Artist:     Joe Bonamassa

Album:     Redemption

Label:     J&R Adventures

Release Date:     9.21.2018

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Joe Bonamassa continues to astound with his freshness and honesty while refusing to diminish his love and respect for those who paved the way. After paying tribute to so many of his idols, Joe piles all that energy into his thirteenth studio album, Redemption. Even this project of original songs (with help from Tom Hambridge, James House, Gary Nicholson, and Richard Page), the 41 year old Bonamassa remembers his forefathers by bringing in musical treasure and icon Dion DiMucci to add his magical touches to the title track, a timeless masterpiece from its beginning notes.

While the music is pure Bonamassa, he intersperses nods to the past. A bit of Zeppelin here and there, soulful horns are reminiscent of Muscle Shoals, but throughout, Redemption is never far from Bonamassa ‘s personal definition of the blues. Whether echoing heartbreak in “”Stronger in Broken Places,” lamenting over “Self-Inflicted Wounds,” or seeking peace and forgiveness, each song presents a greeting that invites everyone in. Once inside, “King Bee Shakedown” demands that you pull out your rolled-up jeans, slippery black pointed-toe shoes, and boogie your ass off like it’s 1955.

As long as Joe Bonamassa picks up his guitar, steps up to a mic, and turns up his amp, the world will know what rockin’ blues is. It’s truth, it’s honesty, it’s old, it’s new, and it’s Bonamassa! If you’re “sifting through the cold gray ashes looking for peace,” here’s a place to always find Redemption.

—Gene Knapp