Heretic! lol …
SRV would blow any era of JB out of the water.
Rory Gallagher and SRV are probably my two favourite guitarists with Rory just edging it.
Just been listening to the One Step of Stevie Ray’s Couldn’t Stand The Weather and his playing is epic. I just wish one or both of Rory’s first two albums were available as a One Step.
JB’s stuff is technically excellent but not quite free flowing and fluid enough for me. If anyone could be accused of musicianship over music, particularly on his later stuff, it’s JB.
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As OP I have reflected on SRV and can only conclude that some performers have technique, some have artistry and some - a precious few - have both. Stevie was one such. RIP.
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I’ve got 5 Joe Bonamassa albums. My favourite songs are Driving towards the Daylight and Sloe Gin.
These two songs in my opinion are absolutely gold. So much emotion like I have never heard before.
As for the rest of his songs they are very good but these two jump out at me on an emotional level.
Yes, many are fillers. But he’s pretty damned good.
As with many other artists sometimes there are only a handful of great songs that they produce.
That’s a perfect response from my viewpoint CW. John Mayer is a perfect example of how to play flashy, but musically and movingly. I’ve always found Joe B a strange phenomenon. I really can’t listen to his music. As OP says, he’s technically faultless, but doesn’t understand when he’s done enough, when to stop rather than just keep filling the time up with more notes. Less is more. BB King for example.
I play guitar and have no hope of ever getting near Joe’s prowess, but when I hear him I always think that if I could physically play how he plays then I’d like to think I’d have the taste not to.
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Think you would like Eric Gales. Brings a lot of soul into the mix combined with some Hendrix and Eric Johnson vibes.
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Pure entertainment on this dvd/cd An Acoustic Evening At The Vienna Opera House.
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Ive always found that the best, most moving guitarists are those who pick and choose notes and phrases carefully and use the silences in between to emphasise their effectiveness. Kossoff is indeed a good example CW. Mick Ronson, Andy Summers, Manzanera, Honeyman Scott. Those guys almost never ‘blaze’ like Joe, they don’t do what John Mayer calls ‘Atom Bomb Guitar’, but boy do they connect. That’s true artistry in my book.
Listening to Summers’ soloing on ‘Bring on the Night’ - so few notes, but so much impact. Ronson on the run-out to ‘Moonage Daydream’, so few notes but such divine phrasing. Goosebumps all the way. For me, that’s great guitar playing.
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Yes, I remember a Derek Trucks interview a while back talking about less is more. He played in Clapton’s band when he was younger and said Clapton would show the audience a little of what he had got now and again.
However, I think “Song of Yesterday” by Black Country Communion is an incredible song. Bonamassa and Hughes are both excellent and it is very Free/Zeppelin. A great live version on YouTube.
I saw Joe in Toronto a vew years back and came away thinking, it’s was very good but not excellent.
Certainly a talented guy, but at $300 a pop for mediocre seats, I needed more.
I think I’m getting a bit past my concert days.
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I thought for a moment the Boss of Bosses had his own thread.
I have seen JB live twice and there is no doubt in my mind that he is a great guitarist in a technical way. Some tracks mentioned already are stunning. However, I often feel with blues guitarists that it is the notes which are not played which convey the “feel”.
I sometimes think he puts show-boating ahead of emotion and has a tendency to play 5 or 6 notes when 2 better timed notes would be more expressive.
In general, I always feel very impressed by his playing rather moved by the music.
I suppose it is a trade off, but I would echo the sentiments of others regarding players like Paul Kossoff and Peter Green who always seemed to get that “looser” feel into their playing.
I’d finish by saying I wish I had one tenth of JB’s ability on the guitar though!
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I was looking at a video on YouTube which was an interview with JB, discussing the styles of Clapton, Beck, Page, Green, Kossoff etc. He had clearly listened and learned from all of them. He was also talking about guitars and amps, which got me searching the internet about his guitar collection. Apparently he has some 400 guitars, some of which are highly desirable and, thence, costly, (several bursts from ‘59 and ‘60, ‘50 Broadcaster, ‘52 Tele, early Strats etc.), which might explain the $300 ticket price mentioned by @david1111, above.
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I do absolutely agree with this!
I promise to try SRV again - I just always found him a bit LOUD - his version of Little Wing being a good example - Hendrix (not known for subtlety) sounds so much more soulful, SRVs version to my ears anyway replaces that with bombast.
I’ll admit his image turned me off quite a lot too - cowboy hat, silk shirt, bootlace tie - two maximum, not all three!
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Heard David Kossoff talking about his son at an event, so sad - he came over as a very kind man
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I think the talks are available on youtube quite heartbreaking.
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Yes… they were literally heartbreaking
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Yes indeed……some were gifted, unlucky……the pressure, who knows
My dealer played some JB (live at Vienna) last Friday whilst auditioning the RP8 and whilst the playing was note perfect it just left me cold. Returning this Friday and taking along some vinyl more to my taste.
I quite like Bonamassa - he’s technically very accomplished and has some excellent solos. Problem is (for me) he sounds like everyone else and is quite repetitive. Probably a case of being a whizz kid that ended up hampering his development as an artist. I agree that the stuff he did with Beth Hart is quite enjoyable. I also agree that his output is too prolific to be inspired.
There are dozens of blues / blues-rock players I prefer. Having said that, I’ve got a fair amount of his output, but I usually stay clear of his solo recent releases.