Black Country Communion

Here is that "supergroup" tag again, but this one will have legs as there is material already written for a second album and a tour planned for 2011.  I alluded to it in an earlier post, and now that it's out, you original Mad Rocker fans need to jump on the Black Country Communion bandwagon.  Joe Bonamassa on guitar/vocals, Jason Bonham on drums, Glenn Hughes bass/vocals, and Derek Sherinian on keyboards.  For many of you, there is no further explanation needed for both JB's, so let's dive into the others.  There really shouldn't be a need for elaborating on Glenn, who is truly an English rock legend, but I feel so many of my readers won't know him.  As a teen, he was in a band called Trapeze, and BCC covers "Medusa", a song he wrote and recorded at the tender age of eighteen.  The year?  1970.  Yep, he's pushing sixty and his voice sounds just as great as it ever has.  For the uninitiated, it's a cross of a screaming Paul Rodgers with the soulfulness of Tommy Bolin...ah, hell, if you don't know who Glenn is you won't know who Tommy is, so forget it.  Anyway, Glenn became a member of Deep Purple (I put BCC's version of "Mistreated" on a Facebook post) and contributed to other artists like Black Sabbath, Gary Moore, Whitesnake and Pat Travers, actually collaborating on an album with Travers' additional guitarist, Pat Thrall.  Derek Sherinian has played with Kiss, Alice Cooper, Todd Rundgren, Dream Theater, Yngwie Malmsteen and Billy Idol.  And let's not forget producer Kevin Shirley, who basically put this whole thing together in an extremely short period of time.  He's been involved with Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Journey, the Black Crowes, Rush, Aerosmith, and Aussie favorites of mine like Cold Chisel, the Angels and Silverchair.  Whew!  Is that enough name-dropping for ya?  Here is a track from the BCC site for you to absorb and enjoy.

This record is an excellent example of what classic rock was, and is.  Single out a few of the aforementioned bands and stir it up.  The songs are not similar, but the feeling is.  Bonamassa wrote or co-wrote most of the songs, and Hughes handles the majority of lead vocals, but Joe sings his share and those tracks are standouts, utilizing Glenn's amazing harmonies.  There's plenty of 70's-era bottom (how could there not be with the Bonham/Hughes tagteam).  You could tell from Joe's album "...John Henry" that he didn't just excel at blues licks, that he had some old school rock in his arsenal.  Well, here it is in all it's splendor.  Sherinian's keys are subtle, but they well up as the album progresses, actually becoming more noticeable with addition spins.  BCC is truly an ensemble recording, not a Bonamassa solo with guests.  I believe I would have selected a different track to open the record with, but otherwise this is what rock albums used to be like back in the days of AOR. 

This would have been a weekly staple of the Mad Rocker Shows at WPRK (I'm certain I played "Medusa" more than once...I still have a copy of the Trapeze vinyl with WPRK's stamp on it).  I have to give this a huge Mad Rocker vote of approval!