Driving Towards The Daylight

Joe Bonamassa | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 22, 2012)
• Original Release Date: 2012
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: J&R Adventures
• ASIN: B007R3AZNK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (167 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #538 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #23 in Music > Blues

Editorial Reviews

Recorded at Studio At The Palms in Las Vegas, NV, The Village Recorder in Los Angeles, CA and The Cave in Malibu, CA, Driving Towards The Daylight is a balanced back-to-basics album that highlights Bonamassa s signature style of roots blues with rock-and-roll guts, while honoring the traditions of the original blues musicians. We ve taken some really traditional old blues songs the Howlin Wolf song Who s Been Talkin ? and the Robert Johnson song Stones In My Passway, and we ve tried to imagine how they would do them in a rock context, said Shirley. It s a very exciting return to the blues in a very visceral way. It s vibrant and it s gutsy and it s really, really rugged.

To challenge Joe and move him out of his comfort zone, a unique group of musicians was gathered including Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford (guitar), Blondie Chaplan (guitar), Anton Fig (drums and percussion), Arlan Schierbaum (keyboard), Michael Rhodes (bass), Carmine Rojas (bass), Jeff Bova and The Bovaland Brass, Pat Thrall (guitar), and Brad s son Harrison Whitford (guitar).

The album features five Bonamassa-penned originals including the bruising opener Dislocated Boy, the road warrior title track (and first single) Driving Towards The Daylight, I Got All You Need, Heavenly Soul, and Somewhere Trouble Don t Go. Other tracks include Bonamassa s versions of Tom Waits New Coat Of Paint, Lonely Town Lonely Street, by Bill Withers (Lean On Me, Ain t No Sunshine) and A Place In My Heart by Bernie Marsden of White Snake (Here I Go Again). On the album closer, Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes sings lead vocals on his 1987 hit "Too Much Ain't Enough Love."

Currently available for sale on DVD and Blu-ray and airing on PBS and Palladia HD is the brand new Joe Bonamassa: Beacon Theatre Live From New York, which showcases the stunning sold-out two-night performance at New York City s legendary Beacon Theatre last November. Special guests include Paul Rodgers, John Hiatt and Beth Hart.

Bonamassa s other recent projects include the 2011 CD/DVD Live Over Europe as well as the sophomore album 2 from Black Country Communion, Bonamassa s hard rock band with Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner) and Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Billy Idol). His last studio album, 2011 s Dust Bowl, is his best-selling album to date.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 61 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fooled...pleasantly May 22, 2012

By Ken A

Format:MP3 Music

I'm a huge Joe B fan and like almost anything he does. I was excited when I heard that he was releasing this album. When the samples showed up on Amazon, I ran thru them all and was decidedly disappointed. Not sure why I felt that way, but today when I could buy the MP3's, I did so, strictly on his rep.
WOW! Played entire songs thru my Sennheiser HD598s and was wildly thrilled with the driving music that I could now clearly hear.
Really simple advice, if you even kinda like Joe B., BUY THIS ALBUM. I think some of the songs could be huge popular crossover hits. But what do I know? I'm just a 63YO grandpa who has loved almost any kind of music all my life with favs in rock/blues.

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Blues-Rock Master Class May 22, 2012

By Coach305

Format:Audio CD

For his tenth studio album as a solo artist (and his 13th overall in the past 12 years), Joe Bonamassa and producer Kevin Shirley returned to Las Vegas, the site of their original collaboration (on 2006's "You and Me"). Seven of the eleven songs on the album were recorded in Vegas, at Studio at the Palms. The other four were recorded in Los Angeles. Aside from bassist Carmine Rojas, who plays on the four LA tracks, the musicians are not from his touring band, but rather an impressive collection of guest stars. Aerosmith's Brad Whitford and his 17-year-old son Harrison, Blondie Chaplin, and veteran session man Pat Thrall contribute on guitar. They are joined by Arlan Schierbaum on piano and organ, Michael Rhodes on bass, and Anton Fig on drums and percussion. Doug Henthorn contributes backing vocals, and producer Shirley even gets in on the act, performing on guitar, tambourine, toy piano (!), and (of course) cowbell. Joe handles the lead vocals on all the tracks except for the final one, where Aussie Jimmy Barnes takes the spotlight.

Joe describes the album as "a return to the thing I love most: the Blues." It is certainly that, although this is blues filtered through Joe's British-tinged sensibilities. If you prefer your blues to rock, Joe is your kind of guy.

The album opens with "Dislocated Boy," an up-tempo Bonamassa original that "wrote itself," according to Joe. Next up is a cover of blues legend Robert Johnson's "Stones in My Passway," which features a soulful vocal and a chunky, driving 12-string electric guitar. The album's title track, another Bonamassa original, shifts things into ballad mode, albeit a ballad with a powerhouse chorus based on a song fragment Joe had stored in his head for more than a decade. The lyrics, about a troubled relationship, are evocative, and Joe's voice has a wistful quality that marks this as one of his best performances. Understandably, he has been featuring this song as encore material during his current tour. The next track, a cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Who's Been Talking" is introduced by a clip of the blues master himself talking about what he'd like to hear from his drummer, and Bonamassa's version amusingly begins with exactly what Wolf described. This song has also been featured on the current tour's set list. Next up is a rollicking, Chicago-style cover of Willie Dixon's "I Got All You Need," followed by the slow, soulful burn of Bernie Marsden's "A Place in My Heart."

Bonamassa doesn't just cover venerable blues masters, of course. "Lonely Town, Lonely Street" is a rock-inflected take on a Bill Withers tune, and is the album's longest track. It is followed by "Heavenly Soul," a Bonamassa original flavored with a bit of mandolin and some savory Hammond organ work by Schierbaum to go along with some of Joe's most scintillating guitar. Next up is "New Coat of Paint," which deftly marries the wry storytelling of songwriter Tom Waits with Bonamassa's guitar heroics. Then comes Buddy Miller's "Somewhere Trouble Don't Go," a driving, British blues-rock take on what was originally a gospel-style song. Finally, there is the smouldering passion of "Too Much Ain't Enough Love," featuring the raw vocal style of Jimmy Barnes, the song's co-author.

Bonamassa's last five solo albums have hit No. 1 on Billboard's Blues chart; the last two ("Black Rock" and "Dust Bowl") also hit the Top Ten on the Rock chart, and the Top Forty overall. "Driving Towards the Daylight" is something of a stylistic throwback for Joe (and is intended as such), but the music sounds anything but old-fashioned, and seems likely to propel the album to equal or better its predecessors in terms of popular acclaim. Highly recommended!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great CD May 24, 2012

By Robin Webster

Format:MP3 Music

I don't know how Joe Bonamassa manages to produce CD after CD with so much vitality while also undertaking such a long touring schedule plus a radio show. He is a rock blues artist and this CD leans towards his blues side, despite covering songs by Bill Withers & Tom Waits. I love his versions of Robert Johnson's `Stones In My Passway' and Howlin Wolf's `Who's Been Talking' which has an intro of about 30 seconds of an interview with Howlin Wolf. (and it works). However the stand out track for me is his version of the Bill Withers classic, `Lonely Town Lonely Street.' Joe Bonamassa fans will not be disappointed, and this CD is also a good introduction for those that are new to this great artist.