Description
Joe Bonamassa – The Ballad Of John Henry / J&R Adventures Audio CD 2009 / PRD7269 2
UPC 8712725726920
Product Details:
Label: J&R Adventures – PRD 7269 2
Format: CD, Album
Country: Europe
Released: 2009
Genre: Rock
Style: Blues Rock, Hard Rock
Description:
The Ballad of John Henry is the seventh studio album by the American blues rock musician Joe Bonamassa. Produced by Kevin Shirley, it was released on 24 February 2009 by J&R Adventures and topped the US Billboard Top Blues Albums chart.
Editorial Review:
In 2007, Joe Bonamassa titled his album after a Bob Ezrin song. In 2009, he named his seventh studio album The Ballad of John Henry after one of the most enduring tales in American folk music. The difference between these two songs should signal a great difference between the two albums and that's true, to a certain extent. The Ballad of John Henry is heavy on myth-making that translates to heavy guitars on several occasions, particularly on the epic six-minute title track, whose roiling minor-key riffs, orchestrations, and excursions into acoustic instruments are closer to prog than blues. While the rest of the record never gets as overblown as this, it shares similar thick sonics and a sober sensibility, an approach that treats Ike & Tina Turner's "Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter" as sacred text and straightens out Tom Waits' "Jockey Full of Bourbon." This sobriety means that The Ballad isn't a whole lot of fun -- when Bonamassa sings that he's "Feelin' Good," it feels a bit like drudgery -- but this dogged approach does give the album some self-serious heft, adding the impression of weight that fits a record that feels like a summation of his strengths. His guitar and voice carry equal weight as he runs through SRV-styled slow blues, a shuffle or two, acoustic numbers, covers, and originals -- everything that he's dabbled with on previous albums is pulled together here, making for his most varied album and possibly his best, even if that heaviness means that it's not necessarily the easiest to enjoy.
Tracklist:
| 1 | The Ballad Of John Henry
Written-By – Joe Bonamassa |
6:27 |
| 2 | Stop!
Written-By – Bruce Brody, Greg Sutton |
6:48 |
| 3 | Last Kiss
Written-By – Joe Bonamassa |
7:15 |
| 4 | Jockey Full Of Bourbon
Written-By – Tom Waits |
5:22 |
| 5 | Story Of A Quarryman
Written-By – Joe Bonamassa |
5:00 |
| 6 | Lonesome Road Blues
Written-By – Joe Bonamassa |
3:09 |
| 7 | Happier Times
Written-By – Joe Bonamassa |
6:40 |
| 8 | Feelin' Good
Written-By – Anthony Newly, Leslie Bricusse |
4:44 |
| 9 | Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter
Written-By – Aillene Bullock |
5:00 |
| 10 | The Great Flood
Written-By – Joe Bonamassa |
7:39 |
| 11 |
From The Valley
Written-By – Joe Bonamassa |
2:24 |
| 12 | As The Crow Flies
Written-By – Tony Joe White |
3:59 |
More Details:
- Bass – Carmine Rojas
- Brass, Arranged By – Lee Thornburg
- Design [Assistance] – Josh Smith (5)
- Design, Art Direction – Dennis Friel
- Drums – Anton Fig, Bogie Bowles
- Engineer – Jared Kvitka
- Guitar, Vocals – Joe Bonamassa
- Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Rick Melick
- Photography By – Rob Shanahan
- Producer, Mixed By – Kevin Shirley
- Rhythm Guitar – Blondie Chaplin
- Saxophone – David Woodford
