BETH HART & JOE BONAMASSA: Black Coffee (BLUES): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Jeff Beck once told Beth Hart: "As soon as you feel comfortable and don't put yourself in danger anymore, well, then you start dying artistically". This advice did not fall on deaf ears and was even shared with the most famous of the singer's accomplices: Joe Bonamassa. So, what do the two companions do when they don't release a solo album? They record one in duo. After the success of "Don't Explain" (2011) and "Seesaw" (2013), and "Live In Amsterdam" (2014), the two brilliant artists have met again with the producer Kevin Shirley to record a new opus. Composed only of covers, this "Black Coffee" benefits from the collaboration of faithful musicians such as Anton Fig (drums), Ron Dziubla (saxophone) or Lee Thornburg (trumpet and trombone), but also of other fine triggers who work for the first time with the magic pair of the current blues-rock. Among them, we will mention bassist Michael Rhodes, pianist and keyboardist Reese Wynans, and Mahalia Barnes (daughter of Jimmy Barnes) on choruses.

The risk with such a union of stars of the genre is often the struggle of egos. In this case, and as it was already the case on the previous opuses, the problem does not arise, on the contrary. Each player puts himself at the entire disposal of the project and the healthy emulation pushes the set to a new level. The proof is that the set was recorded in only five days for a result which was still breathtaking. As unlikely as it may seem, Beth Hart continues to sing better and better. She is able to convey a poignant and bewitching feeling ('Damn Your Eyes'), and proves to be the worthy successor of Tina Turner on a 'Black Coffee' as Soul-like as furious. On the other hand, she also knows how to show a moving delicacy on a 'Lullaby On The Leaves' which proves to be at the level of the famous version of Ella Fitzgerald on Hello Dolly in 1964, but while being completely personalized by the duet and its accomplices.

On his side, Joe Bonamassa avoids to squeeze every ounce of advantage, even if he does not miss an occasion to offer luminous soli as the superb finale of 'Lullaby On The Leaves'. But the most striking point of an album which does not however miss any is the perfect balance between appropriation and respect on each title. Propelled by a brass section and melting choirs, Edgar Winter's 'Give It Everything You Got' has an almost hard-rocking power while having a groove that is not recommended for prosthetic hips. And what about Lucinda Williams' 'Joy', hammered out in such a way that it suggests a group of prisoners pounding the rubble along a dusty, overheated road in the American South? That it imposes itself as a new essential, like the jazzy and hyper catchy version of 'Why Don't You Do Right', of a 'Saved' that has become a gospel with communicative energy, or of a 'Sitting On The Top Of The World' with a superb guitar/keyboards duel that stands comparison with the best interpretations of Ray Charles, Howlin' Wolf or BB King.

Surrounded by a team as talented as united, Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa offer what is probably one of the best covers album of the genre. The pleasure taken at the recording is totally shared by the listener who can only be carried away by a set varying tempi and intensities but maintaining itself on the summits without letting appear the slightest weakness. Here is one more proof that, if the style does not necessarily offer a great range of originality, it nevertheless allows the most talented artists to make the difference. - Official website

BETH HART & JOE BONAMASSA

BLACK COFFEE

MASCOT LABEL GROUP

BLUES