Guitarist Joe Bonamassa performed a 7-date acoustic tour including the The Vienna Opera House as one of the venues. That performance is presented here on 180g Vinyl 3LP.
"... this is an acoustic live album. That certainly got my interest how would his great blues-rock songs sound when performed acoustically rather than on his usual electric guitar...
"The tour was apparently originally envisaged as a one-man show with just Joe Bonamassa playing various guitars, but his long time producer Kevin Shirley suggested changing to having a band, which in my opinion was an excellent choice. The use of the fiddles in particular works superbly well as they do an effective job of replacing some of the sounds youd normally get from an electric guitar. The percussion too adds a lot to the music. Its something you take for granted usually but when you strip a song down to a simple acoustic form then each instruments contribution becomes far more noticeable and important.
"With an acoustic show the guitar solos tend to be less frequent and shorter to reflect the lack of potential once you take away the sustain and the effects that are so often used with an electric guitar to hold long notes, add distortion or manipulate the sound in other ways, so there are less breaks for Joe Bonamassas voice...
"This is an excellent album. Given a choice between an acoustic blues or blues-rock album and one with electric guitars Id normally go for the electric one, but Im very glad Ive listened to this acoustic album as it really is such a good listen. Rating: 9.5/10" - planetmosh review
Features: Triple LP 180g Vinyl Gatefold jacket Includes limited time download card
Musicians: Joe Bonamassa, guitar, vocals Gerry O'Connor, Irish fiddle, mandolin, banjo Mats Wester, nyckelharpa Lenny Castro, percussion Arian Schierbaum, celeste, accordion, toy piano
Selections: LP 1 Side A: 1. Arrival 2. Palm Trees, Helicopters and Gasoline 3. Jelly Roll 4. Dust Bowl 5. Around the Bend Side B: 6. Slow Train 7. Athens to Athens 8. From the Valley
LP 2 Side C: 9. the Ballad of John Henry 10. Dislocated Boy 11. Driving Towards the Daylight Side D: 12. High Water Everywhere 13. Jockey Full of Bourbon 14. Richmond
LP 3 Side E: 15. Stones In My Passway 16. Ball Peen Hammer 17. Black Lung Heartache 18. Mountain Time Side F: 19. Woke Up Dreaming 20. Sloe Gin 21. Seagull