Blues Deluxe, Vol. 2

by Joe Bonamassa

Overview

Twenty years after Blues Deluxe, his first all-blues album, Joe Bonamassa delivers a sequel with 2023's Blues Deluxe, Vol. 2. He may follow the same blueprint -- it largely consists of covers, supplemented by two originals -- but the circumstances and collaborators have changed. Here, he foregoes using longtime producer Kevin Shirley to work with Josh Smith, a blues guitarist from Bonamassa's own generation who also contributes the album's closer "Is It Safe to Go Home." Smith helps give Blues Deluxe, Vol. 2 a loose, lived-in feeling that contrasts with the eager fire of the 2003 record. It's a change that suits Bonamassa well. Not pushing so hard with either his vocals or his guitar, Bonamassa instead settles into a muscular, horn-punctuated groove that rolls right through numbers by Bobby "Blue" Bland, Guitar Slim, Ronnie Earle & the Broadcasters, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, and Albert King. Bonamassa solos plenty but the song is placed at the forefront throughout Blues Deluxe, Vol. 2 -- it's closer to an old LP from the '60s than to the shredding blues-rockers who followed in the wake of Stevie Ray Vaughan, which is a roundabout way of saying that Bonamassa's blues seem to be deepening as he grows older, which is not a bad thing at all. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	10/06/2023
Label:	J&R Adventures / Provogue
UPC:	0711574939923
Rank:	10922

Tracks

1. Twenty-Four Hour Blues
2. It's Hard But It's Fair
3. Well, I Done Got Over It
4. I Want to Shout About It
5. Win-O
6. Hope You Realize It (Goodbye Again)
7. Lazy Poker Blues
8. You Sure Drive a Hard Bargain
9. The Truth Hurts
10. Is It Safe to Go Home

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Joe Bonamassa   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Jade MacRae   Vocals (Background)
Jeff Bailey   Trumpet
Lemar Carter   Drums
Calvin Turner   Bass
Kirk Fletcher   Featured Artist
Jimmy Bowland   Flute,Saxophone,Flute (Alto)
Mark Douthit   Saxophone
Reese Wynans   Keyboards
David Angell   Violin
Paulie Cerra   Saxophone
Monisa Angell   Viola
Steve Patrick   Trumpet
Sari Reist   Cello
Ali Hoffman   Violin
Barry Breen   Trombone
Janet Darnall   Violin
Jenny Bifano   Violin
Carrie Bailey   Violin
Matt Jefferson   Trombone (Bass)
Elizabeth Lamb   Viola
Mahalia Barnes   Vocals (Background)
Josh Smith   Guitar,Featured Artist
Conni Ellisor   Violin
Anthony La Marchina   Cello
Dannielle DeAndrea   Vocals (Background)
Charles Jones   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

George Janho   Assistant Engineer
Ryan Yount   Assistant Engineer
Jeff Hamburg   Music Coordinator,Production Assistant
Bob Greenlee   Composer
Ronald Horvath   Composer
Zach Zajdel   Assistant Engineer
Steve Barri   Composer
Bettye Crutcher   Composer
Kenny Neal   Composer
Bobby Parker   Composer
Calvin Turner   Horn Arrangements,String Arrangements
Joe Bonamassa   Composer
Clifford Adams   Composer
Eddie Jones   Composer
Ernie Lancaster   Composer
Pee Wee Crayton   Composer
Alan Hertz   Mixing
Jim Payne   Composer
David Angell   Leader,Contractor
Harvey Price   Composer
Tom Hambridge   Composer
Dan Walsh   Composer
J.J. Blair   Engineer
Steve Gomes   Composer
Peter Green   Composer
Ronnie Horvath   Composer
Kate Moss   Package Design
Eric Boulanger   Mastering
Roy Weisman   Executive Producer
Sharon Corbitt   Photography,Artist Relations
Josh Smith   Composer,Producer
Allen Jones   Composer
Rachael Iverson   Release Production
Austin Atwood   Engineer