Joe Bonamassa - Muddy Wolf At Red Rocks (Album Review)
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
Written by Simon Ramsay
Photo: Christie Goodwin
No matter how successful they become or how many decades go by, blues musicians will always celebrate the founding fathers. Over Labor Day weekend in 2014, Joe Bonamassa and his band did just that when they rolled up at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and tore through some vintage Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf songs, before icing the cake with a few home cooked treats.
Bonamassa has released enough live efforts to ensure that we know the drill by now. The sound is exceptional, courtesy of Kevin Shirley's classy production, and regular director Philip Klose masterfully captures both the concert and stunning vistas that the venue, carved into the bedrock of Colorado's spectacular Rocky Mountains, provides.
Neatly divided into three parts, the Waters portion and Wolf set begin with footage of the pair playing Tiger In Your Tank and How Many More Years respectively, before Bonamassa takes over and brings a modern spark to the pair’s rough-hewn diamonds.
Whether ripping through Muddy classics I Can't Be Satisfied and Stuff You Gotta Watch, or delivering succulent renditions of Howlin's Spoonful and All Night Boogie (All Night Long), the audience are repeatedly brought to their feet by the magic emanating from the stage.
Bonamassa is the undoubted focal point, although he regularly calls on his band to share the limelight, with some tasty soloing on Shake For Me and All Aboard. Snazzily clad in white dinner jackets, regular contributors Anton Fig and Michael Rhodes hold down the bubbling grooves, Lee Thornburg leads a swinging brass section and Reese Wynans' ivory spanking is splendid. Mike Henderson, too, chips in with some scintillating harmonica.
The use of second guitarist Kirk Fletcher, meanwhile, is inspired. A blues player from Chicago, his classic, understated phrasing offers a fitting counterpoint to Bonamassa's blistering breaks, while he beefs up the riffage on The Ballad Of John Henry and Oh Beautiful! in the closing segment.
Initially, there were concerns about Bonamassa’s suitability for this project as his technical, scorching runs are light years away from the originals’ elemental rawness. And, when it comes to singing, he's not exactly packing a booming blues twang.
Within a couple of songs those worries are obliterated. Bonamassa's ability to switch between soulful and soaring fretwork, coupled with a deeply ingrained and sensual feel for the material, captures the spirit of the songs while reinvigorating them with a contemporary energy.
His vocals are also up to scratch, proving he was correct to claim his vocals have improved following a recent operation to fix a deviated septum. The power, control and range he exhibits on You Shook Me and Evil (Is Going On) - particularly in the higher registers where he sometimes strained live – is a revelation.
During this concert, there's a strong feeling that blues history is being written in front of our eyes. Once a young hotshot and poster boy for the genre’s resurgence, Bonamassa has ascended to a higher level. With such an authentic command of his craft, he can now be mentioned in the same breath as the legends he's honouring here.
Joe Bonamassa Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed October 21 2015 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Metro Radio Arena
Fri October 23 2015 - LIVERPOOL Liverpool Echo Arena
Sat October 24 2015 - LEEDS first direct Arena
Sun October 25 2015 - NOTTINGHAM Capital FM Arena Nottingham
Tue October 27 2015 - CARDIFF Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Wed October 28 2015 - BOURNEMOUTH BIC
Sat October 31 2015 - BRIGHTON Centre
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