[rating=9.00]
Joe Bonamassa has rightfully earned the title as one of this generation’s greatest blues singers and guitar players. Bonamassa’s music career began as a child guitar prodigy when at 12 years old he opened for blues legend, B. B. King in 1989. Since then he has released over 15 solo and live albums with a multitude of side projects and bands. In August of 2014, Bonamassa and his iconic band hosted an exclusive sold-out concert at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. The concert was a showcase for Bonamassa to pay tribute to Chicago blues legends Howling Wolf and Muddy Waters and expose their music to a new generation and audience. These two legendary bluesmen have inspired many bands and artists since the 60s such as legendary acts like Cream (Eric Clapton), The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks is a live album/DVD that captures lightning in a bottle with Bonamassa and company and is one of the best live blues albums released in the last decade.
Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks begins with a recording of an old Muddy Waters clip from an interview before Bonamassa’s troop jump right into to join an old Muddy Waters recording of “Tiger In Your Tank” and they only gain steam with every song. Bonamassa showcases his bottleneck slide playing on bluesy romp “I Can’t Be Satisfied” and slow burner “My Home Is On The Delta”. By the time, Bonamassa and his assembly get into Howling Wolf’s “Spoonful” they are firing on all cylinders transforming Red Rocks amphitheater into a sweaty juke joint in Mississippi. Bonamassa’s soulful vocals get overlooked in the midst of his incendiary guitar solos but this record and night displays how powerful of a blues singer that he really is. His guitar and vocals never sounded better than on Howling Wolf‘s smoking cover, “Evil (Is Going On) and a blistering 10 minute version of the Bonamassa live staple “Sloe Gin”. Bonamassa ends the night with unbelievable fretwork with some heavy blues on “Oh Beautiful” and “Love Ain’t a Love Song” from his most recent studio album, “Different Shades of Blue”. After listening to Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks, it is evident, Joe Bonamassa is already a musical giant to be reckoned with.
