{"id":943,"date":"2020-11-09T18:50:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T18:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2020\/2020\/11\/09\/hearing-aide-joe-bonamassa-royal-tea\/"},"modified":"2020-11-09T18:50:00","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T18:50:00","slug":"hearing-aide-joe-bonamassa-royal-tea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2020\/2020\/11\/09\/hearing-aide-joe-bonamassa-royal-tea\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing Aide: Joe Bonamassa ‘Royal Tea’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Utica\u2019s<\/a> <\/a>all grown up boy wonder guitar god, Joe Bonamassa<\/a>, has just unleashed another fantastic solo album, Royal Tea<\/em><\/a>. Recorded at London\u2019s iconic Abbey Road Studios. Bonamassa\u2019s latest is a tip of the hat to his British blues rock heroes, Jeff Beck, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Led Zeppelin, Cream and more. It is also as much a showcase for his increasingly progressive and mature songwriting, as is his always sizzling six-stringery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 10 originals here were co-written by Joe and Brit notables including former Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden, ex-Cream lyricist Pete Brown and piano man Jools Holland of Squeeze fame. Bonamassa\u2019s long-standing producer Kevin Shirley and his touring band, Anton Fig (drums), Michael Rhodes (bass) and Reese Wynans (keys), flew in for the sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Joe<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While Royal Tea<\/em> is a nod to British blues masters, it is not at all about retreading the classics, or the simple but saintly joys of going round and round the 1-4-5 pattern.\u00a0It\u2019s an album full of songs that are firmly rooted in a blues feel, but with very progressive and surprising leanings. It\u2019s all about the unexpected chordal turnarounds and multi-movements that span epic length, things that owe more than a bit to Brit prog acts of the \u201870s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bonamassa sets the tone with the album opener, \u201cWhen One Door Opens.\u201d It kicks off with baroque strings and brass that could\u2019ve been mustered up by another true Abbey Road legend, Beatles\u2019 producer George Martin. It\u2019s a mournful ballad that feels a bit like Guns N\u2019 Roses \u201cNovember Rain,\u201d until it shift into a nasty Led Zep-styled groove and then a boogie for a screaming wah-fueled solo. It solo winds down with rhythmic quote from \u201cBeck\u2019s Bolero,\u201d before returning to the mournful orchestral mood for the close.  A ballsy move, as this one clocks in at 7:34, making it the longest track on the album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The title track follows. It\u2019s another hard blues with a thick slamming groove and unexpected descending chordal turnaround, and yet another Beck-era Yardbirds\u2019 quote in the solo. Here and everywhere on the album Joe\u2019s guitar tones are killer, honey thick and biting. And his solos here are kept brief, always in service of the song. And why not? Joe\u2019s got one of the world\u2019s best employed vintage guitar collections to make these varied sounds, a virtual museum that can be viewed here.<\/a>     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy Does It Take So Long to Say Goodbye\u201d is another of the many slow grooves here. Joe wrenches every bit of emotion out of the melody, with his guitar playing and his vocals, the latter which gets better in each passing album. This is another blues in a few epic movements over its six and a half minutes, where he complements thick power chording with sweet flourishes on his acoustic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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