Joe Bonamassa may well be a young guitar virtuoso, in line with the likes of Derek Trucks and John Mayer (like Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd before them) to be the Next Blues-Rock Guitar Hero.
Unfortunately, he's not much of a songwriter.
So, It's Like That, his sophomore solo effort, is filled with subpar tunes bloated with clichés.
The production (by Clif Magness) is swell enough, though Bonamassa's guitar sometimes sounds too carefully dirty, and his band -- comprised of drummer Kenny Kramme and bassist Eric Czar -- far too generic.
Bonamassa shines when he is allowed to stretch out and explore, on songs such as the sonically varied "Pain and Sorrow." There, on a long improvisation, he works through myriad modes of playing, textures, and musical ideas.
And, since it is one of the album's only extended tracks, it is also one of the album's only redeeming moments -- and the only thing that clearly separates Bonamassa from generic boorishness.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | My Mistake | Joe Bonamassa | Play | 04:52 | 11 MB | 37 MB |
| 2 | No Slack | Joe Bonamassa | Play | 05:05 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 3 | UnbrokenHolly Lamar, Annie Roboff | Joe Bonamassa | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 4 | So, It's Like That | Joe Bonamassa | Play | 02:49 | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| 5 | Waiting for MeElvis Presley | Joe Bonamassa | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | Never Say Goodbye | Joe Bonamassa | Play | 03:32 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | Mountain TimeDr. W.A. Jennings | Joe Bonamassa | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 8 | Pain and Sorrow | Joe Bonamassa | Play | 10:36 | 24 MB | 76 MB |
| 9 | Takin' the Hit | Joe Bonamassa | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 34 MB |
| 10 | Under the Radar | Joe Bonamassa | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 11 | The Hard Way | Joe Bonamassa | Play | 07:48 | 17 MB | 49 MB |
| 12 | Lie #1 | Joe Bonamassa | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 33 MB |
| 13 | Sick In Love | Joe Bonamassa | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 61 mins | 141 MB | |||||
| 61 mins | 447 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Aveni | Production Design |
| 2 | Dave Bassett | Mixing, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 3 | Joe Bonamassa | Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Electric Baritone), Hi String Guitar, Mandolin, Primary Artist, Producer, Slide Guitar, Vocals |
| 4 | David Brinker | A&R |
| 5 | Matt Chiaravalle | Mixing, Producer |
| 6 | Eric Czar | Bass, Bass (Electric), Fretless Bass |
| 7 | Richard Feldman | Producer |
| 8 | Tara Frank | Production Director |
| 9 | Dr. W.A. Jennings | Composer |
| 10 | Molly Kaye | A&R |
| 11 | Kenny Kramme | Drums |
| 12 | Holly Lamar | Composer |
| 13 | Emily Lazar | Mastering |
| 14 | Clif Magness | Drum Loop, Engineer, Mixing, Organ (Hammond), Percussion, Piano, Producer, Programming |
| 15 | Evan Magness | Assistant |
| 16 | Dan Marnien | Engineer |
| 17 | Doug Messenger | Assistant |
| 18 | Elvis Presley | Composer |
| 19 | Bryan Rackleff | Art Direction, Graphic Design |
| 20 | Sarah Register | Assistant Mastering Engineer |
| 21 | Annie Roboff | Composer |
| 22 | Curt Schneider | Mixing, Vocals (Background) |
| 23 | Roy Weisman | A&R |
| 24 | Matt Wilcox | Keyboards |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |