Jimi75
Well-known member
Joe Bonamassa is without a doubt one of the best guitar players around these days. His perfect guitar tone is in the same league as SRV’s, Hendrix’s or Knopfler’s tone.
It’s hard to find good rock music with good tone these days. I always looked forward to buying Joe’s new albums. But with the last couple of albums I felt that they wear off pretty fast and start gathering dust in my collection.
I feel I listen to Joe’s music only when I want to hear good guitar sound. It’s tricky being a guitarist. Most of us can be easily intrigued with good guitar sound.
I’ve seen Joe live in concert a couple of times and I almost had a bad conscious admitting to myself during the later concerts that I was bored throughout the better part of the gig. I started wondering WHY this was so.
Shame on me? Here we have a great guitar player with great talent and an awesome band behind him, coming the long way from the USA to my country to bring Blues and Rock music. Joe’s got a message and a mission, you feel it when he plays and speaks.
But if I fade out his great attitude, the cool vintage guitars and amps, the great sound, which all belong without a doubt to the show, there’s one thing that is the most important to me – it’s the songwriting! I want to get a kick from music. And that is where my problem with Joe’s music started some years ago. I have listened to the unmasked musician and I was surprised how little of his music really remains present in my mind. But was it that way all the time? No it wasn’t!
What’s the problem you might ask.
The problem to me is that I find it very sad when someone is obviously able to write great songs (Coulour & Shape, When She Dances, I Know Where I Belong for example) and then all of a sudden starts riding down a one way street of monotonous Bluesrock.
Of course no musician wants to make the same music with every album! Joe was one of the few artists that on the one hand were able to preserve the heritage of great guitar playing and sound, but on the other hand carrying on the torch of great songwriting in writing with that new and unheard freshness. The solos were excellent and had lots of melody. A lot of people I know (non musicians) and who consider themselves as average music consumers loved his works for the music, or better said for the songs and songwriting.
Joe was the musical future. The one great hope. He had it all. And still has it all...somewhere slumbering.
Unfortunately, he made a strong turn into the next one way street starting with You & Me. Most of his solos became boring and sound the same. It’s the same pattern for every solo. Some weak melody followed by Eric Johnson style pentatonic. A good intro guitar riff followed by song pettiness.
His current music lives from “cool” guitar playing. To me it seems as if Joe had stumbled into the “you have to keep the Blues alive” and “Praise the mandatory rock heroes” trap and throughout his mission he forget to preserve and develop his own “voice”.
Everyone to his own taste. Everyone is free to decide what music he wants to play. I cross my fingers for Joe and am happy for him being successful and for being an obviously kind hearted person.
This is my personal opinion and you might disagree or even hate me for that. I’d like to underline that I am not one of the “everything used to be better back then” guys or one of the folks who want to hear a “Miss You Hate You” on every album. I am just sad on missing out on the great songs Joe could write!
It’s hard to find good rock music with good tone these days. I always looked forward to buying Joe’s new albums. But with the last couple of albums I felt that they wear off pretty fast and start gathering dust in my collection.
I feel I listen to Joe’s music only when I want to hear good guitar sound. It’s tricky being a guitarist. Most of us can be easily intrigued with good guitar sound.
I’ve seen Joe live in concert a couple of times and I almost had a bad conscious admitting to myself during the later concerts that I was bored throughout the better part of the gig. I started wondering WHY this was so.
Shame on me? Here we have a great guitar player with great talent and an awesome band behind him, coming the long way from the USA to my country to bring Blues and Rock music. Joe’s got a message and a mission, you feel it when he plays and speaks.
But if I fade out his great attitude, the cool vintage guitars and amps, the great sound, which all belong without a doubt to the show, there’s one thing that is the most important to me – it’s the songwriting! I want to get a kick from music. And that is where my problem with Joe’s music started some years ago. I have listened to the unmasked musician and I was surprised how little of his music really remains present in my mind. But was it that way all the time? No it wasn’t!
What’s the problem you might ask.
The problem to me is that I find it very sad when someone is obviously able to write great songs (Coulour & Shape, When She Dances, I Know Where I Belong for example) and then all of a sudden starts riding down a one way street of monotonous Bluesrock.
Of course no musician wants to make the same music with every album! Joe was one of the few artists that on the one hand were able to preserve the heritage of great guitar playing and sound, but on the other hand carrying on the torch of great songwriting in writing with that new and unheard freshness. The solos were excellent and had lots of melody. A lot of people I know (non musicians) and who consider themselves as average music consumers loved his works for the music, or better said for the songs and songwriting.
Joe was the musical future. The one great hope. He had it all. And still has it all...somewhere slumbering.
Unfortunately, he made a strong turn into the next one way street starting with You & Me. Most of his solos became boring and sound the same. It’s the same pattern for every solo. Some weak melody followed by Eric Johnson style pentatonic. A good intro guitar riff followed by song pettiness.
His current music lives from “cool” guitar playing. To me it seems as if Joe had stumbled into the “you have to keep the Blues alive” and “Praise the mandatory rock heroes” trap and throughout his mission he forget to preserve and develop his own “voice”.
Everyone to his own taste. Everyone is free to decide what music he wants to play. I cross my fingers for Joe and am happy for him being successful and for being an obviously kind hearted person.
This is my personal opinion and you might disagree or even hate me for that. I’d like to underline that I am not one of the “everything used to be better back then” guys or one of the folks who want to hear a “Miss You Hate You” on every album. I am just sad on missing out on the great songs Joe could write!
