Different Shades of Blue Review (Page 3 of 6)

Joe Bonamassa you've done it again ...

Thanks to Amazon cloud I've listened to this album twice through now and IMHO it's the best thing you've ever done.  There's not one single track I don't like.  It's just one hell of a complete album and a testament to the artist you've become.  And as a bonus the limited edition deluxe version CD arrived today.  Time for a singalong.

My very own and personal opinion:
After aprrox. 20 run throughs I have to say that DSOB is a very homogeneous album. I like that fact very much, because with past albums I tended to skip some of the numbers, especially when Joe went country and did other experiments. With DSOB I fully enjoy listening to the entire album over and over again. The session like attitude with which the songs were recorded is really shining through and ads to the whole atmosphere – DSOB is one big composition, everything fits and the song sequence is the most perfect ever on one of Joe's albums. The rhythmic additions in form of percussions and the brass sections are perfect and luckily not overdosed but subtle.

What I like:
Great lyrics – yeah man, love hurts and broken love even more. The „Hey Baby“ intro is a perfect intro to the whole theme and I congratulate Joe on this choice!
Finally, more concentration on the vocals! Joe's voice developed nicely over the past year and I dare saying it sounds more mature and delivers messages in a more believable and convincing way.
Extremely cool guitar rhythms and diverting songs – the shorter running time of the tracks gives them a more stable feel. Well composed solos – it's great to hear new licks. Joe seems to return to more recognizable solos with lesser notes, also here I certanly hear a development. The solos are touching, if not overwhelming, especially the one on „Heartache follows...“ and on „DSOB“.
Tremendous compositions can be heard on the title track and „Never give all your heart“, a cool and unforeseeable chorus can be heard on „Living on the Moon“, which reminds me a little bit of the style Gary Moore used to compose. The sound of all solos is by far the best I've heard in a long time. The cover artwork is outstanding and underlines Joe's style. No guest singers, yeah!

What I kinda dislike / what could've been better:
I wish the recording quality of the rhythm guitars would have been better. At some places it sounds very compressed and I think that with million dollar equipment on both sides, instruments and studio, Kevin Shirley could have done slightly better. Don't get me wrong, all in all this record is great sounding, but it's the small things sometimes. Although „Heartache...“ is a great song, I can not stand the rhythm section of drum and bass. This sounds like a cheap backing track. Man, such things have to be played more layed back – it really sounds like drums and bass are generated by some software plug-ins and quantized to death. Fortunately, Joe saves this number with his great vocals and raunchy guitar playing. Further, on some of the tracks the snare sound is weak and sounds electronical. As mentioned, these are all small things that do not diminish the listening pleasure in any way.

Bottom line:
This album sounds very personal - it's the musical essence of Joe where Joe stands musically. It's such a nice piece of music and I hope Joe keeps up this kind of approach. It's a pleasure to ride the car and having DSOB in the car audio!!!!
Thanks for that Joe!

Reading some reviews... The reviews on amazon.com are positive... All 5 star reviews.

Not so much on the UK amazon site. It seems some there feel that the CD is a bit overproduced. I'm not sure that I don't agree to some extent.

I have listened to it about 4 times and like it more each time. In fact, my biggest complaint is that the Hendrix cover is too short at only 1:20 long. Otherwise, it's damned loud and great to play in the car (with the windows down in traffic)

easily 4 stars for - perhaps 5.

SBS

Having had a few days to fully absorb Different Shades of Blue, my verdict has changed.  This is a perfect album!  It sounds gorgeous  -- production, instrumentation, and vocals.  Love the original songs.  The attention to detail in all phases is truly exceptional.  Joe's voice is every bit the equal of his guitar work, and the guitar solos are fantastic and varied. 

Being a greedy guy, I hope we have more of similar quality to look forward to in future years.  This level of excellence cannot go unnoticed by the culture at large for long.  Onward and upward!

This CD is everything I love about Joe. It's edgy and hard. This is the Joe I love, he moved away from this type of raw energy in my opinion) and now he's back. This CD is everything that made me love Joe from the first moment I heard him.

Jeezus Michael, I'm laughing out loud reading this!
How did you keep a straight face through all of that?
Someday they'll be watching one of Joe's DVD's: "Hey, isn't that the guy in the front row that fellow we talked to at HMV?"
Classic Lynch moment, lol.

I feel like it has been ages since i have been on the forum.  Great Reviews.  I had pre-ordered the album several months ago and was just able to get around to downloading it this morning.  I actually put my ear buds in this morning and went for a long walk so that i would not be disturbed while listening.  All i can say, since i don't really put my thoughts into words very well at all, is that i have had a great big toothy grin on my face since this morning and have listened to the album on a loop all day.  It made taking my accounting midterm and my financial analysis of Starbucks project seem to go by faster.   I even went online and purchased another  Bonamassa concert ticket.  So, now i will be seeing him perform twice in December.