JoBo Interview

Ossyrocks

gringopig said:

I was also always told that ‘if you haven’t got anything nice to say, stay quiet’ but I’m 53 now and the phantom voice of my mother has long receded. If you don’t have the strength of conviction about your own opinion about something that means a lot to you then that’s going to be a nagging frustration and lead to some highly localised mental stroke at some point.

Joe Bonamassa: a critique

In many ways, Joe Bonamassa is to be admired. He has followed his passion and made a career from his undeniable talent for guitar playing. He is, on the face of it, a likeable and knowledgeable guy; a raconteur even and a torch bearer for the value and importance of the history of American guitars and especially that uniquely American musical style: The Blues.

He a self-proclaimed guitar geek and will discuss the minutiae of Gibson PAF construction and staggered versus non-staggered Fender polepieces and not think it’s odd. This is something I personally can relate to. I would hold him up in the highest regard and revere him absolutely except for one thing.

His music.

Here’s a music video for his single ‘Redemption’:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDe-dI3c5d0

So, what’s wrong with that gringo? Go back to your Belle and Sebastian 12” singles then, you freak!

It’s an almost cinema verité record of a furrowed brow studio scene: dark mutterings in black & white. Beware Black and White® by the way as it instantly signals an attempt to signify authenticity™ and wariness levels need to be raised in preparation.

Notes are made and guitars passed from hand to hand and desks are slapped as the intro plays which appears to be a simple blues slide figure albeit played by at least 3 guitars with requisite authentic™ Hammond B3 burbling away alongside. Old grizzled men, possible studio veterans® work furiously…

Then Joe sings and it’s not the voice of a guitar geek we hear, it’s the voice of the drug addict keyboard player guy from the Allman Brothers. It’s the voice of that guy from video games who is the all-American protagonist you are meant to empathise with and revere even although you are a 15-year girl from Latvia. It’s the gravelly voice of authentic™ American southern rock.

I think it’s put on. Instantly I’m suspecting some ruse now and the antennae are twitching. He’s singing about redemption. Oh, Lordy Lord, he must have committed some terrible crime. He’s looking in the well and the mirror. What did he do? Lord have mercy™. Did he murder a child? Perhaps run over a cat? He wants to drink from a fountain at the top of a mountain. God, it must be serious. Meanwhile the music is all Derek and the Dominoes style blues rock. You know that style, how could you not? This is super boosted though no doubt due to all the old grizzled veterans piling on drum EQ and whatnot.

Then they all start playing a Led Zeppelin song and it becomes quite confusing. Have I accidentally clicked on a YouTube suggestion? Yep it’s pretty much note for note at this point and then…

BAMBAMBAMBAM

A raging torrent erupts from Bonamassa. His face contorted by emotion™ It’s a bomb blast of bombast! This is clearly the entire point of the song. Everything else was just some fluff to prepare you for it. He’s playing so fast and accurately too. It’s like you opened a parcel and a dozen spaniel puppies burst out.

The first time I heard it I laughed. It was so ridiculous. Just this big blurt of solo pooped out and handed to you on a silver tray. Hey, thanks Joe. Great. Ta!

I stopped listening at this point, especially when the soft bit came in and you could clearly see the artifice and the Black and White™ evidence of the discussion for the arrangement and the fist pumping obviousness of it. No mystery, just a bit of blues rock fluff with a big poop of a solo in the middle.

I’m a traditionalist. I like my guitar playing to be a part of a song not the thing itself.

Bonamassa’s music is tightly focussed on late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s blues rock but is so tightly focussed that nothing else gets a look in. His songs have no depth and only present the façade of depth but fails to conceal the artifice so it all ends up being just an excuse to display his virtuosity.

I suspect that every song he has ever committed to tape has had a guitar solo in it.

So why does this matter gringo? If you don’t like it just don’t listen.

Well I don’t but he presents a face of guitar playing to the world that I think is holding back the instrument’s development. It’s too easy for the general non-guitar playing population to latch onto it and treat it as some form of pinnacle of achievement.

Why not try something different like they used to do? Think of all the players who have come up with unique styles through the years and who have incorporated that playing into new music to push things along so the music fan doesn’t have to buy the same old poop over and over again.

I’m not going to provide examples of players who have innovated as this is all personal taste™ but I think that no-one can argue that Bonamassa is some sort of innovator. Even he wouldn’t.

This is why he is so divisive I think amongst guitar players and Bonamassa’s audience contains an extremely high percentage of those and mainly male of a certain age as well. Very homogenous audience indeed.

 Some find his ultra-honed perfection of the blues rock style attractive and some find his tedious rehashing and deadly dull lack of innovation or genuine emotion in song writing and singing not so.

You should write restaurant reviews. People get paid a lot of money to slag someone off so eloquently. 

We get your position, you have stated it well. Now, can I just be left alone to enjoy the insincerity and lack of emotion and innovation.

https://youtu.be/biWPHpQCoq8

Nikc

And there's the thing I just watched the video I quite enjoyed it. I don't think his singing is bad (maybe not great but who am I to judge) The solo was nailed on and I liked the intro all in all pretty good. 

He is playing and singing in an established style no its not taking 'the music' forward but its not holding it back either. He's like a tribute act playing in a style rather than just doing covers and playing dress up, there is a good market for that and there is nothing wrong with that at all. It's a bit like classical music (fecking great big tribute acts) playing dead mens music over and over note prefect again and a bloody again except he is writing his own stuff and in that respect he's as fresh as Clapton or Zep / whoever that made themselves famous ripping off the blues ever were. And lets be honest without them most of us wouldn't play guitar or be interested in it would we

TINMAN82

Nikc said:

And there's the thing I just watched the video I quite enjoyed it. I don't think his singing is bad (maybe not great but who am I to judge) The solo was nailed on and I liked the intro all in all pretty good. 

He is playing and singing in an established style no its not taking 'the music' forward but its not holding it back either. He's like a tribute act playing in a style rather than just doing covers and playing dress up, there is a good market for that and there is nothing wrong with that at all. It's a bit like classical music (fecking great big tribute acts) playing dead mens music over and over note prefect again and a bloody again except he is writing his own stuff and in that respect he's as fresh as Clapton or Zep / whoever that made themselves famous ripping off the blues ever were. And lets be honest without them most of us wouldn't play guitar or be interested in it would we

This pretty much sums it up perfectly

gringopig

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Sassafras

I'm struggling to understand what the hell someone's image has got to do with their musical ability. Most guitarists have traditionally looked like dicks but that doesn't stop me from enjoying their records. I normally listen with my ears not my eyes. In fact, I don't know how listening with your eyes is even possible.

Philly_Q

@gringopig that's a great post up the page.  I nodded in agreement, shook my head in disagreement a couple of times and laughed a lot.  Very well written.

I then watched the video (I have seen it before, but not for a while) and I have to say you're right, it's all artifice, it's utterly bogus... but I did really enjoy it.  I like his voice, I go "woah" at the Led Zeppelin bit and the solo is gratuitous but great (but not as great as opening a parcel and watching a dozen spaniel puppies burst out).  It's exactly what you expect but it's done very well.

That said, if I listened to the album I know I'd be bored after 20 minutes and I'd go and find something else.

thegummy

Sassafras said:

I'm struggling to understand what the hell someone's image has got to do with their musical ability. Most guitarists have traditionally looked like dicks but that doesn't stop me from enjoying their records. I normally listen with my ears not my eyes. In fact, I don't know how listening with your eyes is even possible.

A lot of people do get more from music than just the musical enjoyment itself, some people care about what the artists wear etc. - just look at the mainstream pop stars, they're as much about image as music, if not more. Not just mainstream either, there are indie bands who are terrible musically, can barely even play their instruments, but have clearly spent a lot of time and effort on their hipster image.

It does make sense in a way - most people, particularly young people, use music taste as part of their own identity. Not everyone is musical themselves so they probably won't get the musical enjoyment you and I might.

It's not just what the artist looks like either, it can be the aesthetic of the lyrics. E.g. when I listen to rap it's the rhythmic pattern of the vocals that I enjoy; they could just as well be in a foreign language. But my friend only enjoys it if the lyrics are "cool" i.e. about being a gangster or talking about drugs and designer clothes etc.

For some people it's not just about the music itself.

Sassafras

I know all that.
I was just saying that anyone who cares more about the image than the content is a superficial pretentious dick.

jonnyburgo

I like watching JoBo when he's just sat noodling or demonstrating slide playing etc. As for his records it's kind of blues for middle aged white men with disposable income and a penchant for tucked in tshirts, jeans n trainers and baseball caps and big garages.

bloomer

Through absolutely no fault of his own Joe Bonamassa has a very punchable face and also he's a bit of a precocious child trapped in a middle aged mans body. That said he puts a lot of effort into being a nice likeable guy and that in my opinion is sufficient to make him a nice likeable guy. His music is a bit turgid and showoffy and it isn't for me but his guitar skills are impressive in their way if a little uptight.