It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!
Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
But I just don't 'feel' anything when he plays - The only 2/3 albums of his that I've got into are the collaborations with Beth Hart - Is that because the songs are covers - She sings and he can just pull off a few tasty licks that support the songs and as an overview everything is more 'laid back'
But this Beato chat, coupled with his playing/demos, has for some reason made me think about him and his playing and that is 'is he to good a player to be playing rock/blues ?' - I'm talking about his excellent technique - When we look/listen to all before him, be it Clapton, Bloomfield, Kossoff, Green etc etc, they have nothing like his technique - But they are loaded with tone and emotion - Maybe it is hard to explain but in short it is all a bit to much - Form of overkill for a rock/blues based player - I just imagine that if he had recorded the original 'all right now' we'd have heard far more notes
I like the guy - i will listen to the rest of the video over the next few days - But his playing just doesn't inspire me at all
JoBo elicits some very predictable responses on guitar forums so I'll sit back and play Joe Bonamassa Bingo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE2ltZll9B0
Also, having seen him live at Plymouth a few years ago, he was simply stunning, taking the role of band leader, every musician on stage was given a chance to shine, probably the best gig I’ve ever seen.
https://edmorgan.info
I recall his nasty tirade at a fan on one of the Gibson forums about vintage guitars, and it was really awful and aggressively condescending.
Anyone remember that?
Seeing that was enough for me.
Great player but I don't like him and I'll not really give him time of day (not that he or anyone else should care).
At the moment I'm looking for:
* Hamer Watson, SS2, Vintage S, T62.
* Music Man Luke 1, Luke II
Please drop me a message.
I do like his live version of Clapton's Mainline Florida and the stuff he's done with Black Country Communion - but the grandfather blues stuff leaves me cold. He's playing all the right notes, in the right order with the right technique but ... there's nothing I can pin down and say "oh...that's Bonamassa...".
HOUSE!!!!
To me he’s undoubtedly one of the best guitar players on the planet. I think his original songs let him down and he perhaps overplays to compensate. He has no real stand out signature tune of his own. My favourite live sets of his are the covers sets where he tributes Muddy Wolf/ British Blues and 3 Kings respectively.
Tbf I think he knowledges this and I’ve heard him say that he’d happily trade half his playing talent for McCartneys song writing ability.
The collecting is a bit OTT but at least he’s playing them live rather than locking them in a vault.
I firmly put Larry Carlton at #1 as the finest guitar player, worse song writer
But I know where you are coming from - He mentions in the above interview about great songs, solos and tone and within that he mentions the likes of Deep Purple and Toto - Both have a ‘team’ who help write the songs - I dare say he is on his own a lot to write- We can’t all be Cole Porter
Take for instance Ace Frehley - comically wide vibrato (makes Malmsteen's look subtle), rudimentary chords and pentatonics, rushed feel this side of Joe Perry and Jimmy Page - and yet he wrote, played and sang on 2 of the biggest songs in Kiss's catalogue (Cold Gin and Shock Me) - and crafted many of their memorable solos that your milkman could hum. Instantly recognisable tone and style on record.
Add the costumes, stutter effect and custom 3 pickup Les Pauls and Marshalls and you've got the whole package.
His technique is frightening, and I don't think people actually realise just HOW GOOD he is.
His playing has a quality and expression to it that is VERY difficult to imitate. So many microtonal and quarter-bent notes going on that lend that almost delta bottleneck vibe to pretty much everything he plays.
It's far more detailed/nuanced and has far more expression than all the other blues noodlers.
His accuracy is baffling. I don't think I've EVER seen/heard him make a glaring mistake or error. I've been working on his licks, runs, phrases etc for years and I'm starting to piece it together and get relatively good at it, but in the beginning it's very difficult to nail the sound of the individual notes in terms of how they are executed, vibbed, bent etc. when all of it also goes by at lightning speed sometimes.
Absolutely monster player. For me, he makes the guitar sound how I hear it in my head. What he plays personifies how a guitar solo should sound to my ear.
His song writing can leave me wanting a bit, but some of the "song songs" he's written that aren't a 12-bar, are really good IMO.
Not sure why he polarises people so much. He comes across as a thoroughly decent, passionate, humble and humourous/self deprecating dude 99% of the time.
Sorry, I know that's off topic but I haven't got anything new to say about JoBo.
But I like JoBo.
I understand that not everyone likes Joe, but as @Nerine says above, you don't have to like him to appreciate that his technique and understanding of the guitar and of the blues is truly frightening. I don't want to literally retype Nerine's comment but man, Joe's picking, phrasing, inflections etc are genuine mastery of his craft. Which I suppose could come across to some as lacking character, I get it. But still, this interview demonstrates his mastery brilliantly. Really enjoyed it even if I don't particularly like the music Joe's put out in more recent years.
I can't play like Robben Ford, but as good as he is, I can pick up snippets and drop them into my playing - I can't do that with Joe
Because he doesn't influence me it doesn't mean he is crap - I don't like Man U - But I'm sure I've never said they are crap and like it or loathe it, under Fergie they were successful
I'd rather be part of his 'journey' than not - I'd love to have a beer with the guy and chat guitars/music etc - But I just can't find his songs, music, licks making me feel wow