subject: Joe Bonamassa Tickets : Bonamassa Fostered By Notable Musicians Such As The Jeff Beck Group [print this page] Unlike other successful blues-rock guitarists, Bonamassa has cited his influences as being British and Irish blues acts, rather than American acts. Within the blues genre, hearing the traditional blues players, as with Guitar Slim, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and all the traditional American blues players, comparing the music in the United States to the "European" versions of the blues, Bonamassa found the English blues, fostered by notable musicians such as the Jeff Beck Group, Eric Clapton, and the Irish blues player Rory Gallagher to be far more interesting to him than the original Delta blues players.
In an interview in Guitarist magazine, he cited the three albums that had the biggest influence on his playing: John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton (the Beano album), Rory Gallagher's Irish Tour and Goodbye by Cream. He also stated that Stevie Ray Vaughan's Texas Flood was a big influence at a young age.He elaborated further on his influences in his interview:"You know, my heroes were the Columbine guys Paul Kossoff, Peter Green, Eric Clapton. There is so many - there is Gary Moore, Rory Gallagher another Irishman who played the same things, but do not tell him that. But those guys were my guys Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page.
There is a certain sophistication to their approach to the blues that I really like, more so than the American blues that I was listening to. B. B. King a big influence he is probably my biggest traditional influence. I love Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and T-Bone Walker and stuff like that, but I could not sit down. I was always forcing myself to listen to whole records by them, where I would rather listen to Humble Pie do "I'm Ready" than Muddy Waters, you know? I think, the English interpretation of the blues just hit me a lot better, you know?"And in his October 2008 interview with Express & Star: When I heard Kossoff playing "Mr. Big" and when I heard Clapton playing "Crossroads" and when I heard Rory Gallagher playing "Cradle Rock", I was like, 'This is way cooler'.... "British blues are my thing.
These influences are evident in his music, but Bonamassa has been influenced by other artists; notable examples include B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Danny Gatton, Eric Johnson, Albert Collins, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Buddy Guy. Bonamassa's style of playing incorporates the wide range of genres these influences cover: rock, blues-rock, Delta blues, electric blues, jazz, country and even prog rock as evidenced by Yes's "Heart of the Sunrise" and the "Wurm" section of "Starship Trooper" being regular features of live performances.Bonamassa solo debut, in 2000, was his Top 10 Blues disc A New Day Yesterday, named after the 1969 Jethro Tull classic that Joe makes his own with what allmusic.com called a jaw-dropping performance.
Produced by the late, legendary Tom Dowd, the album featured guest shots by Gregg Allman, Rick Derringer and Leslie West, among other greats. The powerhouse original song Miss You, Hate You remains a cornerstone of Joe repertoire, as does the slide guitar showcase Cradle Rock. Bonamassa followed it up in 2002 with "So, It's Like That", a brew of dead-on blues and classic pop-rock production featuring all originals, including the tour de force Pain And Sorrow. The album was his first to hit #1 on Billboard Blues chart.In 2003 designated Year Of The Blues by Congress Bonamassa returned with his heartfelt tribute to the genre, "Blues Deluxe", packed with nine classics and three originals.
In the liner notes, Harris Cohen observed that Joe, never loses touch with the raw emotion that makes the blues what it is.Reviewing "Blues Deluxe", former Creem editor Jaan Uhelszki added, New York guitar phenom walks tall in the blues tradition . jettisoning fiery riffs inspired by John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Elmore James, and Albert Collins into the future with furious playing, a hard-rock sensibility, and a grizzled voice that owes a debt to Gregg Allman. Equally inspired by the Delta blues and the mid-'60s British blues boom, the young firebrand is able to fuse those two schools together, creating edgy blues rock. Bonamassa further honed that fusion on 04 Had To Cry Today", another sweat-soaked mix of sound made electrifying through his gale force playing.
