Driving Towards Perfection

 

  Driving Towards The Daylight Blues

By N. H. Foster

Thirteen studio albums in and Joe Bonammassa's insatiable appetite for producing sublime albums show no signs of abating. In my opinion all 13 albums are terrific but JB hit a real rich vein of form with the release of the Sloe Gin album and Driving Towards the Daylight is right up there.

There can be little argument that Bonamassa is one of the best guitar players on the planet but what is great to see is the continuing vocal maturity and the way in which Bonamassa now has the confidence to know that sometimes less is more.

Driving Towards the Daylight is an eccelctic combination of original numbers and covers of some of Bonamassa's luminaries. This is one aspect that seems to contunually draw criticism, the lack of total original material on his albums. Personally I don't get it, when the music is as good as this and it is clear how much the guy reveres his heroes why not just revel in the opportunity to hear some classics reworked by a modern day genius. This album sees a return to a slightly rootsier, rougher sound than last year's Dustbowl, a mere obsevation, not a criticism.

Of some of the original work here Driving Towards the Daylight is destined to become a live classic, it is a haunting and beautiful song that drifts out of the speakers. Opener Dislocated Boy has a low down groove to it, whilst Heavenly Soul is simply stunning. Three songs that begin to encompass Bonamassa's talents.

Of the covers for me all are true gems in their own way; Robert Johnson's Stones In My Passway is Zeppelinesque in its sound and delivery, Howlin' Wolf's Who's Been Talking is delightful and the choice of Too Much Ain't Enough Love with Jimmy Barnes reprising his unique roadhouse vocal is a masterstroke. The two JBs compliment each other perfectly. However, the standout in my opinion is the truly awesome Place In My Heart, originally written by guitar maestro Bernie Marsden. Bonamassa excels on the solos and delivers the vocal with real feel.

The whole package fits together perfectly and makes for around an hour of real bliss.

Forget the rubbish about not being all original songs just listen and enjoy musicianship of the very highest order!

The Early History Of Live From Nowhere In Particular

 

Live From Nowhere In Particular

  By Jeff Horn

Blues music history can be traced all the way back to the nineteenth century. By far, the earliest genre of traditional blues music, comes directly from a musical technique termed the "country blues", dating back to around the 1920's. Obtaining the facts surrounding the oldest origins of blues music is something a good number of historians have focused a lot of energy and money trying to uncover (some going as far as visiting locations within west Africa in order to discover whether or not this unique music genre was created because of an influence from conventional African music). While there does actually appear to be some parallels, blues music carries a distinct and unique sound which began with the African American community inside the southern part of the U.S.

The very meaning of "blues" inside the dictionary implies "1. depression 2. melancholy kind of jazz". Musicians are accustomed to associating the blues with the typical and famous 12 bar blues. This particular type of chord progression utilizes three chords which may be played inside any key. Together with the profound vocals which most often goes along with the chords, blues music expresses and also invokes a different feeling of emotions generally in most of its listeners and supporters.

A number of well-known, early blues musicians who helped form the blues music we all know today. Some of these artists were Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Huddie Ledbetter, Willie Brown, Son House and Tommy Johnson. Many of these blues artists were born within the Mississippi delta, with the exception of a few like Blind Lemon Jefferson (who was from Texas) and Huddie Ledbetter (who was from Louisiana).

The two beginning methods associated with blues music were:

1. classic blues (composed of mainly female performers) 

2. the country blues (composed of generally guy performers).

Every type of blues offered distinct variations in form and tone. Classic blues singers had a relatively stringent adherence on the 12 bar blues as the country blues performers strayed just a little out of the conventional 12 bar blues form. Furthermore, classic blues singers desired to get a band to compliment with them while a country blues performer would usually want to include only his guitar as well as voice to produce music.

Blues music actually started to take off during the early times of the 1920's, once one particular organization took their music revenue to a whole different degree. A lady singer named Mamie Smith, part of the classic blues form, served to start the blues by selling more than 1 million copies of her music within just twelve months.

 Figuring that each of the records were less than $ 1 (low-priced by today standard nevertheless in those days it absolutely was quite a lot for this type of music) that could have added up to a whole lot of money for a new to the scene industry.

Blues music is a special aspect of our history that is uniquely American. Not many styles of music fire up deep emotion and move us the way that the blues does.

Around the world, the best jazz and blues fests are transpiring annually. For anyone who is thinking about tracking down more schedules or more knowledge about universal jazz and blues festivals, there are a lot of different resources out there to assist in your festival planning.

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