On his upcoming album, Blues Deluxe Vol. 2, superstar Joe Bonamassa is returning to his roots and taking stock of how far he and the genre have come, giving new life to the classic tracks that have that brought him to the Blues. Today, Bonamassa is sharing the latest taste of the album; a rambunctious rendition of “Well, I Done Got Over It”, originally released by Guitar Slim in 1953.
“My father introduced me to Guitar Slim a long time ago, back when I was a kid. There was a compilation album called ‘Best of Guitar Slim’ and it was him on the cover and he was cradling one of these Gold Top Les Pauls and I was a fan ever since. He has such a velvety smooth voice, and he had such a way of delivering a song. We did a very British take on this Guitar Slim song, it’s like the Blues Breakers meets Guitar Slim meets Joe Bonamassa, Josh Smith and company,” Bonamassa reflects.
Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 comes twenty years since the release of Bonamassa’s best-selling album ‘Blues Deluxe,’ which celebrated what the US government had declared “the year of the blues.”
Out October 6th via J&R Adventures, the album features two new originals and eight new covers spanning some of the most important names in the blues – from Bobby “Blue” Bland and Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac to Albert King. Also available for pre-order is the Platinum Edition Box Set (limited to 500 units worldwide) which includes the CD and Vinyl versions for both Vol. 2 and Blues Deluxe Remastered along with exclusive items.
Pre-order the album from North America at this location. Pre-order the album from the UK and Europe here.
“If you had told me 20 years ago my career would last long enough to see the 20th anniversary of this little record called ‘Blues Deluxe,’ I’m sure I would have laughed,” Bonamassa explains. “Blues Deluxe was my last shot after being dropped by two major record labels and my booking agent. It was then that my manager, Roy Weisman, had his first ‘all in’ moment. We would go back into the studio and record. A record that would hopefully define the direction of whatever future career I might have.”
“Part of my approach to these new recordings was that I wanted to see if I had matured musically over the years, and if I had gotten better as a player,” Bonamassa says. “I’m happy to say that I am a much better singer than I was 20 years ago - though I still don’t really consider myself to be a legit ‘singer,’ I can now carry a tune a little better than I could back then.”
Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 tracklist:
"Twenty-Four Hour Blues" (originally performed by Bobby “Blue” Bland)
"It’s Hard But It’s Fair" (originally performed by Bobby Parker)
"Well, I Done Got Over It" (originally performed by Guitar Slim)
"I Want to Shout About It" (originally performed by Ronnie Earle & The Broadcasters)
"Win-O" (originally performed by Pee Wee Crayton)
"Hope You Realize It (Goodbye Again)" (original song)
"Lazy Poker Blues" (originally performed by Fleetwood Mac)
"You Sure Drive a Hard Bargain" (originally performed by Albert King)
"The Truth Hurts" (originally performed by Kenny Neal)
"Is It Safe To Go Home" (original song)
