I love Joe; I’m going to see him next week. Joe and Aynsley are my two favourite artists at the moment.

IndyScott - you make some good points, but I would disagree when you state Joe Bonamassa needs a good singer. I think he sounds pretty good, and if you listen to his recent albums he has certainly improved greatly. Which bass player and drummer he has is pretty irrelevant as long as they are up to the task.
I agree with the point that with the right management Aynsley would be much bigger. When you see the success that a nobody like Newton Faulkner has had, getting airplay, vidoes on music channels and important support slots, there is no reason why Ayns could not get that - he has far better songs too!

Don M - 26 January 2008 11:34 PM

IndyScott - 06 December 2007 06:29 PM

Saw Joe last month in St Louis and he was awesome. However his current bandmembers weren’t nearly as good as Eric Czar or Kenny Kraemme. Eric Czar may be the best bass player I’ve ever seen/heard. Just learned about Aynsley and am floored by his talent. Look forward to seeing him if he comes to the states.

I agree. Joe’s new band stinks. The 3 piece band was one of Rock’s all time greatest. I couldn’t stop raving to people about them. His recent albums do nothing for me. On a side note… I turned on this lady at work to Joe’s old band and she said they were great. Then I gave her the Everything I Need disc by Aynsley and she liked him even more. She said, This guy is an even better singer!

They sure were one of Rock’s all time greatest.  They put on such an immensely intense live show that was one of the best experiences in music I ever had.  I’m with you on Joe’s new band.  There more of a background band to showcase Joe, where Eric and Kenny were a driving force to be reckoned with.  They were on par with Joe and that made for an incredible band.  All they did was add to Joe’s music and make it better.

Didn’t realize someone had finally responded to my flaming post about Joe. I’ll still stand by it, but maybe I was a little too hard on Joe. He’s still the gold standard IMHO for guitar players but his vocal range is limited. In a three-piece band, everyone’s talent level is critical to the band’s success-- not an interchangeable component to the Star muscian. Right now the best Blues Bands I’ve heard recently are Back Door Slam and Matt Schofield, who coincidentally are two groups with the total package of high level musicianship. Maybe AL should take BDS’s cue and tour the U.S. to gain popularity.

I thought I’d share this with you, its a new song that Joe Bonamassa is opening his show with. The song is called Spoke Driver Blues and appears to suggest a return to the heavier direction of his earlier albums. This was filmed by Libby from the Bonamassa forum, check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9eeRiyjoLw

Didn’t buy, but sampled most of the songs on the album. I’d say it’s probably a good live recording but I doubt I’ll get it since I already have most of the songs. The new live songs are from his last two discs that are my two least favorites of his. The Youtube video though sounds pretty good. Maybe the next studio effort will signal a return to his roots.

Been a while since I was here and I feel compelled to respond. The new “Live..” double CD is awesome. I don’t get the comments about Joe’s voice. I hear it getting better all the time! You may have these songs on studio albums, but THIS is what you hear at shows..whole new ballgame really. Very satisfying to his fans. The constant criticism about the new band is old. It’s called progress. That’s why it’s always been Joe Bonamassa and not a band name. Same with Aynsley..he can have whomever he wants in his band.

Part of the success of BDS is indeed the fact that they hit the States hard. The Bonamassa fans quickly adopted them. I’ve been waiting 2 years for Aynsley to come across the pond. Last years Visa issues and I don’t know why this year. It’s really a shame. He could do well here.

My last comment is that Joe calls himself a Bluesman and takes lots of flack for his brand of blues/rock from the “purists”. I understand Aynsley doesn’t like to be known as a “blues” player. That’s a shame to me because he is such a great bluesman IMHO...The future of the genre belongs to these young men and I wish them all success.

First off I’d like to remind anyone that I am a fan of Joe Bonamassa. He’s the greatest guitar player I’ve ever heard. He’s put out some exceptional music and after talking to him last November in St. Louis I was even more impressed with how humble he was speaking to his fans. In other words not only is he a damn fine guitarist but a great human being. I own everything he’s released and will probably buy his new live album. However, the opinions I’ve stated in this forum remain unchanged. It saddens me that he hasn’t enjoyed the popularity that he deserves. I checked itunes this morning and 24 hours after the release of his new album there was only six reviews of the album. Some Alt group called The Ding Dings had ten times that number with their new release yesterday. And BTW Joe wasn’t even featured in “New Releases” but under the Blues genre only. I’m thinking what’s wrong with this picture?
Csiler - I certainly respect to opinion but maybe you could show me the same respect. I’ve been reading up on The Greg Koch band and recall Koch saying he realised his singing was becoming a distraction and that’s why he employed Malford Milligan. I think it’s evident that there’s a reason some band’s never reach their full potential.

No disrespect meant Scott..but if Joe had not decided to sing, he would never have left Bloodline. I really do feel his voice is maturing and getting better all the time. I am a fan because of his guitar skills. I wouldn’t care if his shows were all instrumental. But that’s just my opinion. As for sales of the new CD..#1 at Amazon for blues and for rock as of this afternoon. I-tunes ends up costing $19.00 which is why it’s slower there. So, Sloe Gin and Live.. will BOTH be on the Billboard charts next week. I’d call that success. Next years studio CD and show at the RAH ought to help build his following even more. And..here’s how to get the new CD with free shipping and help me try to win a JB Les Paul!

http://www.jbonamassa.com/affiliates/idevaffiliate.php?id=226

Csiler I agree with you on all your points - well except for the all instrumental shows. In my opinion Joe’s voice is fine, and getting better all the time - listen the the re-recorded version of Around The Bend, or Seagull from Sloe Gin, or compare the new live version of If Heartaches Were Nickels with the version on his first album.
As for Joe not enjoying the popularity that he deserves, he’s been pretty successful for a guy playing blues rock. There’s only John Mayer and Robben Ford in his genre and age range who could argue they were more successful, certainly not Greg Koch. I don’t see his voice as holding him back, like Aynsley in the UK I’m sure he’d be more popular were his albums not categorised under blues. I don’t think you can read too much into the number of itune reviews, itunes is more popular with teenagers who would download certain songs rather than blues rock fans who would be more likely to buy the CD.

Couple of corrections: 1. I was wrong about the Alt group, it’s The Ting Tings not The Ding Dings. 2. I never said Greg Koch was more successful than JB, I was only pointing out His decision to abandon singing and focus more on playing. 3. Never meant to infer JB is not successful - He most certainly is for the type music he plays. 4. Don’t know its popularity in the U.K., but itunes in the U.S. is enormous and not just to teenage girls.
Csiler & Greenose you’re both right about Joe’s voice improving. I’m sure he’s worked on it like he would repeating scales on his guitar. But for me, and I repeat this is just my opinion, this is what’s holding him back from standing in the same circle as someone like John Mayer who’s considerably less talented as JB at playing a guitar.

Hmm, I’m still not sure. There are many people of course who do not like Mayer’s singing voice either. Mayer’s success has also been due to his early pop-rock hits. Don’t give up on Joe though, I feel he’ll be at that level before too long.

Yes itunes is really popular here too, but I’d still suggest that fans of this more traditional type of music also tend to be more traditional in their purchasing of music, so I’d be inclined to focus more on the Amazon sales for an assessment.

Listen to the Joe Bonamassa show on Planet Rock - tuesday nights 7-8pm!!!!

Is anyone else here seeing Joe Bonamassa on his UK dates over the next week? He plays Birmingham (Music Live and NEC), Manchester Academy, Gateshead Sage and Bristol Colston Hall.

This is a new song that Joe has written called The Great Flood which he is currently playing at his gigs, and is to feature on his new album called “The Ballad of John Henry”. The album is due to be released in February 2009.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lUzV-eLsCw

Incidently Imelda May is his support act. I’m sure she will do a good job. However I am slightly disappointed as there are several good British blues rock guitar players who could have benefitted from the exposure to Joe fans that the tour would have given.

As you probably know Joe Bonamassa is to play at the Royal Albert Hall, London on 4th May 2009. This is a very big gig for him and he sees it as celebrating his 20 years in the music business. He has now announced he will be playing the gig as a big band with a lineup of 8 including himself and…

Bogie Bowles - Drummer
Carmine Rojas - Bass
Rick Melick - Piano, keyboards
Anton Fig - Drummer
Lee Thornburg - Trumpetist
and two more horn guys to come.

Edited to add in musicians instruments.