The Blues Foundation held the annual 33rd Blues Music Awards on Thursday, May 10th, 2012 in Memphis. Normally the event runs for hours at a time, hosting performances by dozens of musicians. The awards ceremony was broadcasted on Sirius XM satellite radio and will soon be aired nationally on PBS channels. Airing details yet to be announced.

Joe was nominated for the Rock Blues Album Award. Also nominated for the same award was George Thorogood, Mike Zito, Too Slim and the Taildraggers, and Warren Haynes. Joe took home the award for his 2011 album, Dust Bowl. Congratulations to Joe, Rick, Carmine, and Tal. A very well deserved award for such a great album.

Joe’s newest album titled “Driving Towards The Daylight” hits stores shelves on May 22nd. Joe’s lucky 13th album, was recorded with Kevin “Caveman” Shirley. This was their seventh collaboration over the past six years. Recorded at Studio At The Palms in Las Vegas, NV, The Village Recorder in Los Angeles, CA, and The Cave in Malibu, CA, Driving Towards The Daylight is a true blues rock album, that puts a rock twist on traditional blues songs. I’ve been lucky enough to listen to “Driving Towards The Daylight” since early April. In this review, I will cover the album and my thoughts about it.. here we go!

Driving Towards The Daylight opens with “Dislocated Boy “. This track brings in the feeling of a heavier blues rock and is a Bonamassa original. Joe rips right into 1930′s blues. Right off the bat, you can tell how much Joe’s voice has improved. Up next Joe plays tribute to one of the original bluesman, Robert Johnson. Joe does a spectacular job covering “Stones In My Passway“. Original song was done in the 1930′s, but you can’t tell by listening with Joe putting his own blues rock spin to it. Great song and also a great way to pay tribute to someone who shares the same birthday as Joe (May 8th).

One of the best tracks on the album, in my opinion.. “Driving Towards The Daylight“. This one of Joe’s strongest songs to date and is a pure Bonamassa original. This song can best be described as a blues rock ballad, that hits home. The lyrics in this song are so powerful and make so much sense. Killer, jaw dropping guitar riffs. Not a song to be missed. We then hear another great cover “Who’s Been Talkin” by Howlin Wolf’. This song has a unique intro, you can hear Howlin Wolf’ talking about music. Joe did a fabulous job with this track. The original version of this song had a lot of harmonica playing. With Joe covering this song, you’ll hear a lot of guitar. No complaints! How about another awesome song? Willie Dixon’s “I Got All You Need“. Another one of my favorite songs of the album, this song is more of a fast paced blues tune. One thing that I noticed, which primarily stands out on this track is the terrific keyboard playing by Arlan Schierbaum. Overall a great song, which leads you to notice listening to this album it gets better and better.

Drum roll! Up next “A Place In My Heart” by Bernie Marsden. For those of you who do not know who Bernie is, he well known for his work with Whitesnake. This might be one of the only, if not the only, song Joe plays where a drum roll opens the song. Not to be mistaken, right after the drums, Joe goes directly into one of the most jaw dropping solos that I’ve ever heard him play. And that guitar playing does not let up, it continues throughout the whole song. Time to pick up my jaw and move on to the next song, which is “Lonely Town Lonely Street“. Bill Withers originally wrote this song. Although I have not heard of this song before, I have heard of other Bill Withers songs, such as “Lean on Me” & “Ain’t No Sunshine”. I had to check out the original, which I did find on YouTube. Joe’s version vs. the original, is quite different. While the beat is the same, the music itself is not. Fantastic electric guitar playing by Joe is just brilliant, which separates it from the original’s tone. 

“Heavenly Soul” follows and is another original Bonamassa tune. Great song it is, I love the new twist that Joe is taking on his songwriting. It is not really possible classify this song as a blues tune nor a rock tune. This song is in it’s own genre, with some amazing vocals. If this track is not a clear indication of how much Joe’s vocals have improved, I don’t know what is. You might recall that on one of Joe’s previous studio recordings, “The Ballad of John Henry”, Joe covered a Tom Waits’ tune. On this album, Joe has covered another Tom Wait’s tune, “New Coat of Paint“. This song has a blues rock vibe to it, not only because it is Tom Wait’s tune, but because of the way Joe has revamped the song itself. The way Joe has redone this song makes it one of my favorite covers on the album. The original version by Tom Waits’ was mostly piano driven, as the prominent instrument. 

My second favorite song on the album has to be “Somewhere Trouble Don’t Go“. You ask why? Let me tell you! It’s another fine, I mean fine, Bonamassa original. This song in particular is pure rock. I love it, the vocals, the guitar playing, everything about it. This song definitely has potential to be on a Black Country Communion album. Joe’s singing on this number is just stellar and I’m a fan on that slide guitar work. The last song on Joe’s “Driving Towards The Daylight” is “Too Much Ain’t Enough Love” by Jimmy Barnes. Jimmy sings the vocals on it too. His voice is par-none, I never heard of Jimmy before this record. After hearing his voice on this track, I don’t’ know how. It’s can best be described as a raspy voice, one of the best I’ve ever heard. 

“Driving Towards The Daylight” is eleven tracks of pure epicness. It’s due out for release on May 22nd. I recommend that you pick up a copy. The album is available for preorder here. The band playing on the record consists of Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford (guitar), Blondie Chaplin (guitar), Anton Fig (drums and percussion), Arlan Schierbaum (keyboard), Michael Rhodes (bass), Carmine Rojas (bass), Jeff Bova and The Bovaland Brass, Pat Thrall (guitar), and Brad’s son Harrison Whitford (guitar). This record can be considered Joe’s best yet. A must have! Make sure to order yours today.

Folks who attended Joe’s Saturday night gig in Indianapolis, IN got a special treat. On Joe’s self titled album “You & Me” he covered a Led Zeppelin tune named “Tea for One”. Before this video, I do not know of any other recording of Joe performing this song live. Doug Henthorn sang on this song. This is the first time where Joe and Doug were able to get together on one stage and play. Hope you enjoy this video, even though it is not the best quality, still captures an amazing moment. If you’ve haven’t heard of Doug Henthorn before, you need to check out his band “Healing Sixes“.

Joe makes his return to down under this fall. In early October, Joe will play six shows varying from October 1st through the 11th. Tickets for Joe’s shows in Australia go on sale in a few hours, 9AM Australian time. Here are the dates:

10/01/2012 – Concert Hall in Perth

10/03/2012 – QPAC in Brisbane

10/05/2012 – State Theatre in Sydney

10/07/2012 – Civic Theatre in Newcastle

10/09/2012 – Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide

10/11/2012 – Palais Theatre in Melbourne

There are no pre-sales for the Australia shows. Best of luck in getting tickets and I bet you can’t wait to see Joe! Last time Joe was in Australia was early 2011, where he played several shows at some of the same venues. Stay tuned for updates!

Up for viewing is the official music video for Joe’s new title track “Driving Towards The Daylight”. The video captures Joe Bonamassa in the studio with the band recording the song. Joe’s new album, also named “Driving Towards The Daylight” is due for global release on May 22. Advance preorders can be made here and all preorders will ship before the actual release date of the album. Let us know what you think of the official music video!

Guitarist Magazine has launched their own app for Apple’s iPad, titled Guitarist Deluxe. The app features embedded video, audio and is a complete digital interactive copy of the publication. It is now available through Apple’s Newsstand and App Store.  And the best part about it all – it’s free. Click here to check it out.  Joe was featured in magazine #343, which is now is included in the deluxe iPad app.

If you like what you hear, I suggest that you preorder the new album. Click here to preorder.  Rest assured, the album only continues to get better and better as you listen. Full review coming from Bonamassa Live shortly. Until then, keep checking back for the latest updates and news regarding Driving Towards The Daylight ..

This Saturday, April 14 marks the ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s annual induction ceremony. Joe Bonamassa will be one of the special guests inducting blues legend, Freddy King. NPR interviewed Joe about inducting Freddy King.

“We owe a debt of gratitude to Freddie and other original bluesmen for, basically, the songbook they gave us,” blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa says. “Freddie was more of a rock guitar player. Freddie always had a dry, immediate sound.”

While B.B. and Albert King are known for their exquisite, minimalist solos with sinewy bends and telltale vibrato, Freddie King was a little more rock ‘n’ roll.

“I can easily identify his sound and his style,” Bonamassa says. “The attack and the intensity — you can tell who he is in three notes, you know?”

 

Joe will also be joined on stage by Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top to play tribute to Freddy King. Read the rest of NPR’s news story here.

We just got a live DVD from Beacon, which was spectacular! But wait, there is more! Joe and the band will be doing an acoustic tour this summer. The tour will be making a stop at the famous Vienna State Opera House in Vienna, Austria on July 3rd. This is Joe’s second DVD shoot in less than a year. I hope this DVD like the majority of the others is released on CD. Joe posted today on Facebook about meeting up with right hand man, Kevin Shirley.

Joe’s acoustic playing is phenomenal, absolutely no one can get enough of “Woke Up Dreaming”. Imagine a whole acoustic show, filled with tunes that we’ve heard acoustic before and some that we haven’t! Tickets to this amazing gig can be purchased here. We will fill you in with details as they come in!

We have also opened up preordering for Joe’s new studio album “Driving Towards The Daylight”. All preorders can now be placed, click here! Keep in mind all preorders ship weeks before release!

The Official Cover Artwork for Joe Bonamassa’s new album titled “Driving Towards The Daylight” was unveiled today. Joe’s new album is still on schedule for a release date of May 22nd. Check out the track listing below. Exclusive preorders for the new album will open shortly through the fan website.

1. Dislocated Boy
2. Stones In My Passway
3. Driving Towards The Daylight
4. Who’s Been Talking
5. I Got All You Need
6. A Place In My Heart
7. Lonely Town Lonely Street
8. Heavenly Soul
9. New Coat Of Paint
10. Somewhere Trouble Don’t Go
11. Too Much Ain’t Enough Love (w/ Jimmy Barnes)

Below is one of ten episodes that takes you inside the making of “Driving Towards The Daylight”. This album goes back to the blues roots with a rock feel.