Word: bonamassa
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Dates: during 2001-2001
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...Yesterday Joe Bonamassa In 1990, when blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan died prematurely in a helicopter crash at the age of 35, some say that a little bit of the blues died with him. In his wake, many have tried to cultivate his raw electric sound, and innumerable blues guitarists have since cited Vaughan as a primary musical influence, Joe Bonamassa simply adds to the litany of names. What Bonamassa, with his album A New Day Yesterday, also adds is confusion. Modern blues has always been difficult to define, and this, his first solo outing, defies strict categorization even more...
Bonamassa’s thick guitar and husky growl anchor the album, and are most welcome when he pounds out a down-home shuffle, “Trouble Waiting.” If his musical voice isn’t distinctive, it is at least passionate. Bonamassa crafts some potent guitar solos throughout, firing out stripped-down licks and reaching aching, soaring heights on “If Heartaches Were Nickels.” Bonamassa was weaned on all forms of the blues, and dutifully pays his respects to the masters who played in an era when the blues actually...
Alternately, when he strays from his roots, Bonamassa finds himself lost and meandering. “A New Day Yesterday” feels more like a grunge band trying its hand at the blues (but failing miserably), and the hook to “Miss You, Hate You” bears a plagiarism suit-inducing similarity to Matchbox 20’s “Push.” If Vaughan was able to make people care about the blues when rock ruled the roost, perhaps Bonamassa will learn from his idol and stay away from the mainstream...
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