Joe Bonamassa – Sloe Gin – 2007
When I first listened to Joe Bonamassa’s Sloe Gin, he was a completely unknown name to me. At the time, I was no longer particularly in touch with contemporary music the way I once had been during my formative years. But every now and then, it’s healthy to step outside your musical comfort zone and take a chance — bold or not. I had a vague idea of what Sloe Gin might offer, stylistically, but nothing more than that.
The album opens with a few tracks that are certainly blues-inspired but lean too far into blues rock to immediately resonate with me. Still, after giving the record repeated listens over a longer period, even those songs eventually began to click — although they took considerably longer than the more straight-ahead blues tracks that followed.
Pure Blues?
Whether or not the third track, Seagull, qualifies as pure blues is debatable, but it’s unquestionably where Sloe Gin starts to open up for me. From there, the album continues to gain strength. The following song instantly caught my attention — a piece I’d confidently label as classic, stripped-down blues. Dirt in My Pocket has a gritty edge that lifts the album to another level, particularly in the chorus, which has stuck with me for weeks.
The title track, Sloe Gin, is a slow-burning blues ballad with distinct soul undertones. You can listen to it over and over — and you’ll have time to since it clocks in at over eight minutes. Bonamassa’s voice fits the atmosphere perfectly, as it does throughout the album. The guitar work isn’t particularly flashy, but it doesn’t need to be. The playing is solid and restrained, allowing the songs to speak for themselves. There’s always a risk of the guitarist becoming too prominent in this kind of music, but Bonamassa avoids that. He’s clearly a skilled player, but he never lets the solos overstay their welcome.
John Mayall Cover
Things pick up again with Another Kind of Love, a John Mayall cover where Bonamassa once again makes the material feel like his own. It’s a traditional 12-bar blues — something I’ve always appreciated — and the solo is both tasteful and effective. One of the strengths of Sloe Gin is its variety. After that energetic moment, we get the soul-tinged Around the Bend, a strong track co-written by Bonamassa himself.
That’s followed by Black Night, a blues ballad written by Charles Brown that immediately reminded me of ZZ Top’s Blue Jean Blues — in a good way. Then comes Jelly Roll, a short but joyful shuffle, barely over two minutes long. Despite its brevity, it’s bursting with life — mostly just Bonamassa’s voice and guitar. It’s the sound of someone doing what they love, and it shows.
Richmond isn’t quite as barebones in its production, but once again, the performance feels honest and sincere. You believe every word he sings. It’s another slower track, this time without the strong soul influences — if anything, I’d say it leans slightly toward country. But whatever the influence and this holds true for the entire album, it’s always unmistakably Bonamassa.
