Friday, August 4, 2017

Throwback Thursday: Black Country Communion, by Black Country Communion



In 2009 former Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Trapeze, etc. bassist and vocalist Glenn Hughes and blues guitar god Joe Bonamassa got together at a festival to jam live for the attendees. After that jam however, they realized there was something there. They roped in drummer Jason Bonham (son of late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham) and Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian to get a brand new hard rock band by the name of Black Country Communion. The following year they released their debut album Black Country Communion and made a HUGE impact on the world of rock n' roll.

Black Country Communion brought back that big, booming riff based British rock n' roll sound with a vengeance. At the same time, it added in modern production brought in by producer Kevin Shirley to get even more kick out of the overall sound. You can absolutely tell that these guys were on fire and eager to explore the new territory they had just entered into together as a group. Every last tune will leave your jaw on the floor and you completely breathless.

The Great Divide has to be one of my absolute favorite Black Country Communion songs of all time. It's dark, mysterious, and at the same time melodic in all the right places vocally and guitar-wise. Hughes paints a brilliant word picture while giving one hell of a powerhouse vocal performance while Bonamassa absolutely tears it up with his trademark thick bluesy style of guitar playing. The song has always made me feel like I'm going on some dark, mystical, and awesome adventure and I think it will probably do the same for you.

Medusa is in my opinion the crowning gem of Black Country Communion. It is a cover of Hughes's old band Trapeze's classic epic hard rock track. In this cover Bonamassa even used the late Trapeze guitarist Mel Galley's Les Paul to record the song. This is definitely a loving tribute, but at the same time they REALLY went above and beyond with their own interpretation of it. It's louder, longer, and has noticeable differences in the softer sections. You can tell that all four of them threw their all into this.

Black Country Communion while definitely a throwback to the 70's heyday of British rock n' roll definitely brings some more modern elements to the table as well. You definitely didn't hear that profound level of song writing too often back then aside from a handful of bands and some of the chord progressions definitely sound newer as well. That said, this album is a great way to bridge the gap between newer and older generations of hard rock.

Black Country Communion, by Black Country Communion receives 4.25 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Black Country
2. One Last Soul
3. The Great Divide
4. Down Again
5. Beggarman
6. Song of Yesterday
7. No Time
8. Medusa
9. The Revolution in Me
10. Stand (At the Burning Tree)
11. Sista Jane
12. Too Late for the Sun

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Country-Communion/dp/B00AOY98Z0/ref=ice_ac_b_dpb?ie=UTF8&qid=1501828637&sr=8-1&keywords=black+country+communion

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