It's Christmas - Time for a Bonamassa download!

I haven't written anything in this blog since February!? Crumbs.

Finally though, something to write about... And guess what? It's a free download from Joe Bonamassa. Another year, another Christmas tune. Check it out, then download (see below the video for details).

You can download Lonesome Christmas here and for every download (up to 25 December), Joe will donate money to the Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation. What's not to like? You get a great Christmas track and Joe donates to charity.

It Might Get Loud

Another blog post... Another music documentary...

I’ve been on a couple of longish train rides recently and finally got around to watching It Might Get Loud. Essentially it's a film about three very different guitarists from three different generations. They talk about what they do and what inspired them to pick up a guitar in the first place. And, most importantly, it is a film where they play music - individually and together. The guitarists are Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White.

U2_1
Originally uploaded by yellowlinephoto

For me, it doesn’t work as a documentary. There is a structure there, or at least the film-makers have tried to impose a structure, but it’s not telling a story in the way the Rush film did, so I felt the structure was tacked on rather than scaffolding a finished whole. As a result, the film was episodic and while each of the episodes were individually interesting, I don't think it held together as a single piece.

What did work really well though, and what I liked best about it, was hearing them play their music and seeing their enthusiasm for music. For example, Jimmy Page puts on a vinyl single of Link Wray playing Rumble and looks like a kid in a sweetie shop! He clearly loves the piece and that he desperately wants you to love it too is clear from the way he describes it ...and plays along to it ...on air guitar! It is an outstandingly good segment and I suspect some of my fellow train travellers wondered why I was suddenly grinning like an idiot while I staring at a laptop screen!

What was impressive was their dedication to the guitar. The Edge at one point is talking about what inspired him to start playing and cites seeing The Jam and other similar bands on Top Of The Pops as one of his influences. He says that he realised: “If we believed fully in what we were about... that actually was far more important than how well you could play.” This may or may not be true but I think it is slightly disingenuous because all three were obsessive about playing their guitar, clearly they do care about how well they can play, and they all put an (unhealthy?) amount of time into learning to play. They describe taking their guitars everywhere: to school; to bed; and even to the toilet! So despite The Edge's statement, he can play very well indeed! And I must admit, The Edge's guitar skills were a revelation to me. I like U2 and probably own most of their albums but I've never particularly rated The Edge as a guitarist - I've considered him competent rather than outstanding. However, I think I've been unfair. He may not be a flashy, rock guitar solo kind of guy but he does what he does extremely effectively.

The section of the film that really challenged my assessment of The Edge took place a good bit into the proceedings when the three guitarists were jamming together on a version of In My Time Of Dying. They were all playing slide guitar and Jimmy was leading the way with a great Rock/Blues slide guitar sound. Jack states elsewhere in the film that he had wanted to dig deeper into music and" "...when you dig deeper in Rock n' Roll, you're on a freight train to the Blues." so he was clearly in familiar territory with this tune. He had a really dirty sounding Blues style and he was bouncing off Jimmy... and sounding awesome! In contrast, The Edge's guitar sounded lightweight and he appeared to be struggling to make a contribution. Then, all of a sudden, he played a lick that sounded like The Edge... then he did it again and went further still! He took what the other two were doing and rather than competing head to head, he added to the piece and transformed it. He didn't ride roughshod over the top and destroy what Jimmy and Jack were creating but instead he found a space where he could make a contribution and added something unique and special. Excellent and impressive.

So, not an outstanding documentary but some really interesting music. If you like rock music, if you like the blues, or if you just want to listen to three very talented guitarists doing what they do best, I strongly recommend that you track this film down. If you haven't seen it, what else can I do to convince to to check it out? If you've seen it, let me know what you think of it.

Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam

I like to think I know a fair bit about Classic Rock music but admit to knowing less about the Blues (although I'm learning...). I have a friend at work though, Tom, who is extremely knowledgeable about the Blues and Rock. He has a CD, record, video and DVD collection that would put Amazon to shame and he reads more music magazines than I knew were published!

However, recently, I thought I had him beat. Daughter Number One gave me a CD for my Christmas and when we were talking about new stuff we'd been listening to, I started to tell him about this CD, quietly confident that he would not have heard of the artist. The conversation went something like this:

Me: My daughter gave me a great CD at Christmas. She shares a flat with a girl from the Isle of Man whose brother knows this brilliant young Blues guitarist...

Tom: Ah... Davy Knowles. Yes, I really like him. I got his new album last week. It's great. I think he was opening for Gov't Mule on one of their tours...

Me {Thinks}: Curses! He beat me to it again!

If you haven't heard of Mr Knowles, here's a video from his official YouTube channel, where he is jamming with Warren Haynes:

I don't know about you, but I'm impressed that he is doing so well and more than just keeping up with the Magnificent Mr Haynes. More recently he has been supporting Chickenfoot and you can see some YouTube video of him playing with Mr Satriani et al.

When I was first directed to Davy by Daughter Number One, I had a look on the Internet to see what I could find out about him. In doing so, I found a wonderful entry in Wikipedia about his band Back Door Slam. In the opening section, the version of the page at time of writing says: "Adam joined Back Door Slam for what turned out to be two extensive tours of the US lasting until January 2009, and in doing so, cemented his reputation as a stunning bass player, and gaining widespread admiration of fans and musicians worldwide" {my emphasis}. Then nearer the end of the article, where it details Davy's decision to disband the group and go solo, it says: "Ross Doyle and Adam Jones were told by Knowles during a Christmas break with their families, not to come back to the USA as they were being replaced. Back Door Slams fans have responded negatively to the change in line-up, with many saying that the band has lost its magic without these two talented musicians". {again, my emphasis}. Brilliant, isn't it? Who do you think edited the page? If I were a gambling man, I'd go for Adam's girlfriend. :-)

So what do you think of Mr Knowles? And who would you recommend as an up and coming young Blues artist that I might be able to catch Tom with?

Free Download Friday #42: Seasick Steve

It's difficult to know what to say about Seasick Steve that hasn't already been said. If you were going to write a novel about the life of a fictional Bluesman you'd pretty much come up Steve's life. Undoubtedly, he plays up to that image and his instruments, held together with string and duct tape, can seem a bit of a pose. However, there is no getting away from the passion and talent that shines through whatever he is playing. I suspect that he'd still be doing what he does even if he wasn't getting paid for it.

The last time I mentioned Steve in this blog was in connection with the track Didley Bo that The Times newspaper was giving away and if you haven't heard it, it is well worth watching his performance from the Later with Jools Holland show:

I think he is a stunningly good musician and an extraordinarily brilliant showman to boot. I was pleased therefore to discover he was giving away three live tracks on his official site:

1. My Donny
2. Cut My Wings
3. Cheap

Fill in your name and email address and they'll send you a link to download these three excellent tracks. I really like his studio albums but I think you really have to see/hear him live to appreciate just how great he is.

If you know of anyone else out there that's currently doing the same sort of stuff, please let me know because I'd love to hear them too.

Summary: Go to the Official site and follow the Free Download [3 Track EP] link.

Joe Bonamassa: free (and legal) downloads

One of the things I want to do with this blog is to give links to free, legal, music downloads so while I am on a Joe Bonamassa kick, I thought I would feature him in this free download post.

PB300032
Originally uploaded by Joanie H

It is pleasing to see that a number of record companies are seeing the value of offering free mp3 downloads as a way of promoting their artists and driving sales. One such company is Mascot Records who have made a few mp3 files available for download and also linked to some videos on their Joe Bonamassa page.

Of the tracks on offer, I'd say Miss You, Hate You was my favourite along with Merry Christmas Baby (even though it's a bit out of season for a Christmas song). However, they are all good and since they are free, you might as well treat yourself by downloading them all.

Hope you enjoy these free downloads. I'll try and feature more downloads, from a range of artists, over the next few weeks. Let me know if you have a favourite, and of course legal, source of free downloads.

Update: I just remembered an error on the Mascot Records' page. You get a "Not found" page when you click on the mp3 links. This is because they have linked to www.mascotrecords.com/assets/File/videos/... instead of www.mascotrecords.com/assets/File/music/... Oops! I've corrected this in the two links given above but if you want any of the others, you'll have to fix it yourself.

The Ballad Of John Henry

When talking about Joe Bonamassa the other day I should have given a link so that you can hear clips from his new album. As with Sloe Gin, there is a mixture of covers and Joe Bonamassa originals. Of the former, I'd say Feelin' Good was the most interesting.



A number of tracks feature horns - giving quite a different sound to his music. I think it is another outstandingly good album from Mr Bonamassa. What do you think?

Joe Bonamassa On Paul Jones' Radio Show

I try to listen to Paul Jones' show on Radio 2 every Monday. Always worth listening to and often someone or something new to chase up after the show.

Joe Bonamassa
Originally uploaded by Jerry Angelica Photography

However, this week's show is especially worth listening to as the last 15 minutes or so features an interview with Joe Bonamassa, a couple of tracks from his new album and a live song - just Joe and his acoustic - brilliant!

The show is available through the listen again service for the next week but there is also a link on the site to an extended interview with Joe that will hopefully be there a good bit longer. However, I would recommend that you and have a listen as soon as possible because it is well worth listening to. :-)

I am hugely impressed with Joe as a musician and in this interview, he comes across as a genuinely good bloke too. If you haven't already discovered how amazing he is, spend some time on his website - particularly JB TV where you can see and hear him play.

I am very much looking forward to his gig in Glasgow this April. Leave a comment if you already have tickets to see him this tour. If you don't have a ticket, leave a comment explaining yourself. :-)

Eric Clapton Drifting Blues 2008 Unplugged Live TV Recording

I got an email from one of the sites that I signed up for while trying to learn to play guitar... The chap sending the email says:

...you'd be surprised how easy it can be to play this way. All it takes is...

1. A little bit of "Blues in E" (lesson 8-1)
2. A little bit of minor blues scale (lesson 15)
3. A little bit of major blues scale (lesson 23)
4. A little bit of secret sauce (lesson 24)

Hmm! This is clearly a definition of "easy" that has thus far escaped me as I fail to learn to play. :-)

However, as Griff says, "it's Clapton... who doesn't have a minute to go watch Clapton do his thing?"

Enjoy... and then check out Blues Guitar Unleashed. Oh, and any suggestions of good online (preferably free) sources of guitar tutorials will be gratefully received.