Album Review: Different Shades of Blue by Joe Bonamassa

Just because it’s filled with brand new songs doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of the familiar on this new release from Joe Bonamassa. His fluid, lyrical lead lines continue to shine on songs such as “Oh Beautiful!” and “I Gave Up Everything For You, ‘Cept the Blues” and he can sing, as evidenced by “Different Shades of Blue” and “Love Ain’t a Love Song”. Penning these tracks with the help of Jerry Flowers (Keith Urban), James House (Martina McBride, Diamond Rio) and Jonathan Cain (Journey), the New York native delivers his strongest work in years and, arguably, to date.

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Joe Bonamassa has moved far past his initial incarnation as a kid guitar wiz with a Stevie Ray Vaughan fascination, and has developed into an elegantly reverent guitarist and a fine singer as well, bringing a little R&B blue-eyed soul to the blues. For Different Shades of Blue, Bonamassa co-wrote songs with veteran Nashville songwriters Jeffrey Steele, Gary Nicholson, James House, Jerry Flowers, and Jonathan Cain, then took 11 of the songs and tracked them in Las Vegas at Studio at the Palms with producer Kevin Shirley and a solid band of studio musicians including Reese Wynans (organ, piano), Carmine Rojas (bass), Michael Rhodes (bass), Anton Fig (drums, percussion), Lenny Castro (percussion), Lee Thornburg (trumpet, trombone), Ron Dziubla (saxophone), the Bovaland Orchestra (strings), and background vocalists Doug Henthorn and Melanie Williams. Bonamassa used 20 different vintage guitars for the project, along with 13 different amps, and lists each one in the liner notes.

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