Joe Bonamassa Dust Bowl Review

By: Brian D Holland

Click to Check Out Dust Bowl at Amazon.com

Joe Bonamassa considers Dust Bowl to be his best CD to date, and although his guitar playing stands out throughout, his intricate storytelling talent and vocal ability reaches heights that parallel the musicianship. Released on his J&R Adventures record label, Dust Bowl is number six in a successful five-year collaboration with producer Kevin Shirley. The album was recorded in separate sessions at Black Rock Studios in Santorini, Greece, Ben’s Studio in Nashville, The Cave in Malibu and The Village in Los Angeles.

In talking thematic traits of his last trio of studio releases, though 2010’s Black Rock leaned heavily in diverse blues, Dust Bowl is traditional in theme yet contemporary in style, kind of like 2009’s The Ballad of John Henry. That’s not to say it isn’t bluesy musically, because much of it is. There are also plenty of hard-rock songs, some country, and some worldly sounds here. The assorted tales of black lungs, matadors, Jonah, and the indecisiveness of living like in a dust bowl causes one to wonder how he finds time for inspiration, especially since he’s been touring the world nonstop, recording solo and with his band Black Country Communion, and other things. His guitar playing is so amazing on Dust Bowl that it leads one to believe that he places the instrument down very infrequently, and that it has become a natural supplement to his upper extremities. He is that good.

Much of it is about power and passion, and it begins immediately. “Slow Train” starts as a locomotive in acceleration mode. The song’s elaborately rocked up sound manipulates the senses with distinctive traits of the live setting: the perception of venue enormity, reverberation, and loudness (even at low volume). Joe’s powerful vocals and scorching guitar notes sparkle with confidence in this potent British blues vibe. “The Meaning of the Blues” conveys a similar effect, by means of percussive clout and massive chorus instrumentation. A song of isolation augmented by intense emotion, Bonamassa inserts a wah-wah into the massive guitar tone of “No Love on the Street,” written by Tim Curry and Michael Kamen. With Glenn Hughes on vocals, a potent rendition of Paul Rodgers’ “Heartbreaker” falls into the same grouping.

The title song, “Dust Bowl,” has been picked for internet exposure and radio airplay, most likely for its diverse melody and contemporary sound. Kind of like a rock single. Remember those?

Joe gets by with help from some more friends and mixes things up. The John Hiatt-John Porter penned “Tennessee Plates” features Hiatt on vocals, in a duet with Joe. It’s a country rocker, complete with the rockabilly twang and chicken pickin’ antics of Vince Gill. The Pure Prairie country giant also lends his voice and pickin’ talents to his own country-blues “Sweet Rowena.” In more of a powerful and rocked up manner, Joe sustains the country approach in his “The Whale That Swallowed Jonah.”

Worldly, yet potent in message, “Black Lung Heartache” features multiple stringed instruments. “You’d Better Watch Yourself” and “The Last Matador of Bayonne” are back-to-back extremes, as the first rocks a traditional blues progression and the latter is the album’s first slow blues. Joe ends it with the second one, “Prisoner.”

How does Joe Bonamassa find the time? Fan interest, of course. And with a little help from bassist Carmine Rojas, keyboardist Rick Melick, and drummer Tal Bergman. I’m sure Kevin Shirley had much to do with it as well. “Dust Bowl” is another blues-rock gem from Joe Bonamassa, today’s larger-than-life rock guitar idol. I can’t believe I’m saying that, because it’s such an amazing feat in the music climate of today. But after twelve studio and live releases, it’s really where he’s at now, isn’t it. That’s a rhetorical question.

Track Listing

1. Slow Train
2. Dust Bowl
3. Tennessee Plates (featuring John Hiatt and Vince Gill)
4. The Meaning of the Blues
5. Black Lung Heartache
6. You Better Watch Yourself
7. The Last Matador of Bayonne
8. Heartbreaker (feat. Glenn Hughes)
9. No Love on the Street
10. The Whale that Swallowed Jonah
11. Sweet Rowena (feat. Vince Gill)
12. Prisoner