I’m opening myself to criticism here, but since I dole out criticism, it’s only fair that I should take it. But I'm not sweating it. Very few will honestly disagree.
Joe Bonamassa is the best young guitarist in music today.
Damn the rotten tomatoes! Full speed ahead! [Apologies to Admiral Farragut.]
Joe’s abilities aren’t just a screaming guitar, although he certainly is capable of it. Joe was trained as a classical guitarist first, which is an extremely critical basic step in learning any instrument. Not only does it teach you the repetitive skills that are often necessary in playing an instrument, it teaches you discipline. And discipline is the key ingredient in mastering anything one ever does in life. Ever! Discipline is what carries you through earning your keep when you’re sick, when a parent or your best friend just died, or when you’ve just wrecked your brand new car.
Some people say, “But Joe’s a blues guitarist, and blues is dead.” Well, they’re right. And they’re also wrong. Let’s address the first clause first, and save the second for later. Joe is, in fact, primarily a blues guitarist, but that’s certainly not all he is. If you’ve ever been to one of his performances, you’d understand.
Barring that, however, just take a look at one of his websites. Spend an hour watching him and you’ll see his versatility, and you’ll see and hear his mastery of blues guitar, rock guitar, classical guitar, jazz guitar, and any other form or genre of guitar playing you’d care to name. Electric? Sure! Acoustic? Damned straight! The guy’s limitless.
Here are just a few of his accomplishments:
1) Appearing at Royal Albert Hall, May 2009 (You've arrived, once you're invited to play the Royal Albert)
2) Named 2007 Best Blues Guitarist by the readers of Guitar Player Magazine
3) Every one of his albums has gone to #1 or gone Top 10
4) NPR named him the equal to Clapton, Beck and Page
His music is a fusion of British electric blues, traditional Delta blues and hard-driving rock and roll, with frequent bends and twists in the musical trail to include classical, country, folk, jazz, funk and even a dollop of hair metal every once in a while. He plays basic riffs, expansion, and repetition equally well.
Near the beginning of this review, I stated that Joe’s the best young guitarist out there. He implied in a recent interview that now that he’s 31, he’s no longer young. Quibbling. But he does give a deep bow to a master who’s just a little older: Les Paul (yes, that Les Paul), who recently celebrated his 93rd, and who still plays a weekly gig at Iridium, the NYC nightclub where he’s held court for some time now.
Article comments
1 - Ricky Bush
I'm not a big blooze rock or rock blooze fan. My tastes run towards the traditional side of the music--particularly the Chicago type. That said, I do think that Joe is one of the best of the pack as far as jacking up the genre goes. I think his DJ spot on satellite radio has convinced me that he is a humble and certainly sincere young man who has a reverence for the traditional artists who preceeded him, but feels that his generation best understands the music by way of his style. Great Site! Anyway--
See ya--
Rick