Joe Bonamassa

He his being touted as the new king of blues guitar.I think he is a breath of fresh air,but others disagree.Is he the real deal or just another pretender.

Sensational live not sure the magic is sustained on record.
I think its wise to call his style rock blues, or modern electric blues or something. Now, I hate sub-genres as much as the next man but I think the Blues purists will never give him credit because he doesn't stick to that style, dunno just a thought.

Thought the guitar sound on the track 'Sloe Gin' was amazing and anyone brave enough to cover Led Zeppelins 'Tea For One' (and its good!) gets my vote....
However, like Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Robben Ford and the like....the songs themselves are nothing special.
I can still play any Stevie Ray Vaughan or Albert Collins album and be amazed. Joe and Kenny and Robben are all great players but for me the songs are formulaic blues which is a shame.

Absolutely sensational live

He's souless. Just another 'technican' but absolutely no passion in his music. Go and listen to Luther Allison, Otis Rush, Magic Slim..... if you want the real BLUES. This guy shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as SRV. There are even better Blues/rock players out there --Walter Trout, Buddy Whittington, Coco Montoya - actually all three of those played in John Mayalls Blues Breakers over the last 25 years and are still better than Bonamassa will ever be.

Who is this Idiot? I've seen Bonamassa play live six times and I can assure you that he can the blues with the same deep passion as the best of the classic players. And the idea that a second rate player like Walter Trout is a better guitarist/blues artist than Bonamassa is postively absurd. I've seen Trout and he is at best top of the seocond division. If the blues purists have their way the blues will die. You've have to continually go back to the roots of the music as played by the great artists of the past, but you have to also forge ahead in the way Joe is doing. Just listen to Bonnamassa's version of Tea for One - one of the best cover versions of a Zeppelin track done by anyone ever - and tell me that he doesn't play with passion. Ridiculous!!! But then this numbskull probably doesn't think Zeppelin is the blues either. God Help Us!

If you haven't heard Joe yet, don't listen to this fool; go and buy anything by him and make up your own mind. Better still, go see him live!

David Sarsfield

Radio D and Mr David Sarsfield both do yourselves a favour have a listen to Walter Trout's Full Circle c.d.It,s Walter with a host of his friends,and on the track Clouds On the Horizon he trades licks with Joe Bonamassa.Then tell me that Walter trout is second division guitarist and that Joe has no passion!

What's with all this 'real Blues' stuff? Why do people have to pigeonhole music and musicians into genres and then shut out anything that doesn't fit into their tight little rules. Robert Johnson played 'real Blues', I think, but 'They're Red Hot' is hardly blues, it's ragtime. Therefore, according to some, he must have been betraying his roots. Perhaps only a third-rate busker who can only play 12-bar is a 'real Blues' musician.

What nonsense. Johnson and many other greats of his era would happily play the hits of the day, blues, jazz, country, ragtime - it didn't matter, it was music and they enjoyed it, as did their audiences. Did that mean they were not 'real Blues' maestros?

The same applies to Joe Bonamassa, he is a musician, an excellent one, and enjoys playing anything he is skilful enough to play, which, basically, is anything. Blues, rock, jazz, country, semi-classical, eastern-influenced, anything. To me. it all sounds good. As for trying to damn him as a 'technician', as Radio Deacon tries to do, I believe he'll find great musicians like Paganini and Rachmaninov were regarded as 'virtuosos' rather than technicians (oh, Paganini also played the mandolin and the guitar, so he couldn't have really been a great violinist following the thinking of the genre nerds).

Joe is a virtuoso, and a good singer to boot. Keep up the Blues Joe (and the rock, jazz and all the rest).

I think Joe is great - I haven't seen him live but I do think his live recordings beat his studio cds hands down. If you like great blues, check out Ian Siegal - up to date stuff, played & sung with loads of belief & passion. All the best everyone - keep enjoying the blues!

[Deleted by the author on 11 Jun 2009 23:48:10 BDT]

Well said McDravid - Music is & will always be subjective, but that does not mean that music that other people may like is not credible.
How anyone can say that Joe Bonamassa plays without soul & passion is beyond belief & it is a stupid statement.
"The Blues" as a genre covers a multitude of artists from many eras , pigeon holing is our own way of filing things in our heads, who is to say its right ?
So whatever floats your boat, enjoy it !

McDravid has made some great comments here, each of which I agree with.
Comparing Bonamassa with Stevie Ray Vaughan is pretty pointless, Joe plays a far greater range of material and is one of the few American eletric blues guitar players who has avoided the SRv trap. Sure his music is more than just blues, but for blues to progress it does need to encorporate other influences.

I have seen Joe Bonamassa twice and he is without doubt one of the best guitar players I have ever seen. I have seen the great guitar players of the past from the 60s and 70s. Joe is better than most of them. Blues is like a live language it is variable and developing. If you want pure blues, now which genre would that be......
For great British player check out Aynsley Lister a great player with a great live performance. like Joe he is nice with it.

Ellick Taylor- could not agree more about Aynsley Lister, also people should check out Ian Parker,Matt Schofield and Joanne Shaw Taylor.All great performers and guitarists.And all British.

Anyone seen Chantel McGregor, a young lass based in Yorkshire who was good enough to play alongside Joe Bonamassa at the Manchester Academy last year? Very good guitarist, although a little prone to straying into soul, which I'm not that keen on.

Hi.. I'm now living in Bulgaria, a country just about no-one from the 'real' music world includes in their gig tour. This year, (2009) Joe Bonamassa's gig at Colston Hall in Bristol was, (sadly,) the last gig I attended in the UK and probably the last gig I'll ever attend. I'm 61 next birthday and I've been an avid concert fan for 35 years. Bonamassa? He was faultless.. If he sang one note fractionally sharp or flat, I didn't detect it and his guitar playing was superb. So too were the band and the sound system, (mind you, I was sitting right next to the mixing desk.) In answer to your rhetoric, Bonamassa's definitely the 'Real-Deal' - I just hope he's around for a long. long time. If you have the chance, attend one of his gigs: If you like Blues-Rock, you definitely won't be disappointed. SuperGadger.

He is increadible live although I think his albums have never really captured what makes him so special as an artist. Not sure if Blues suffers from the same problems as jazz in trying to catch an essentially live music. Thoughts anyone? Anyway the guy I've been turned on to by Bob Harris is a young British Blues artist called Marcus Bonfanti. He's been bubbling away under the surface doing support for Robert Cray and I've just pre-ordered his new album. Has anyone also heard tracks from this album or seen him live. Planning to try and catch his show in Aberdeen.
What Good Am I To You?

Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course, but for me it's a no brainer when comparing Joe Bonamassa to Walter Trout,having seen both of them live several times Joe wins hands down everytime, like I say I've seen them both several times so I like Walter, I just think Joe is much better

Don't start having a go at Trout and other guitarists - they are all very good. I think JB is very possibly the best blues/rock guitarist alive today - He learned from listening to Page, Clapton, Beck, SRV & Hendrix rather than the traditional way that the guitarists mentioned above did - they listened to the likes of Guitar Hurricane, Memphis Slim & Robert Johnson, but then again they were the originals. Joe Bonamassa has sensational tone and fantastic style along with a total and complete passion for his and anybody elses music.

Derek Trucks anyone??

i recently saw both joe bonamassa & oli brown in the same week ---joe for sure has great fire, soul, & passion, but somehow he seems to be looking for the next level-------of the two gigs i think i actualy ENJOYED oli brown more. check him out if you get the chance!

Well here is something from a girlie!
I have 3 albums and one dvd of Joes.. of Royal Albert Hall..
I have always been a Zeppelin fan - tea for one that Joe does has outstripped their version totally!
as a woman I love the ballads - the best being Happier Times! and the one above..
Myself and partner are seeing Joe at end of May this year and cannot wait - he is a fantastic muscician and vocalist in his own right! - I am 54 going on 34 so please men stop comparing him to others - especially the established names - he is the name of the future - see him while you can afford it!! - kate x

Just been listening to Joe's new album Black Rock and it's another winner.

I wasnt sure how I felt about the Black Rock album when I first listened to it but it is growing on me! Blue & Evil being my favourite.. As for the catchy little number at the end well er hmm.. whats that all about?

I think I've fallen in love with you, Kate. You are absolutely right to demand that people stop comparing JB with others who can bend a note or two on the fretboard. Everyone has their own style, their own interpretations of great tracks from the past, their own soul to put into the Blues.

JB plays it like he thinks it should sound, and he's usually right. I'm going to see him in May as well, in Rotherham. I look forward to an evening of sublime music.