers a free download of “Blue and Evil” from Joe’s Black Rock album. To receive the free download, all you have to do is click here or click the ad in the sidebar and then select “Free MP3 Music”.

Jason Henke spoke with Joe Bonamassa prior to the Crossroads Festival last month to ask Joe a few questions about Eric Clapton, Joe’s British influences, what he hopes his legacy will be and more. One aspect of the Crossroads Festival that didn’t get reported very much is the auction that was associated with the festival. Joe donated his gold-sparkle Strat that he played for many years before switching to Gibsons. Here’s what Joe had to say about that guitar and the auction:

It’s a gold-sparkled Fender Strat that I played a lot in my earlier years – it’s probably my most noticeable guitar from that time. I had a lot of pictures taken with it. That guitar had been sitting in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for two years, and I decided it was time to close that chapter on my life with that guitar and let somebody else have it for a hell of a cause. As long as it goes to a good home and somebody enjoys it, I’m good with it. I just hope it doesn’t hang on a wall to look at. Play the thing. That’s what it was made for.

Click here to read the rest of the interview.



Joe Bonamassa recently spent some time in Nashville with Epiphone Guitars working on an upcoming Epiphone version of his signature Gibson Custom Shop guitar. Like his original Gibson, it looks like the Epiphone model will be a gold top Les Paul with a black back, black plastic components and a unique knob combination. Epiphone’s blog entry about the meeting indicated that the guitar will be out “very soon”. According to members of Joe’s forums, a Gibson USA (non-Custom Shop) version of Joe’s signature Les Paul is also in the works for a release in the near future. It should be an exciting year for guitar-playing fans of Bonamassa!

Below is a video of Joe Bonamassa playing “Further On Up the Road” with Robert Randolph during this past weekend’s Crossroads Festival in Chicago. It’s nice to see Joe playing one of his Wildwood “Bonaburst” guitars.

Black Country Communion have updated their website with a video interview with the band members about how the band came together and about the recording process. They’ve also announced an album release date of September 21 for North America and September 20 for Europe.

The album will be named Black Country and the track listing for the album will be:

1. Black Country
2. One Last Soul
3. The Great Divide
4. Down Again
5. Beggarman
6. Song Of Yesterday
7. No Time
8. Medusa
9. The Revolution In Me
10. Stand (At The Burning Tree)
11. Sista Jane
12. Too Late For The Sun

Tony Conley has been able to review the album and has also posted an interview with lead singer and bass player Glenn Hughes.

The band formerly known as Black Country, featuring Joe Bonamassa, Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham, and Derek Sherinian, have officially been renamed as Black Country Communion. The new website is sparse of details about the upcoming album, but you can see them play “One Last Soul” on YouTube.

Wildwood Guitars has worked with Gibson to create an extremely limited edition new version of the Joe Bonamassa signature Les Paul called the Joe Bonamassa Ltd VOS Les Paul. As you can see from the picture above, this model differs from the first signature model in that it is a Sunburst model while the first model was a Goldtop. They actually call the finish on this one the “Bonamassa Burst.” Wildwood’s feature list for the guitar includes the following:

Bonamassa Burst, VOS Finish, Carved Maple Top, 2-Piece Mahogany Body, Nickel Hardware, ABR-1 Bridge w/o Retainer Wire, Aluminum Stop-bar Tailpiece, Dunlop Strap Locks, 1-Piece Mahogany Neck, 22 Fret Rosewood Fingerboard, Acrylic Trapezoid Inlays, 24 3/4″ Scale Length, 1 11/16″ Nut Width, Bonamassa Truss Rod Cover, BurstBucker 2 (R) and BurstBucker 3 (T) Pickups, 2 Volume, 2 Tone, 3-way Switch, CTS Pots and Bumble bee Capacitors, Includes Hardshell Case.

At least initially, there will only be 25 of these new Bonamassa models made for sale (numbered 1-25), and Wildwood Guitars will be the exclusive retailer for them. You can pre-order the guitar directly from Wildwood for $3899. I have no affiliation with Wildwood and I’ve never purchased anything from them, but I recently spoke with one of their salespeople about another guitar they had in stock. They were extremely helpful and, even though I ended up buying a different guitar, I would not hesitate to buy from Wildwood in the future.

This is some video footage of Joe Bonamassa playing “The Ballad of John Henry” during the recording sessions of the album of the same name. Producer Kevin Shirley recorded a lot of the recording sessions, so I’m hoping more videos of the recordings become available at some point. In the meantime, enjoy:

Joe Bonamassa and Kevin Shirley have a good thing going. Each year they get together for a few weeks and record a new album. I don’t know how they do it, but they’ve got the process down to a science. Which is not to say that the records sound rushed. On the contrary, Shirley seems to be able to push Bonamasssa a little further with each new release, and Bonamassa’s signature sound gets more refined.

Recorded in picturesque Santorini, Greece, Black Rock* is the next chapter of the Shirley/Bonamassa collaboration. At the start of the recording sessions, Shirley had Joe record using a Telecaster directly into small amps to force Bonamassa out of his Les Paul/Marshall comfort zone. Additionally, Greek folk musicians were brought in to play with Joe. You can read more about the recording process here.

Like Bonamassa’s previous solo albums, Black Rock contains a mixture of original tunes and covers. Joe wrote 5 of the 13 tracks on the album. As I’ve mentioned before, Joe has a way of taking songs written by other people and making them his own. On Black Rock, Joe covers songs by Jeff Beck, John Hiatt, Otis Rush, Willie Nelson, Leonard Cohen, Blind Boy Fuller, and James Clark. Joe is also joined by special guest B.B. King on the  Willie Nelson tune “Night Life.”

The album starts off with a couple of heavier blues tunes, “Steal Your Heart Away” followed by “I Know a Place.” These songs set a nice tone for the album. Vocally, Joe seems to be stretching himself further with each album. Musically, Joe’s in excellent form. His recorded guitar tones are some of my favorite, and Black Rock continues that tradition.

I really enjoy Joe’s slide playing, but the slide hasn’t been prominently featured on one of his albums for several years. Fortunately, the third song on the album, “When the Fire Hits the Sea”, changes that by featuring a very nice slide solo.

Next is “Quarryman’s Lament”, which is presumably a response to “Story of a Quarryman” from Joe’s last album The Ballad of John Henry. “Quarryman’s Lament” is a slow, dirge-like number that features some excellent acoustic playing by Joe.

“Spanish Boots” is a Jeff Beck tune, and Bonamassa’s version is quite a bit different than Beck’s version. In my opinion, Beck’s version is more laid back than Bonamassa’s version, which is more upfront and in your face. Both versions are excellent, but I think I like Bonamassa’s version a little better.

I was a little surprised to see Joe cover a Leonard Cohen tune, but his version of “Bird on a Wire” is excellent. I’ve never heard the original, so I can’t compare them, but I really like Joe’s version. It’s probably the slowest song on the album and is a nice bridge between “Spanish Boots” and the bluesier “Three Times a Fool.”

“Three Times a Fool” is one of the more traditional blues songs on the album. To me, this song evokes the blues of the 50s and 60s. Joe seems to be using a 335-style guitar on this track, which contributes to the more classic sound compared to his more rock-oriented tracks. “Night Life” also falls into the category of more traditional blues, even though it’s a cover of a Willie Nelson tune. Of course, B.B. King helps contribute to the more traditional sound. I like their take on the tune. Again, I’ve never heard the original, so I can’t compare this version to the original.

After “Night Life” is “Wandering Earth”, which is a slow, but heavy blues that has some of the best guitar tones on the album. This is an original Bonamassa tune and is one of my favorites on the album.

“Look Over Yonders Wall” is a mid-tempo blues number that is a cover of a James Clark tune. Joe plays a couple of fiery solos in this tune.

“Athens to Athens” is a slow, Greek-infused song that features the Greek musicians more prominently than most of the other songs. I was curious to see how the Greek musicians would fit into Joe’s style of music, and I think Shirley did a good job in where he placed them on the album. A nice touch resulting in an interesting addition to the album.

“Blue and Evil” is the first publicly available song from Black Rock. It starts off with an acoustic riff that morphs into a heavy blues riff. This tune features great guitar tones and another fiery guitar solo from Joe.

The final track on the album is an acoustic blues cover of a Blind Boy Fuller song titled “Baby You Gotta Change Your Mind.” Compared to the rest of the album, this track is a bit of a departure, and I can see why it’s included last. However, I really like Joe’s take on the song, and it’s a fun way to end the album. It’s a more intimate song prominently featuring Joe’s vocals and guitar playing with little other instrumentation.

With Black Rock, Joe Bonamassa and Kevin Shirley have got another great album to add to Bonamassa’s already impressive discography. Very few other modern artists are playing blues/rock music like this, and Bonamassa remains at the top of his game with this album. If you’re already a fan, you’ll love this album. If you’re new to Bonamassa’s music, Black Rock provides a nice introduction to the variety in his music, not to mention the great collection of songs.

The full track listing of Black Rock is:

1. Steal Your Heart Away
2. I Know a Place
3. When the Fire Hits the Sea
4. Quarryman’s Lament
5. Spanish Boots
6. Bird on a Wire
7. Three Times a Fool
8. Night Life
9. Wandering Earth
10. Look Over Yonders Wall
11. Athens to Athens
12. Blue and Evil
13. Baby You Gotta Change Your Mind

Black Rock will be available in the U.S. on March 23, 2010.

* The Amazon.com links within this review are affiliate links. I receive a small commission if you purchase the album through this link, which helps me pay to host this site. That being said, I really like this album and wouldn’t recommend it otherwise.

Joe Bonamassa has recently been on a press tour talking about his upcoming album Black Rock (aff link). He’s also been playing some songs from the album. Here’s Joe playing Three Times a Fool: