Joe Bonamassa Now Serving: Royal Tea Live From The Ryman (CD)

(Provogue) 12 tracks

The 43-year-old guitarist from upstate New York was influenced early on by his father's vinyl collection, which included albums by Eric Clapton, Cream, the Jeff Beck Group and John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers. These British blues influences have shaped him and made him the musician he is today. "I must have been about 12 years old when I first heard that sound and was immediately captivated by it. I knew right away that I wanted to be the same way," Joe recalls. "This whole London adventure," Bonamassa admits, "was a big wish come true for me."

The ten songs were written by Joe and a number of English music greats including former Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden, ex-Cream lyricist Pete Brown and pianist Jools Holland. "Writing the songs for this album in England as well was just right," reflects Bonamassa. "It sounds inherently British. Bernie and I, we finished each other's sets. We're cut from the same cloth. All you had to do was ask Bernie, 'What would the British do?' And he'd come up with all these chord changes and I'd just think 'Ah that's the sound'. You get all these typical tunes with that."
His long-time producer Kevin Shirley, as well as his musicians Anton Fig (drums), Michael Rhodes (bass) and Reese Wynans (keyboards) then came to London to record.

In the end, what Joe delivered is the album he dreamed of from the beginning.