Tour de Force: Live In London
Joe Bonamassa
Label: J&R Adventures
Released: May 20, 2014
Reviewed: May 25, 2014

I’ve said it before about previous reviews of Joe Bonamassa offerings and I must say it again:  Regular Boomerocity readers know that I have a short version review of any Joe Bonamassa project.  This time is no exception.  Ready?  Here it is:

Love it/buy it.

To be technically correct, I’d have to say all of the above a total of four times because that’s how many CD sets Mr. Bonamassa has rolled out for his fans. Entitled, “Tour de Force – Live In London”, the foursome is offered both as individual concert discs or as a special premium boxed set.  The shows at each of the venues have been captured on two discs per location guaranteeing substantial coverage of each performance.

Whether in the spacious, historic Royal Albert Hall, the cozy Borderline or the performances at Shepherd’s Bush Empire or Hammersmith Apollo in between, the performances are jaw-dropping in their own right.

While fans will notice that there are plenty of the JB staples on these discs (“Django/Mountain Time”, “Sloe Gin” and “Just Got Paid:, for instance), don’t make the mistake of thinking that they’re the same ol’ tunes. Just as in any Bonamassa performance, Joe brings new life and energy into those cherished songs. In addition to those favorites, Joe delivers phenomenal performances of newer tunes such as “Dust Bowl”, “Driving Toward The Daylight”, “Slow Train” and “Dislocated Boy”. 

JB enthusiasts will also be pleased to know that he has also captured his fun with the theremin during his performances of “The Ballad Of John Henry”.  And get this!  The theremin thingy comes in at almost precisely the same time on each of the three performances – I mean with seconds of each other.

That’s scary good!

Bonamassa fans will definitely want all four performances as part of their listening library – and to join their video library of the same performances.  As for what to choose to turn people on to this amazing talent?  That’s a hard one to decide. My feeling is that you can’t go wrong with any of them.  Just close your eyes and pick one.