A New Day Now
J&R Adventures, 2020
9/10
The last two decades have been pretty good to Joe Bonamassa, whose debut album, A New Day Yesterday, sees the 20th Anniversary reissue treatment with a new title, 3 unreleased demos tracks, a 24 page booklet in a very crisp remixed, remastered and resung edition.
“Cradle Rock” starts the listen with Bonamassa’s signature slide guitar acrobatics and soulful, bluesy vocals in the anthemic opener, and this continues to the spirited and warm atmosphere of “Walk In The Shadow”, as well as the Jethro Tull cover, “A New Day Yesterday”, where a powerful, emotive delivery really mesmerizes, and, if you were wondering, is without a flute.
Further along, “Colour And Shape” moves with a calmer pace that’s no less impactful and showcases deft bass playing, while “Headaches To Heartbreaks” pushes and pulls with dynamic musicianship amid a soaring climate where keys from Dave Borden really shine. “If Heartaches Were Nickels” then displays a very soulful aspect to Bonamassa’s esteemed and timeless song craft.
“Don’t Burn That Bridge” exits the formal album with a percussively strong and lively blues rocker, and 3 bonus tracks (all written by Steven Van Zandt), are included, with “I Want You” being the highlight with its driving pace of punk spirit in the roaring setting that actually reminds us of Mike Ness more than Joe Bonamassa.
If for some reason you’re still not spending time with Bonamassa’s music, well, there really isn’t a bad place to start in his massive catalog of music. While I’m sure some purists might not agree with the new vocals laid down here, in 20 years Bonamassa has learned much about his voice, and it certainly doesn’t do a disservice to the tunes to put a new finish on them.
Travels well with: Mike Zito- Rock’n’Roll: A Tribute To Chuck Berry; North Mississippi Allstars- Up And Rolling