What else can I say about this guy that I haven't said before, and yet, there are still many who do not know who JB is. I had a friend come over last week for a craft beer tasting (drinkfest) and had music concerts (Widespread Panic, Kansas, David Gilmour) playing on the TV and through the house system. My buddy requests Stevie Ray Vaughan but I have JB's Royal Albert Hall DVD out for easy access and pop it in. My friend says, "Wow, this guy can play and what a great voice! Who is he?" It takes all the control I have to not spit out my mouthful of Stone Brewery's Russian Imperial Stout. "This guy is the next generation of SRV," I tell him. And a new fan is born.
"Driving..." is textbook JB, smokin' guitar and those great vocals. He gets the same knock on his singing as SRV did. People say, "shut up and play that guitar!" That I understand when you have Glenn Hughes to sing instead, as in Black Country Communion, or Beth Hart on their collaborative album a few months ago. And there lies the potential problem. JB may be spreading himself too thin. He's averaged an album a year since going solo at the turn of the century, not including the live recordings, of which there are several, and he's guesting on this guy's album, that guy's album, the other guy's album, and even this legendary band's latest release. Producer Kevin Shirley is the link to many of them (that's how Jimmy Barnes was enlisted to reprise his track which closes this record) and has been quoted as saying that Joe has to be challenged with new stimuli so that he doesn't get into a rut. Keep riding that horse that hard, Kevin, and he's going to break a leg/finger...
It's not such a bad rut to be in when you've just achieved your eighth #1 Blues Album and highest peak position on the Top 200. Why the man hasn't received recognition from NARAS is beyond me, especially as a blues artist. Maybe the old farts at the Grammy's can't grasp his take on the blues.... "that's rock, Waldorf, not blues,"..... but how can you not understand that songs by Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon and Robert Johnson are blues?! OK, so they are obscure, not the ones you know, but they are written by those legends. Other composers featured on "Driving..." are Tom Waits, Bill Withers and Bernie Marsden of Whitesnake fame. These covers make up seven of the eleven tracks and have raised the bar over previous JB solo releases. I usually find that the self-penned tracks are the best and have asked for an entire record of Bonamassa compositions, but "Driving..." is on an even keel this time with the covers. Here is the official title track, written by JB...
There are Page-isms prevalent early in the album and the Marsden composition is an homage to Gary Moore (R.I.P.). It may not be his best album, but it certainly is the most steady, and maybe a Grammy nomination will finally come his way.
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