Joe Bonamassa Redemption

Redemption, Joe Bonamassa's third album in a row of all original material, sees him at his most ambitious yet redefining and pushing the barriers of blues-rock. The LP reunites Bonamassa with some of Nashville's finest musical minds such as Tom Hambridge, James House, Gary Nicholson, Richard Page and legend Dion DiMucci who adds his songwriting expertise to the title cut. Continuing his long creative relationship with producer Kevin Shirley, Bonamassa is joined here by drummer Anton Fig, bassist Michael Rhodes, keyboardist Reese Wynans, horn players Lee Thornburg and Paulie Cerra, harmony vocalist Gary Pinto, background singers Mahalia Barnes, Jade McRae, Juanita Tippins and guitarists, Kenny Greenberg and Doug Lancio.

Redemption opens with a tip of the hat to Led Zeppelin on "Evil Mama" that burrows into a deep groove before ripping into the rockabilly-tinged boogie blues of "King Bee Shakedown". Next, Bonamassa dips into his Black Country Communion influence to tell a tragic tale with timeless hard rock riffs for "Molly-O" and "Deep In The Blues Again" changes the course yet again with a driving rhythm meant for the car stereo. "Self-Inflicted Wounds" is most telling of Bonamassa's progression as a true singer-songwriter, and Joe claims it as his best song writing yet. "Pick Up The Pieces" channels Tom Waits for a late night after hours while "The Ghost of Macon Jones" sees Joe trade vocals with Nashville country singer Jamey Johnson as they recount a cautionary tale of a rural renegade.

"Just Cos You Can Don‘t Mean You Should" channels Gary Moore for an upbeat taste of blues-rock euphoria before Bonamassa makes light of his trials and tribulations on "I‘ve Got Some Mind Over What Matters." Then Joe strips it down to only acoustic guitar and vocals on the heart-breaking tale of "Stronger Now In Broken Places," which promises that things will be better over time and features Midnight Oil's Jim Moginie providing soundscapes and Kate Stone on the hand pan. After this intense musical journey Joe wraps it all up with a traditional blues rock tune with "Love is A Gamble."