It used to be the case that artists would head out to road test their material before ever setting foot in a studio. Albums now heralded as classics were honed in the furnace of audience reaction (Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon being a pertinent example) rather than the somewhat more sterile confines of the studio, the bands ruthlessly discarding material that did not make the grade. Technology, for all its charms, helped put an end to this tradition. As the ability of the bootleggers to render performances in high quality audio has grown, so bands have become increasingly unwilling to put their material out there. Either afraid that it will leak, or that a sub-standard version of a future song will be aired before it’s ready, bands now keep new material carefully under wraps and the bigger the artist, the less likely you are to hear any surprises from the stage.
Unless your name is Joe Bonamassa… On his last tour, Joe took three brand new songs out on the road (hell, he even opened with them) in a brave move that suggested considerable faith in both his audience (not to rip off his new material) and the new songs themselves. Joe’s fans are nothing if not vociferous after all, and if the tracks didn’t make the cut, the forums would have been buzzing like a bee hive. Joe’s confidence was well placed and the three tracks – Evil mama, King Bee Shakedown and Self Inflicted wounds promised great things of an album that feels like it has arrived surprisingly hot on the heels of 2016’s blues of desperation even if Joe has released an album every two years since Driving towards the daylight.
Featuring twelve tracks of original material (the third time in a row that a Bonamassa record has appeared without any covers) and produced, once more, by Kevin Shirley, Joe’s long-time friend and mentor, Redemptions sees Joe taking stock, digging deep to deliver both music and lyrics that reflect a difficult time in the guitarist’s life. With his exceptional live band in tow, as well as two additional guitarists (Kenny Greenberg and Doug Lancio), the presence of whom has allowed Joe to expand his abilities in a new direction, Redemption once again sees Joe pushing himself as an artist to deliver a raw and emotionally intense set that continues what has been a stellar run of albums.
Those present at the run of shows that kicked off the year will be familiar with stunning album opener Evil Mama. A horn soaked beast of a track fuelled by Anton Fig’s rampaging percussion and Michael Rhodes’ elastic bass groove, Evil mama combines Led Zeppelin grit and smooth soul into five glorious minutes, as powerful as anything Joe has ever laid down and the perfect album opener. Following it up with the blazing King bee shakedown, there’s a sense that Joe’s absolutely on fire on this record, his fuzzed up guitar sweetened by the horn section of Lee Thornburg and Paulie Cerra, but still blazing away with an intensity normally reserved for the stage. Things take a darker turn as Joe leads his band into the Black Country Communion-esque Molly O’, a track that opens to the sound of creaking rigging and rushing surf before the band punch in with a mid-tempo beat and throbbing bass, kicking off one of Joe’s heaviest and most addictive tracks since The ballad of John Henry. The first sign of the pace slowing, the southern-styled Deep in the blues again sees liquid slide in the intro, dark lyricism in the verses and some of Joe’s most impassioned soloing. It provides the perfect bridge to the stark, almost progressive beauty of self-inflicted wounds, one of the highlights of Joe’s last tour and an emotionally-honest masterpiece that perfectly showcases Joe’s continuing growth as a song-writer. The sort of song it’s easy to get lost in, self-inflicted wounds is mesmerising and it takes the Tom Waits’ swing of pick up the pieces to shake the listener out of their reverie, the track bringing the first half of the album to a close on a smoky, soulful trip.
Opening the second half of the album, The ghost of Macon Jones sees Joe trading lines with country singer Jamey Johnson on a track that shuffles along nicely on Anton’s beat as Reese Wynans waxes lyrical at the keys. A touch of light amidst the shade, it contrasts nicely with the stacked horns and wired guitar work of Just ‘cos you can don’t mean you should, a tough-as-nails blues served straight up and possessed of one of Joe’s grittiest vocals. In contrast, the slithery acoustic guitar-work of redemption finds Joe sifting through the cold ashes of a filed relationship, rescued only by the glorious, gospel-sized chorus delivered by Mahalia Barnes, Jade McRae and Juanita Tippins. Building a considerable head of steam, the title track has hidden depths and repays repeated listens thanks to Anton’s Kashmir-sized beat and guitar-work that will have air-guitarists everywhere shredding frantically in the second half. After so epic a number, it’s necessary to leaven the mood, and Joe does just that with the dusty blues of I’ve got some mind over what matters, a track with a B.B. King vibe and a toe-tapping beat that stands entirely in contrast to the subtle, acoustic beauty of stronger now in broken places, the most vulnerable song that Joe has ever recorded, stripped back to a simple guitar motif and a naked vocal. Utterly devastating in its delivery, stronger now…is clearly a deeply personal piece for Joe and the bravery of the recording proves to be cathartic as we head into the soulful album closer, love is a gamble, a track that suggests that, after all the soul-searching, the titular redemption has been found and Joe has found a way through it all.
Whilst we caught glimpses of the real Joe on previous outings, he was too charming a host to bring us down with his troubles. On Redemption, however, we find Joe in a reflective mood, the result being some of the most deeply personal material of his career. That’s not to say that the journey is all introspection. Whilst we find a troubled Joe picking over the ashes of his past on the title track, we also seem him gain strength from his experiences on stronger now… and we also find him defiantly challenging his demons with barn-stormers such as Evil mama and Molly O’. In short, Redemption cuts closer to the real Joe Bonamassa than any of his albums to date and, in doing so, we find the core of what has driven him all these years. Emotionally complex, brutally honest in places and yet filled with light and life in others, Redemption is a career peak. 10
