Guitar slinger & vocalist Joe Bonamassa is quickly becoming one of the hardest working and busiest musicians on the planet these days. Between his very active solo career, guesting on countless albums by other artists & bands, and working with supergroup Black Country Communion, Bonamassa is hard to miss these days. His latest solo outing Driving Towards the Daylight shows that despite all the activity, he never fails to churn out captivating music.
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 varied affair that offers a mix of rock, blues, and funk, and features Bonamassa originals as well as some classic blues covers. Some of the musicians that appear on the album alongside the guitarist are Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford, Blondie Chaplan (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).
Plenty of enjoyable numbers here, including the hard rocking "Dislocated Boy" (which features some sizzling guitar work), the passionate title track, the gut wrenching blues-rocker "Who's Been Talking", and the emotional slow blues of "A Place In My Heart", which shows Bonamassa as not only a killer guitarist, but also a great singer as well. There's some '70s styled hard rocking funk on "Lonely Town Lonely Street", Hammond drenched classic rock with "Heavenly Soul", and scorching blues numbers like "Stones In My Passway" and "I Got All You Need". Despite the obvious brilliance of Bonamassa, the unsung hero on the album is Arlan Schierbaum, especially on the second half of the CD, as his sultry & swirling Hammond organ permeates many of the tracks and gives those songs that classic vibe to go along with Joe's smoking solos. "Somewhere Trouble Don't Go" is a great example of the two musicians working perfectly together. Guest singer Jimmy Barnes joins the fun on his own hit "Too Much Ain't Enough Love", and he sings his heart out alongside some stinging guitar from Bonamassa.
Perhaps working with Black Country Communion has gotten Joe Bonamassa used to letting his rock side come out more often, as Driving Towards The Daylight is definitely a harder hitting solo album from the guitarist. Toss in a wonderful production job from Kevin Shirley, and you have a can't miss release from one our greatest talents.
Track Listing
1. Dislocated Boy 6:38
2. Stones In My Passway 3:56
3. Driving Towards The Daylight 4:49
4. Who's Been Talking 3:27
5. I Got All You Need 3:03
6. A Place In My Heart 6:47
7. Lonely Town Lonely Street 7:05
8. Heavenly Soul 5:55
9. New Coat Of Paint 4:06
10. Somewhere Trouble Don't Go 4:58
11. Too Much Ain't Enough Love 5:35
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