Black Country Communion

V

If Joe Bonamassa were a baseball player, he would make all four umpire’s heads spin by the way he slides from base to base. Original, blues-based rock music, classic American blues, British rock and blues, R&B, and even acid funk; you name it, and Bonamassa plays and sings it exceptionally well. Over the last 14 years, his guitar playing has also been one fourth of what makes Black Country Communion explode. Singer-bassist Glenn Hughes, drummer Jason Bonham, and keyboardist Derek Sherinian are Bonamassa’s cohorts in the band. Hughes was a member of Deep Purple in the mid-1970s, Bonham is the son of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, and Sherinian was in Dream Theater. Having taken a six-year break, Black Country Communion returns to action with their fifth studio album, V.

Opening on the grand whack of “Enlighten,” Hughes instantly shows that his 72 years have done nothing to diminish the power in his voice. In fact, the soulful nuances in it have become even more pronounced. Every touchstone is present in the hard rock melody, setting the stage for one hellacious ride of an album.

A tensile, funky groove and danceable riffs kick off “Stay Free,” changing the pace, but not the overall molten nature. Bonamassa rips a serpentine solo in the song that displays his complete understanding of a kind of music that was at its peak in the years right before he was born. Bonham channels his father’s brawn, but also plays with a nimble touch inspired by the likes of Max Roach, while Sherinian beats his keys with an aggressiveness akin to a guitar shredder. The first single, “Red Sun,” stomps with the thud of a beast, but its hook sticks in the head like sweet, sticky Juicy Fruit. “Restless” begins as a deep blues right out of Bonamassa’s wheelhouse, but intensifies, Hughes and Bonamassa subtly playing to their strengths and ultimately burning down the house.

“Too Far Gone,” near the album’s end, ideally encapsulates Black Country Communion’s riveting ability to snare old Purple and Zeppelin headbangers and young audiences alike with hooks galore. These players play the hell out of these songs, and when the songs are as good as they are on V, the metal veneer melts away, and the soul shines through. Joe Bonamassa and company, safe at home once again.

 

Tom Clarke for MAS

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