Black Country Communion - Black Country Communion
Black Country Communion are a supergroup in the true sense of the word by virtue of consisting of some of the most prominent rock musicians and performers around today. Virtuoso blues/rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa, bassist Glen Hughes (Trapeze, Deep Purple & Black Sabbath), drummer Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner) and keyboard player Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Alice Cooper) is the pedigree lineup for this, their debut album. The brainchild of legendary producer Kevin Shirley, 'Black Country Communion', on paper at least, promises to be a big helping of pure, unadulterated rock.
The album starts with the rumbling bass intro of Hughes on 'Black Country'. It's not long before Bonamassa and Bonham join in and the result is terrific. The blues/rock vocals over the high tempo rhythm section results in an overall 'rock' sound and Bonamassa lets loose with a very fast break; a great start. I was wondering who would influence the music of the band most; Hughes with his rock background or Bonamassa with his feet firmly planted in the blues; Hughes wins hands down with the opener.
I'd forgotten how good Hughes's voice is and how expressive he can be, even though I do have most of his back catalogue. He leaves the vocals to Bonamassa for a couple of tracks on the album; 'Song Of Yesterday' and 'The Revolution In Me' and they share the task on 'Sista Jane' and the album closer 'Too Late For The Sun'. With Bonamassa concentrating on the playing rather than singing in the most part, I feel that his contribution is more solid than it would have been had he had been wearing both hats.
Sherinian's keyboards are consistent throughout, molding together the tight drumming of Bonham and the energetic bass lines of Hughes. Bonham himself proves that he has left behind living in the shadows of his father and has emerged as one of the greatest drummers in his own right.
The album has so many highlights; more notable are the addictive chorus on 'One Last Soul', the sustained moaning guitar and driving chords on 'The Great Divide' and the wah wah guitar intro, brilliant guitar break and gripping musical phrasing on my favourite track 'Beggarman'.
All the tracks are arranged and played, as you'd expect, excellently, especially the reworking of the Trapeze classic 'Medusa' with some fantastic Bonamassa moments and eerie keyboards form Sherinian. There's so much here, there's blues and rock, even a sprinkling of funk; there's something for everyone. With each listen, the album just gets better and better. This is the best album this year by some distance.