Joe Bonamassa-‘Live At Radio City Music Hall’ CD/DVD

You just cant keep a great man down, and Joe Bonamassa is one such guy as he is back with another live album.  In January 2015, Joe Bonamassa took the iconic Great Stage at Radio City Music Hall for the first time for a sold-out, two-night run that allowed him to fulfil his lifelong dream of performing in one of the world’s most legendary venues. These concerts were recorded, and will be released as  ‘Live At Radio City Music Hall’ on the 2nd of October.

The thirteen track CD kicks off with ‘I can’t be satisfied’ with a full backing band, consisting of bass player Carmine Rojas, keyboard player Reese Wyans, drummer Tai Bergman, a horn section with Lee Thormburg on trumpets, Nick Lane on trombone and saxophonist Paulie Cerra. Impressive to say the least.

‘One Less Cross To Bear’ (which you can download for free at the end of this review) is a new song, more of a break down played live as the rhythm section keep it nice and tight, allowing Joe’s guitar to sing until Reese Wyans lets loose with a glorious keyboard solo.  Not to be outdone, Tai Bergman and Lenny Castro join in with a percussion run. Glorious.

We then get all acoustic for Dustbowl, which is my current (out of many) favourite JB song and is played stripped down here.  It certainly shows another side to Joe’s playing, that he is in fact more than just “a blues player” he is in fact a great guitar player.

The great thing about Joe is that he is not afraid to experiment, to work with different people and styles, as witnessed on Joe’s half acoustic/half electric tour (of which these two shows were a part), in particular when he welcomed Irish fiddler Gerry O’Connor onto the stage for ‘Still Water’.

The title track from his last studio album ‘Different Shades Of Blue’ is equally as impressive and features a wonderful Nyckelharpa solo from Mats Wester.

The electric band is back for ‘Never Give All Your Heart’, out of an eerie opening section Joe’s guitar sound comes flying, soaring with melody and tone, truly an uplifting song if ever there was one.

A wonderful Reese Wyans intro for another new song, ‘So, What Would I Do’ brings the show to a close, featuring a great Paulie Cerra saxophone solo, Joe really does allow his fellow musicians a chance to shine.

With enough old material to keep the die-hards happy and enough new material to keep everybody else happy, this is much more than a live album, this is a life event.

The DVD contains all the songs as featured on the CD, plus a lot more besides, including over 2.5 hours of live footage, and a special 45-minute behind-the-scenes featurette.

1. I Can’t Be Satisfied
2. One Less Cross To Bear (Newly Recorded Song)
3. Living On The Moon (Previously Unreleased Live Track)
4. I Gave Up Everything For You, ‘Cept The Blues (Previously Unreleased Live Track)
5. Dust Bowl
6. Trouble Town (Previously Unreleased Live Track)
7. Still Water (Newly Recorded Song)
8. Different Shades Of Blue (Previously Unreleased Live Track)
9. Happier Times (Previously Unreleased Live Track)
10. Never Give All Your Heart (Previously Unreleased Live Track)
11. Hidden Charms
12. Love Ain’t A Love Song
13. So, What Would I Do? (Previously Unreleased Live Track)

DVD

1. Joe Bites The Big Apple (titles)
2. Dust Bowl
3. Trouble Town (Previously Unreleased Live Track)
4. Still Water (Newly Recorded Song)
5. Different Shades Of Blue (Previously Unreleased Live Track)
6. The Huckleberries – Introducing the acoustic band
7. Black Lung Heartache
8. Happier Times (Previously Unreleased Live Track)
9. Never Give All Your Heart (Previously Unreleased Live Track)
10. Hidden Charms
11. Living On The Moon (Previously Unreleased Live Track)
12. I Can’t Be Satisfied
13. Double Trouble
14. One Less Cross To Bear (Newly Recorded Song)
15. Love Ain’t A Love Song
16. Introducing the Electric Band
17. “Happy Birthday Mom!”
18. I Gave Up Everything For You, ‘Cept The Blues (Previously Unreleased Live Track)
19. So, What Would I Do? (Previously Unreleased Live Track)
20. Joe Bites The Big Apple (Bonus-behind-the-scenes footage)

The CD/DVD set features over 75 minutes of music, two newly recorded songs, nine unreleased live tracks, over 2.5 hours of live footage, a special 45-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, a 40-page collector’s book with exclusive photos, and a sneak peek into Bonamassa’s childhood home and musical heritage.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE TRACK “ONE LESS CROSS TO BEAR”

www.unlock.fm/4uw

JOE BONAMASSA ONLINE

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