SteveAJones Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 Black Country Communion - Black Country Communion (2010) by Pico Monday, September 20, 2010 When I heard at the beginning of this year that Joe Bonamassa had formed a supergroup with some other heavy hitters and that these guys were in the studio making a record, I gotta admit, I was pretty excited. Bonamassa has pretty much reached the pinnacle and done it all as a solo blues-rock musician; joining a band as a peer seemed to be the logical new frontier for a former prodigy who has done nothing but fulfill the promise he showed at an early age (and then some). Tomorrow, that self-titled record is out, introducing a band you might be hearing a lot of in the coming months. First, though, about the band itself. If you like metal, there's a new name to remember: Black Country Communion. Black Country Communion is the conception of Bonamassa's producer, the renowned Kevin Shirley, who witnessed Bonamassa rip it up on stage with bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes on stage last November. Hughes, called "The Voice of Rock," earned that distinction from stints with Trapeze, Deep Purple (from 1973-76) and notable appearances on other metal act albums, such as Black Sabbath's Seventh Star. On top of all that, Hughes is a very nimble bass player who knows how to add the right layer underneath massive guitar riffs and work in sync with the drummer. Once Shirley sold Bonamassa and Hughes on the idea, he brought in Jason Bonham, who fills in for his late father whenever there is a Led Zeppelin reunion show and a fine drummer in his own right, and keyboardist Derek Sherinain, who was a member of the prime prog rock band Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999. Both Bonham and Sherinian have gone on to perform with some of the other biggest names in rock. Once those guys came on board, the new band quickly got to work on a new record of a dozen originals by Bonamassa and Hughes. Given the overall pedigree, this wasn't destined to be a blues band; it's an Anglo-American hard rock band. Best of all, it's the hard rock from its golden age of the 70s, when Deep Purple, Sabbath, Boston, Bon Scott-era AC/DC, etc., dominated the genre with memorable and anthemic riffs and buckets of attitude, while retaining some strains of blues and soul. If anyone is wondering if Hughes has lost any of his range, power and passion, he quickly dispatches all doubt on the calling card first track "Black Country." However, its Hughes' rumbling bass that gets the song going, and Bonamassa unleashes the dogs when it's solo time. The climax comes when Hughes and Bonamassa engage in vocal/guitar call and response "Whole Lotta Love" style; no surprise that Bonham knew just what to do there. The strong start continues with the hard grooving advance single "One Last Soul" (see YouTube below) where Hughes alternates singing in two octaves. "The Great Divide" continues the roll with Bonamassa's blues inflected attack and heavy riffs, as Hughes screams "I'm gonna let my freak flag fly" much more defiantly than David Crosby ever did. "Down Again" brings out the Bad Company brand of British blues-drenched rock. "Beggarman" is relentless like rolling thunder; Hughes and Bonham form a tenacious bass-drums combination, and Bonamassa kills it like a supercharged Jimmy Page, as he does just about everywhere else. Bonamassa, in case you didn't know, isn't such a bad singer himself, and he takes lead vocal duties for "The Revolution In Me," while sharing the mic with Hughes for "Song Of Yesterday" and the concluding "Too Late For The Sun." That last song is an eleven minute epic, and I'm not sure why it needed to run that long (although Bonham put in his best work on this song). But my list of quibbles with this record begin and end there. There's a limited tour planned for 2011 but it remains to be seen if Bonamassa, Hughes, Bonham and Sherinian are in it for the long run; how well this record is received will play a big part in those plans for sure. What's clear from their first album is that they put in some seriously good work putting together a set of songs that don't all sound the same and gets everyone involved and playing to their strengths. This sounds in no way like a half-hearted effort by a bunch of big egos; this sounds instead like a firm declaration to the Green Days and Foo Fighters out there that the old school hard rock guys are back. With a vengeance. http://www.somethingelsereviews.com/2010/09/black-country-communion-black-country.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 28, 2010 Author Share Posted September 28, 2010 Albums of the week 19/09/2010 Black Country Communion - Black Country **** Heavy metal supergroup with guitarist Joe Bonamassa and Led Zep drummer John Bonham's son Jason. It's all good dirty fun with with feisty vocals from Deep Purple's Glenn Hughes. http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/entertainment/978084/Albums-of-the-week.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 28, 2010 Author Share Posted September 28, 2010 This week's CD reviews By DARRYL STERDAN, QMI Agency Black Country Communion Black Country Another year, another supergroup. This one stars Deep Purple singer-bassist Glenn Hughes, drummer Jason Bonham, guitar hero Joe Bonamassa and keyboardist Derek Sherinian. So it's no wonder their debut is long on chest-beating, guitar-wanking, organ-pumping blues-rock bombast straight from the '70s. Or that it's better than Chickenfoot, but not Them Crooked Vultures. Download: Down Again; Beggarman RATING: 3 (out of 5) http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2010/09/23/15454221.html?cid=rssentertainment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 28, 2010 Author Share Posted September 28, 2010 The Listening Room by Gary Graff (The Oakland Press) Published: Saturday, September 18, 2010 New & Noteworthy Black Country Communion, “Black Country Communion” (J&R Adventures): Producer Kevin Shirley put together this supergroup that includes guitarist Joe Bonamassa, singer-bassist Glenn Hughes (Trapeze, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath) and the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham’s son Jason on the skins. http://theoaklandpress.com/articles/2010/09/18/entertainment/doc4c93b35fae809893616766.txt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 28, 2010 Author Share Posted September 28, 2010 Led Zeppelin son Jason Bonham releases debut album with Black Country Communion By Gavin Martin 17/09/2010 As the 30th anniversary of his father's death approaches, drummer Jason Bonham is going back to his roots. On Monday, Jason - the son of Led Zeppelin legend John 'Bonzo' Bonham, who died on September 25, 1980 - releases the debut album by his new band Black Country Communion. The supergroup includes ace blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa and is named after the Midlands area from where Jason and the group's bassist Glenn Hughes originate. "I'm celebrating my 10th year clean and sober," admits Jason, 44. "For many years I was emulating the wrong John - Bonzo the party guy." Recently relocated to Florida with his wife and kids, this autumn Jason will also stage his own theatrical show telling his version of the Led Zeppelin story complete with live music, narration and home movie back projections. It follows on from Zeppelin's stalled comeback at the memorable 2007 Ahmet Ertegun tribute gig in London. Perhaps the new show is one way of filling a void. "Much as I wanted it to carry on - and I did - that gig was a chapter where I could close the book on the past," Jason says. "I wanted reassurance from the band that I could do it, because my dad wasn't there to tell me." Black Country Communion is out on Monday. http://www.mirror.co...15875-22567112/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted October 7, 2010 Author Share Posted October 7, 2010 CD Review Black Country Commmunion Black Country Communion By Jason MacNeil October 06, 2010 Three out of five stars Put together musicians who have played with Zeppelin, Deep Purple and others and you should expect a concoction of '70s era hard rock with a blues belting vocal delivery. The new "super group" Black Country Communion is just that. Featuring Glenn Hughes on vocals, master blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa, and Jason Bonham on drums, the band plow through a heavy, riff-saturated opener entitled "Black Country" with Hughes planting himself firmly inside the rocker. Perhaps the best thing about this offering is that what you anticipate is what you get with "One Last Soul," the solid "The Revolution In Me" and the groovy "Down Again," all offering bite with strong guitar work. However, fans hoping for the second coming of Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti should aim a bit lower, more like Jimmy Page's Outrider, after hearing "The Great Divide," the mediocre "Medusa" and the lengthy, winding, string-tinged "Song Of Yesterday." At a rather fat 70-minutes plus, Black Country Communion which is rounded out with keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater) have some finer moments on the boogie-hued "No Time" but generally the closing "Too Late For The Sun" exemplifies the album good but not great. http://www.glidemaga...tm_campaign=ntg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryOceans Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 I just read where the album debuted at #54 on the Billboard album chart and sold 7,100 units the first week. That's very a very weak, paltry amount. Will the release climb the charts or dismally fade into obscurity? You'd think something happened to Rock and Roll. Are there only 1/10th the fans there were just 35 years ago? The raised fist, bic lighter toting fans have become a rare breed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reids Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 I just read where the album debuted at #54 on the Billboard album chart and sold 7,100 units the first week. That's very a very weak, paltry amount. Will the release climb the charts or dismally fade into obscurity? You'd think something happened to Rock and Roll. Are there only 1/10th the fans there were just 35 years ago? The raised fist, bic lighter toting fans have become a rare breed. It's a great album. they need to release "One Last Soul" as a single with a video (get it on VH1 Classic, VH1 and on tv somewhere)... I think there has been little or no promotion of it in major stores here in the US (so far). WalMart only carries it online... but it is only $13.88, so buy two copies or more (makes a great gift) http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=black+country+communion&ic=48_0&search_constraint=0 BestBuy (has it CD/DVD, but it was not in most stores the week of it's release, Sept. 21) http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;jsessionid=DD2788B99F880E3824F5D3DA276A4235.bbolsp-app04-45?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=-8718932334310485471&id=pcat17071&type=page&st=black+country+communion&sc=artistSP&cp=1&nrp=15&sp=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=%A0-Artist&ks=960 Wherehouse.com has it for $14.88 (CD/DVD). R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermedalist Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 [url=http://i56.tinypic.com/28un0w5.jpg%5B/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted October 7, 2010 Author Share Posted October 7, 2010 Will the release climb the charts or dismally fade into obscurity? Touring may increase the sales numbers but thats several months away. I must say I don't think the name Black Country/Black Country Communion was a good choice from a North American marketing standpoint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 29, 2010 Author Share Posted December 29, 2010 Podcast #2 de Rock En La Ciudad - Black Country Communion December 16, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 29, 2010 Author Share Posted December 29, 2010 Mepodradio December 6, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I just read where the album debuted at #54 on the Billboard album chart and sold 7,100 units the first week. That's very a very weak, paltry amount. Will the release climb the charts or dismally fade into obscurity? You'd think something happened to Rock and Roll. Are there only 1/10th the fans there were just 35 years ago? The raised fist, bic lighter toting fans have become a rare breed. Well I read that Rock music has more downloads than any other genre, sales of rock band has increased this I would think (maybe), The CD buying pbvblic are a rare breed now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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