Black Country Communion 2
By: Black Country Communion
Label: J&R Adventures
Reviewed: January, 2012

Black Country Communion 2 is the second cannon ball to come out of the powerful artillery known as Black Country Communion – and what a powerful blast of an album it is.  One never knows exactly what stereophonic delights will come out this band but you do know that it’s going to be incredibly good.  BCC2 solidifies that repution.

The songwriting is as crisp and tight as the musicianship of each and every member of this band.  Produced by Kevin Shirley (as was the first BCC album as well as other Bonamassa projects and other great artists), BCC2 showcases a super band that shows that it’s comfortable in its own skin. 

Glenn Hughes’ voice and bass work is as good as, if not better than, ever.  Why this guy isn’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I don’t know but he should be.  Joe Bonamassa’s axe work is par excellence.  The always intricate and intriguing keyboard wizardry of Derek Sherinian is at a whole knew level.  Jason Bonham once again demonstrates that his drumming is worthy of its own accolades instead of relying on DNA-based praise.  He’s definitely his own talented musician.

Comments on a few cuts of the album:

The Outsider: This first tune will wrap you up tightly in a musical cocoon that keeps the listener in place for the rest of the album.  Fast, tight and intricate, the song leaves you exhausted at the end but there are ten more songs to go.

Man In The Middle melodically brings to mind Alice Cooper’s Lost In America with Hughes’ signature funk mixed in for good measure while Faithless has a funky Kasmir-esque vibe to it.

As always, if a favorite had to be picked from this album, the Boomerocity favorite would have to be the incredibly bluesy Little Secret.  This tasty little tune resulted in me flogging the repeat button countless times.

One may be tempted to say that BCC2 is an album that Led Zeppelin would’ve made if they were still together.  Perhaps.  However, I prefer to think of it as another landmark album by an incredible band that I hope is around for a very long time while leaving plenty of room for Zeppelin to come back on the scene.