New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Twenty years since the release of his best-selling album 'Blues Deluxe,' which celebrated what the US government had declared "the year of the blues" with a mix of originals and reinterpretations of classic songs, superstar
Joe Bonamassa is taking stock of how far he and the genre have come with Blues
Deluxe Vol. 2, out October 6th via J&R Adventures.
Featuring two new originals and eight new covers spanning some of the most important names in the blues - from
Bobby "Blue" Bland and
Peter Green's
Fleetwood Mac to Albert King - Blues
Deluxe 2 finds Bonamassa returning to his roots and giving new life to the classic tracks that have informed his own artistry.
"If you had told me 20 years ago my career would last long enough to see the 20th anniversary of this little record called 'Blues Deluxe,' I'm sure I would have laughed," Bonamassa reflects. "Blues
Deluxe was my last shot after being dropped by two major record labels and my booking agent. It was then that my manager, Roy Weisman, had his first 'all in' moment. We would go back into the studio and record. A record that would hopefully define the direction of whatever future career I might have."
"On Blues
Deluxe Vol. 2, I asked my great friend Josh Smith to produce a record to be a companion to the anniversary edition of the first album, and hopefully demonstrate a bit of how I have progressed over the last 20 years," Bonamassa adds. "The contrast between a cocky 26-year-old and an established 46-year-old is considerable. Does the fire still burn like it did? Am I still playing hungry? Am I even good enough to pay tribute to my heroes all over again? The answer lies somewhere in this album."
"When Joe asked me to produce Blues
Deluxe Vol. 2, I knew immediately what I wanted to accomplish," adds Smith. "I wanted the fans to hear the completely natural, relaxed Joe that I hear when we are just goofing around playing guitars. He really was in the moment and feeling completely supported and I know that he really 'went for it' on everything."
To mark the announcement, Bonamassa has released the album's latest single "Twenty-Four Hour Blues," a blistering reinterpretation of
Bobby "Blue" Bland's classic track, featured on one of Bonamassa's favorite albums of all time, Dreamer. The new version features one of Bonamassa's best-ever vocals and guitar solos. "The outro guitar solo is incredible," Smith comments. "It happened live on the floor and has some deep lines you've probably never heard Joe play before. The band is absolutely smoking, and Calvin Turner did an incredible String and Horn arrangement. Super proud of this one."
"Part of my approach to these new recordings was that I wanted to see if I had matured musically over the years, and if I had gotten better as a player," Bonamassa says. "I'm happy to say that I am a much better singer than I was 20 years ago - though I still don't really consider myself to be a legit 'singer,' I can now carry a tune a little better than I could back then."
The announcement of Blues Deluxe, Vol. 2 follows the release of the album's lead single "I Want To Shout About It," originally performed by
Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters. Bonamassa's joyful version features solos from Reese Wynans on organ and Paulie Cerra on sax, as well as some killer adlibs from vocalists Dannielle DeAndrea and Charles Jones as the track winds to a close. "Shout About It is a song originally by the great
Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters with Darrel Nullisch on vocals," Smith adds. "It's a tough/high song to sing and Joe really pushed himself and nailed it. It's a real rave up, a party song. Joe has been playing it live lately and the crowds are really digging it!"
Featuring Reese Wynans (keys), Calvin Turner (bass), Lamar Carter (drums), Kirk
Fletcher (guitar), and Smith (guitar), additional highlights from Blues
Deluxe Vol. 2 include Guitar Slim's "Well, I Done Got Over It,"
Bobby Parker's "It's Hard But It's Fair," and "Is It Safe To Go Home," a new track written for Joe by Josh Smith. "I knew I wanted to push him really hard vocally," Smith adds. "I'd heard him sing things just messing around or when we'd be producing for other artists that I'd never heard him do on record. So the songs were both chosen and written with that in mind. If you listen to the vocals on "Twenty-Four Hour Blues" and "Is It Safe To Go Home," you'll hear Joe really going for it."
Having just earned a remarkable 26th #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart for his sprawling and extensive live concert film and album Tales Of Time, Bonamassa is heading to
Europe for three weeks of festival performances, before returning to the US for a string of summer dates. The summer run will include Bonamassa's debut appearance at Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday, August 9th, with an exclusive, one-night-only concert experience alongside an orchestra, which will be recorded for his next live concert film. Then the hardest working bluesman in show business begins his US Fall Tour on October 23rd at The Cannon Center in Memphis, TN, which will take him from coast-to-coast to end at the guitar-shaped Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, FL. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit Jbonamassa.com.
Cited by Guitar World as "arguably the world's biggest blues guitarist," Bonamassa is known for taking risks and venturing into uncharted territory throughout his wide-ranging career. His last recent full-length Time Clocks marked his most raw, rocking studio album yet, with American Songwriter sharing, "Bonamassa pushes into fresh territory while staying within a blues-based framework," and "there is more than enough proof in this sprawling set that Bonamassa doesn't intend to rest on his laurels or take his star status in the blues-rock genre for granted."
Hailed as "a near spiritual experience" by Classic Rock Magazine and featuring songs from his latest #1 studio album, Time Clocks, Bonamassa's latest live concert release Tales Of Time, captures a stratospheric performance by the blues-rock titan at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, which found his virtuoso guitar style and unique technique and flair elevating the evening to an almost heavenly high. The project was produced by long-time collaborator and producer
Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Journey).
"This live show represents our most progressive and largest production to date, focusing on my most ambitious studio album to date," commented Bonamassa. "My band was a force of nature on this show, and it truly was a special night." For more information on Tales Of Time visit Jbonamassa.com
Blues
Deluxe Vol. 2 by Joe Bonamassa:
1) Twenty-Four Hour Blues (originally performed by
Bobby "Blue" Bland)
2) It's Hard But It's Fair (originally performed by
Bobby Parker)
3) Well, I Done Got Over It (originally performed by Guitar Slim)
4) I Want to Shout About It (originally performed by Ronnie Earle & The Broadcasters)
5) Win-O (originally performed by Pee Wee Crayton)
6) Hope You Realize It (Goodbye Again) *original song written by
Joe Bonamassa & Tom Hambridge
7) Lazy Poker Blues (originally performed by Fleetwood Mac)
8) You Sure Drive a Hard Bargain (originally performed by Albert King)
9) The Truth
Hurts Feat Kirk
Fletcher and Josh Smith (originally performed by Kenny Neal)
10) Is It Safe To Go Home *original song written by Josh Smith
Summer U.S. Tour:
August 2 - Vina Robles Amphitheatre - Paso Robles, CA
August 4 - The Cosmopolitan of Las
Vegas - Las Vegas, NV
August 5 - Eccles Theater - Salt Lake City, UT
August 6 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Morrison, CO
August 9 - Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, CA^
August 12 - Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater - Wantagh, NY**
August 13 - Bethel Woods Center for the Arts - Bethel, NY**
September 23 - Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival - Los Angeles, CA
**Keeping the Blues Alive presents:
Joe Bonamassa & Friends: Styx and Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles
^Joe Bonamassa with Orchestra
Fall U.S. Tour:
October 23 - Memphis, TN - The Cannon Center
October 25 - Shreveport, LA - Shreveport Municipal Auditorium
October 27 - San Antonio, TX - Majestic Theatre
October 28 - Sugar Land, TX - Smart Financial Centre At Sugar Land
October 29 - Austin, TX - ACL Live
November 1 - Fayetteville, AR - Walton Arts Center
November 3 -
Little Rock, AR - Robinson Performance Hall
November 4 - Grand Prairie, TX -
Texas Trust CU Theatre
November 5 - Oklahoma City, OK - Civic Center
Music Hall
November 8 - Tulsa, OK - Tulsa Theater
November 10 - Kansas City, MO - The
Midland Theatre
November 11 - St. Louis, MO - The Fabulous Fox
November 12 - Cedar Rapids, IA - Paramount Theatre
November 14 - Rochester, MN - Mayo Civic Center
November 15 - Rockford, IL - Coronado Performing Arts Center
November 17 - Fort Wayne, IN -
Embassy Theatre
November 18 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
November 19 - Columbus, OH - Palace Theatre
November 21 - Reading, PA - The Santander Performing Arts Center
November 22 - Providence, RI - Providence Performance Arts Center
November 24 - Springfield, MA - Symphony Hall
November 25 - Baltimore, MD - The Lyric
November 28 - Savannah, GA - Johnny Mercer Theatre
November 30 - Sarasota, FL - Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
December 1 - Estero, FL - Hertz Arena
December 2 - Hollywood, FL - Hard Rock Live
Blues-rock superstar
Joe Bonamassa is one of the most celebrated performing musicians of today. As a three-time GRAMMY-nominated artist and 13x Blues
Music Award Nominee (4 wins), he achieved his 26th No. 1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart with Tales Of Time, a sprawling and expansive live concert film and album, shot at the breathtaking Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado in August 2022. Only in his mid-40s, Bonamassa has become a living legend with an astounding multi-genre catalog. He has released more than 40 albums, including studio and live recordings, as well as collaborative albums with his adventurous side projects:
Black Country Communion and Rock Candy Funk Party.
A prolific writer who is always on the hunt to expand his eclectic musical horizons, Bonamassa has a limitless work ethic whether it's in a studio, on the road, or working with other artists to spur new music. In recent years, he has produced an immense number of albums including
Joanne Shaw Taylor, Marc Broussard, Larry McCray, Jimmy Hall and others for his independent label KTBA Records, and has also recently launched Journeyman LLC, a full-service artist management, record label, concert promotion, and marketing company that builds awareness for independent artists worldwide. Recent producing highlights include 'Crown' by the blues legend Eric Gales, which was nominated for "Best Contemporary Blues Album" at the 2023 GRAMMY Awards.
Bonamassa has been featured in several publications from Esquire, WSJ and
Parade to Rolling Stone and American Songwriter, as well as on the covers of Guitar World, Guitar Player, Vintage Guitar, Guitarist, and Classic Rock Magazine. His non-profit Keeping The Blues Alive provides funds and resources to schools and artists in need and has positively impacted more than 91k students to date while raising over 2 million in donations.
