Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
If only we could realise sooner that life is not about the riches or the acquisition of possessions, but that it is about the journey, the way we could leave Notches on the walking stick fashioned from the branch of an oak tree to remind ourselves of the way we have lived then perhaps maybe we would stand a better chance of being remembered fondly by the generations to come, by those that will judge us harshly for the slashes and constant nicks we have left on the planet.
The road less travelled, or rather, the road we chose to ignore, is the one that we will look back upon when our time is over and see how beautiful it could have been. Thankfully there are the moments we don’t see, like the trouble taken to leave a clear indention on the stick of life by the person to has not only seen what life has to offer, but also added their own indisputable story to their chosen profession.
The Godfather of modern 21st Century Blues, and to one whom the genre itself can look back upon as reviving, Joe Bonamassa, turns his head, wise mind, and guitar back to the Rock fist pumping adrenaline fuelled resilience, and once again shows that whist not every notch is the same, they are all cut with pride, passion, and style.
It is impossible to not acknowledge the seismic influence that the Bluesman has had on listeners and fellow performers alike, and whilst he may believe that he took the road less travelled, he has opened the way for others to traverse the path themselves, a pioneer, the musician at the head of the pack, the forge of resilience, and in the new single Notches, a man who acknowledges a truth that others deny, that riches are merely baubles, it is the richness you offer others in your performance here on Earth that means more than anything else.
Joe Bonamassa may be the Godfather of modern Blues, but he rocks as well as any of the master musicians of the genre, and Notches proves that with gusto, with panache, with absolute style.
Drawing upon his own reflections of the uphill battle he faced from a young teenage lad to whom the world heaped the burden of expectancy upon, Notches is a track of sheer scale, and one that is once again brought to life through his long-time collaboration with producer Kevin Shirley. It also includes Steve Mackey on bass, Lachy Doley on piano, Bunna Lawrie, Bobby Summerfield, Anton Figg, Mahalia Barnes, Juanita Tippins and Prinnie Stevens.
When the world returns to what may pass for normal in the time ahead of us, Notches is one track that deserves the full throat, deep throttle roar of the crowd in an arena, a rock song that does just that, a classic that cuts its own notches ready for the pulse of the audience.
Ian D. Hall