Record Details
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Record ID
2195
Artist
Joe Bonamassa
Title
Live At Radio City Music Hall
Field / Genre
Rock
Year Recorded
2015
Label
J&R Recordings
Pressing
Am
Rating
****
Discs
2
Media
CD/Blu-ray
Date Bought
2 Nov 2015
Cost
¤35.00
Cover Name
—
Review
<p>You just cant keep a great man down, and Joe Bonamassa is one such guy as he is back with another live album. In January 2015, Joe Bonamassa took the iconic Great Stage at Radio City Music Hall for the first time for a sold-out, two-night run that allowed him to fulfil his lifelong dream of performing in one of the world's most legendary venues. These concerts were recorded, and will be released as 'Live At Radio City Music Hall' on the 2nd of October.</p><p>The thirteen track CD kicks off with 'I can't be satisfied' with a full backing band, consisting of bass player Carmine Rojas, keyboard player Reese Wyans, drummer Tai Bergman, a horn section with Lee Thormburg on trumpets, Nick Lane on trombone and saxophonist Paulie Cerra. Impressive to say the least.</p><p>'One Less Cross To Bear' (which you can download for free at the end of this review) is a new song, more of a break down played live as the rhythm section keep it nice and tight, allowing Joe's guitar to sing until Reese Wyans lets loose with a glorious keyboard solo. Not to be outdone, Tai Bergman and Lenny Castro join in with a percussion run. Glorious.<p>We then get all acoustic for Dustbowl, which is my current (out of many) favourite JB song and is played stripped down here. It certainly shows another side to Joe's playing, that he is in fact more than just “a blues player” he is in fact a great guitar player.</p><p>The great thing about Joe is that he is not afraid to experiment, to work with different people and styles, as witnessed on Joe's half acoustic/half electric tour (of which these two shows were a part), in particular when he welcomed Irish fiddler Gerry O'Connor onto the stage for 'Still Water'.</p><p>The title track from his last studio album 'Different Shades Of Blue' is equally as impressive and features a wonderful Nyckelharpa solo from Mats Wester.</p><p>The electric band is back for 'Never Give All Your Heart', out of an eerie opening section Joe's guitar sound comes flying, soaring with melody and tone, truly an uplifting song if ever there was one.</p><p>A wonderful Reese Wyans intro for another new song, 'So, What Would I Do' brings the show to a close, featuring a great Paulie Cerra saxophone solo, Joe really does allow his fellow musicians a chance to shine.</p><p>With enough old material to keep the die-hards happy and enough new material to keep everybody else happy, this is much more than a live album, this is a life event.</p><p>The DVD contains all the songs as featured on the CD, plus a lot more besides, including over 2.5 hours of live footage, and a special 45-minute behind-the-scenes featurette.</p><p><strong>—David Farrell</strong></p>