Without question the pre-eminent white blues guitar player operating today, Joe Bonamassa’s twelfth album finds him stretching beyond the strict confines of the blues on this incendiary collection. Recorded both in the U.S. and oddly enough, on the Greek island of Santorini, Dust Bowl once again reveals Bonamassa to be an astonishingly instinctive player and his effortless fretwork makes its presence felt throughout these thematically linked numbers.
The opener ‘Slow Train’ roars into action with all strings blazing, Bonamassa’s vocals almost as punchy as his fretwork. Nashville legends Vince Gill (on guitar) and John Hiatt add a country tinge to ‘Tennessee Plates’, while acoustic guitars predominate on the dark blues of ‘Black Lung Heartache’. Former Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes guests on a terrifically rocking version of the old Free classic ‘Heartbreaker’, but – as ever – it’s Bonamassa’s incredible guitar virtuosity that shines throughout.