For a guy whose last two albums hit No. 1 on the blues charts and are both still sitting in the Top 10, Joe Bonamassa remains quietly off the grid. He was not mentioned in a mainstream music publication until the release of his 13th album. Despite his relentless touring schedule he somehow still has time to record and tour with supergroup Black Country Communion, the blues/rock tour de force with Jason Bonham, Glenn Hughes and Derek Sherinian. The band’s eagerly anticipated third album Afterglow will be released Oct. 30. He took some time to discuss the project, choosing guitars over a house and why 8 strings are too many.

When the band was formed, there was some controversy about the name. Can you explain?

There was a band called Black Country from Maryland that I believe got wind of our intention to call our band Black Country and immediately trademarked the name. That was settled many moons ago and they were nice enough to sell us the name. We were going to go with Black Country Communion anyway. We own both names so there’s no ambiguity

How did you write and record the first album so quickly after forming?

I have no idea. It was frantic luck. Glenn and I got together a few times. All the guys had a part in it. It’s a five member band. More so than anything, successful collaboration was the key.

Many groups comprised of successful solo artists experience their fair share of drama and creative differences. Have you experienced any of that?

Not really. At face value, a band is what it is. It’ isn’t anybody’s full time job. We get together when the time is right and make a record, and if we don’t feel the time is right, we won’t.

You could’ve bought a house or three quarter million dollar guitars. You said you chose the guitars in a heartbeat. Why?

When was the last time you had to fix the plumbing on a guitar or pay taxes at the point of purchase?

Why do you think heavy metal fans gravitate to this band?

We are sitting within the roots of heavy metal rather than heavy metal itself. The kind of music we play was the stop gap between Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. It’s hard rock. We’re not a heavy metal band and never wish to be.

Is this project a way for you to channel your inner rock star?

Absolutely, not rock star, but my tendencies toward playing rock. That’s always been something I’ve enjoyed and wanted to explore more. I’m not a rock star. I don’t dress the part or want to be anything like that. I just want to be a guitar player and always have been.

Your last two albums have reached #1 and you were finally mentioned in Rolling Stone. Is commercial success important to you?

After 14 records, yeah. What took them so long? It was nice that they did and we thank them profusely. It’s nice to get recognition and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t in it to make records for yourself and your family, but you want as many people to hear them as possible. At the end of the day, I think we’ve done good work and hopefully people recognize that, and if not, we’re happy to just keep making records for ourselves.

Now that there is an 8 string model, where do you see guitar technology headed?

Here’s the thing. I run a six string guitar. I tune it to standard tuning like the guitar was intended. That’s all I do. I have no idea what these kids are into today. They tune the guitars down to the point where they really become basses. I don’t relate to that kind of music. I’m a six string guy; I start with E and end with E. Then I have A, D, G, B in the middle. I have no idea where it can go, but it’s definitely going to evolve into something.

If you had to play a guitar other than a Gibson, what would it be?

A copy of a Gibson. I’m a Gibson guy. I’ve played all kinds of guitars in my career. I have a bunch of old Fenders I have a pretty formidable guitar collection (about 90 models). There are plenty of videos with me playing a Strat or an ESV, but when it comes down to it, it’s a Les Paul for me.

(Producer) Kevin Shirley said he envisioned this band as a 21st century version of Deep Purple. Does it feel like that to you?

That was the concept. It was a very throwback idea. I remember when the review of the first album came out. It was in one of those hipster magazines in the UK. They panned it and said that the album sounded like it was made in 1972. I started to laugh. That was the whole fucking point! How do you even respond to that kind of criticism? That was the whole reason why we made it.

Frank Zappa called it “putting the eyebrows” on a musical performance: When an artist adds unique touches here and there, tweaks the arrangement to make unexpected turns, or otherwise adds some special flair to a performance that makes the overall sound more expressive and memorable.

Black Country Communion is a hard rock super group whose sound is far more than the sum of its collective chops and they put the “eyebrows” on every track on Afterglow, their fantastic third album. Whoever it was that said “they don’t make ‘em like they used to” hasn’t heard Black Country Communion. Their pedigree alone qualifies them for some kind of exalted status.

Originally assembled by producer Kevin Shirley after arranging a spontaneous jam between guitar virtuoso Joe Bonamassa and singing bassist Glenn Hughes, this roaring quartet is rounded out by Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian and drummer Jason Bonham. Ironically it is the guitar world’s excitement over relative newcomer Joe Bonamassa that draws overdue attention to rock veteran Hughes, who’s now enjoying the largest measure of success he’s ever seen over the course of a career that began before Bonamassa was even born. Countless musical trends have come and gone since Glenn Hughes first appeared on the rock scene serving shadowy stints with Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, but the heavy blues rock sound of the 70’s endures. It is Hughes’ meaty screech that leads the charge on this album of blazing big rock riffs that guitarist Bonamassa compares to the sound of a jet engine.

From the opening strains of “Big Train” all the way through to the album-closer “Crawl”, there’s a slew of mountainous guitar squalls here. Drummer Jason Bonham has been involved in numerous musical projects over the years, but it’s with Black Country Communion where he best serves his legendary father’s legacy of sledgehammer subtleties.

Perhaps it’s no accident that BCC’s closest musical kin is Deep Purple. And one assumes Zeppelin comparisons are inevitable with a Bonham on the drum kit. But it’s the sinister symmetry of growling guitar and clever keyboard colors that fuel this massive motor. Sherinian’s gurgling organ simmers under Bonamassa’s hot lava guitar sludge in “Common Man”. Most likely it is an unintentional irony at play here when Hughes sings about being “better off alone” in the lyrics of a phenomenal ensemble piece that features soaring solos from each member of the group before leaping off into a muscular blues groove heavy on clavinet reminiscent of Zep’s “Trampled Underfoot”. Metallic and melodic, Afterglow is an album that demands to be played at high volume.

2012 should have been a break out year for BCC but instead it devolved into an extended season of bickering and the band’s future now looks cloudy. A big homecoming concert in Hughes’ and Bonham’s black country hometown of Wolverhampton was threatened by Bonnamassa’s refusal to honor the gig when the guitarist chose to turn his focus instead to his solo career. Squabbling between Hughes and Bonnamassa played out in the pages and websites of the rock press. Big egos beget big misunderstandings. But if the singer and guitarist can come to terms, Black Country Communion still has a chance to resume its trajectory as modern day saviors of the classic rock sound. Stay tuned and stay hopeful.

Black Country Communion, for me the announcement of this band back in 2010 was exciting on many levels. First of all I was born and raised in the Black Country, a once industrial hub of England, second the group includes one of my favourite guitar players Joe Bonamassa as well as the incredible talent that is Glenn Hughes on bass and vocal duties, Dream Theater’s ex keyboardist Derek Sherinian and smashing the skins fellow Black Countryman and son of the late legendary Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, Jason Bonham. If that wasn’t enough this group was formed with the sole purpose of capturing the essence of Classic Rock drawing from Glenn and Jason’s expertise, their debut album did just that and now less than a year later they are back with their second release “2“.

The great thing about Black Country Communion is that the band totally gel as a team and it doesn’t sound like Joe Bonamassa or John Bonham’s side project, this is a bona fide Rock band that aside from the high fidelity of the recordings you could be fooled into thinking was recorded in the late 70′s. Glenn’s vocals are brilliant, as always and although Joe does sing on a couple of tracks “The Battle For Hadrian’s Wall” and “An Ordinary Son“, which are great songs in their own right, Glenn’s voice is just so powerful it eclipses Joe slightly. Some of you may have already the opening track “The Outsider” as it was offered as a free download by the band, you may have also already seen the video for track 2 “Man In The Middle“, if not check it out at the bottom of this review. Both of this tracks are really strong tracks and a perfect way to start the album, the fast pace of “The Outsider” features some of Joe’s signature blistering Pentatonic licks while “Man In The Middle” has a Zeppelin-esque groove with a killer drum beat and main riff, Derek’s string parts in the chorus ensure it has that Eastern flavour often used in Classic Rock.

I find it interesting that Joe’s songs such as “The Battle For Hadrian’s Wall” do actually sound different to his own band just having the input from the other band members, it retains the bluesy feel of his later solo records with the slide licks and acoustic guitar but Jason’s tribal rhythms provide an interesting backdrop. The other track featuring Joe singing, “An Ordinary Son“, definitely wouldn’t sound out of place on one of his later albums but the rhythm section in this band provide extra power in the chorus and I believe it is mostly due to the huge sound Jason Bonham creates when he plays, I’m sure the guitars are tracked to be a little fuller too compared to his solo records.

Some highlights on the album for me are “Save Me” because I honestly think Joe somehow channelled Jimmy Page for the main riff, it has a great groove and the tone is awesome. Once again this track features string keyboard parts that give it an Eastern sound and I’m a total sucker for that when it comes to Classic Rock! “Smokestack Woman” is another track that while have you clicking the repeat button, great riffs, great vocals, rock at its finest. Oh and Joe breaks out the Wah for an awesome solo. Finally another standout track for me is “I Can See Your Spirit“, once you hear the album you will see a pattern for my favourites I really like the tracks that most people will compare to Led Zeppelin, yes I’m a massive Zep fan so anyone who can write in the same vein and still sound like themselves are onto a winner in my opinion. While these big foot stomping tunes are my favourites the album has plenty of variety in order to keep this album interesting to the listener, “Little Secret” for instance sounds like a homage to the late, great Gary Moore and it is great to hear Glenn sing a blues based song.

While I intended to try and keep the Led Zeppelin comparisons to the bare minimum it is inevitable that you will read it time and time again because Black Country Communion have really captured the vibe and power of Led Zep with “2” and yet created a sound all of their own, top class album from a group of incredibly talented musicians.

Classic rock supergroup defies the odds to deliver a great debut LP

The term ‘supergroup’ is something of a golden albatross. On one hand, it tells us here is a band of established, successful musicians whose combined talents will undoubtedly deliver the sonic equivalent of The Second Coming. On the other hand, it tends to arouse astronomical expectations which are almost never met. Wade through a few albums by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, The Firm, Traveling Wilburys and Power Station, for example, and you’ll get the picture.

Although ambivalent about the supergroup label since their inception last year, Black Country Communion feature a formidable line-up of familiar names with a century-plus of experience between them. Joining vocalist/bassist Glenn ‘Voice of Rock’ Hughes (Deep Purple/Black Sabbath) are former Dream Theater keyboard player Derek Sherinian, drummer Jason Bonham (son of late Led Zeppelin sticksman John) and guitarist Joe Bonamassa, currently one of the top bluesmen in business.

As pools of talent go, this one’s deep, and the old saying “If a bomb went off in that studio, etc” definitely applies. With direct links back to the mighty motherlode of Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, it’s no big surprise that BCC have delivered a dozen shots of timeless, classic rock. It’s ballsy, bluesy, even soulful at times, and with none of the bleached-out blandness that ego-clashes and endless compromises can bring. It’s no secret that things weren’t always super-smooth between them, but they got over it, got on with it, and the result is simply stellar.

Drawing on all that experience without sounding like you’re long enough in the tooth to have all that experience to draw on is a magical thing. Hughes in particular is on fire and in better voice than ever. Somehow – God alone knows how – wasted years of cocaine and Mars Bar binges (don’t ask) haven’t trashed any part of his anatomy required for singing. Blazing performances aside, the key here is the songs, which are wonderfully crafted. The title-track is an attention-grabbing opener, while current single One Last Soul is simply outstanding, but there’s really nothing here that shouldn’t be. These guys have defied the odds to deliver a collection that’s all gold and no albatross.