Joe began his professional stage career at the ripe old age of eight years, when he began appearing at a local upstate New York club. He made his first really big time appearance when he appeared with Blues Boy, the current reigning emperor of the blues, BB King. Since then he’s played with, accompanied, was taught by, and generally hung out with just about every guitar god who’s hit the bright lights in the past twenty years.
The only bad thing about this CD is that it can’t capture the magic of a truly live appearance by Joe. But you can get the magic of that on your computer, if you have a good sound system attached to it. And if you don’t have the appropriate speakers, get ‘em! I guarantee Joe is worth the cost. And one last thing. You should buy these discs and not settle on electronic downloads, because there are two absolutely killer cuts that you’re not able to download. These two cuts count for nearly 30 minutes worth of truly mind-blowing guitar Nirvana.
And one more last thing: If Joe appears anywhere within a few hundred miles of where you are, make it a point to get out and see him. You’ll no longer have the pleasure that I had on a number of occasions when Joe was playing small, 250-capacity clubs. He still plays those clubs on occasion, but not often. And Joe still takes time after every show to talk to his loyal fans. Look into becoming a member of his Street Team. You’ll love it. He’s a truly great guy who’s dedicated to his fans, and who looks forward to meeting with fans.
Joe Bonamassa is a national treasure.
Live From Nowhere in Particular is a double-disc set, pared down and compiled from about a year’s worth of concerts that Joe’s performed around the world. He and his crew recorded every concert in its entirety, then spent countless hours winnowing out the less-than-perfect performances. A little feedback? Kill it. Move on to the next one. A miscue? Kill it. Move on. An electrical malfunction? Kill it. Move on. And so on, until they had enough material for four discs. Then they trimmed some more, some of which hurt. Let’s hope Joe and the crew include them in his next release! Only 14 cuts on this 2-CD set, but they constitute roughly a hundred minutes of pure guitar heaven.
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