Review: Black Country Communion - Afterglow

A random thought passes as I listen to Black Country Communion's new album Afterglow: with the recent bad blood between bassist Glenn Hughes and guitarist Joe Bonamassa, if Bonamassa was on fire, would Hughes put him out?

Answer, not on Afterglow he doesn't.

Throughout the band's third studio album in as many years, Bonamassa's playing is smoking: Big Train's wah-wah infused rave up; the white hot solos on Midnight Sun and the Giver; the guitar intro to Midnight Sun; or the slow burning slide on Cry Freedom. Bonamassa lights the album up with his best playing to date with this band. Hughes response is to fuel the flames with a collection of songs of great licks and words that twist and turn, offer loud and soft (light and shade?) moments throughout.

If, as has been allowed as possible through various media outlets, this is the end of the line for Black Country Communion, it will prove to be a great pity. On reviewing their first album, I offered a number of times their influences came to the top, on their second album, I noted less of this. On this album, they sound from start to finish uniquely like themselves. Hey are a band that has found an identity. Moments like the dual Hughes/Bonamassa vocals on Cry Freedom or the tight, super-funky groove Hughes and drummer Jason Bonaham get on the Bonham penned piece Common Man sound like Black Country Communion and no one else.

You can't talk about Afterglow without also mentioning Derek Sherinian, who takes a greater role than the first two albums, playing a couple of organ solos that are exceptional. His playing throughout is top notch.

Black Country Communion's Afterglow, which was released yesterday is a great rock and roll album that will improve with time and listenings. It is what these guys do best, flat out rock.

Tracklist:

1. Big Train (Hughes)


2. This is Your Time (Bonham/Bonamassa/Sherinian) (Lyrics Bonham/Hughes)


3. Midnight Sun (Bonham/Bonamassa/Sherinian)(Lyrics: Hughes)


4. Confessor (Hughes)


5. Cry Freedom (Hughes/Bonamassa/Bonham/Sherinian)(Lyrics: Hughes)


6. Afterglow (Hughes)


7. Dandelion (Hughes)


8. The Circle (Hughes)


9. Common Man (Bonham) (Lyrics Bonham/Hughes)


10. The Giver (Hughes/Bonamassa/Shirley) (Lyrics Hughes)


11. Crawl (Bonamassa/Bonham/Hughes/Shirley) (Lyrics Hughes)

Derek Sherinian on BCC

Keyboardist Derek Sherinian has been largely the quiet one when it comes to Black Country Communion, and interviews with him seem to be rarer than with the bands other three members, Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa and Jason Bonham. With a new solo album coming out, however, he sat down with Bravewords, and managed to spill the beans on what's next for BCC:

Bravewords.com: Black Country Communion - what’s it like working with the voice of rock, Glenn Hughes.

Sherinian: “Glenn is great with his British wit. He’s the elder statesman of rock and it’s a real pleasure to tour with him. The last nine weeks (touring) have been a very smooth ride. I’d love to do more touring with these guys.”

Bravewords.com: True, but why only Europe? Why no BCC in North America?

Sherinian: “We need to do a proper North American tour. We just need to go out there and grind it out.”

Bravewords.com: It’s strange. The first album was great. The second album was better, but the band remains largely hidden from North America.

Sherinian: “It all comes down to demand. We’re selling a lot more records in Europe and the demand for us to play live is greater there. You have to go where the warm current is.”

Bravewords.com: What’s next for BCC?

Sherinian: “Well, we are putting out a live DVD from this last European tour for Christmas and the plan is to make a third record next spring and then next June (2012) we’re going back on tour, but I’m not sure where. That’s the rough sketch.”

The DVD we knew about, but BCC3, plus another summer tour. As I said in the podcast, it's the to come to parts north.

Review: Black Country Communion 2

The story of Black Country Communion that the band likes to cite is that they are a 70’s style band. By that they mean, they like to cut the basic song track live off the floor. With their second album, Black Country Communion 2, timed in a very 70’s fashion just ten months after the release of their first album, they join the ranks of 70’s style bands in other ways: the naming of the album and progression of the bands music.

On their first album influences were obvious and threaded throughout the album. AC/DC, Bad Company, The Who and Iron Maiden where all out front. This time there is much less sounding like other bands, much more development of their own sound. Oh sure, the keyboard and guitar break in The Outsider is pure Yes, and the guitar lick in Faithless is so very close to Alice Cooper’s Devil’s Food. But they are the exception, and BCC2 sounds instead like Black Country Communion. In fact, the Yes style break in the albums first song, The Outsider, announce something is different in this album: keyboard player Derek Sherinian is going to be much more up front.

Glenn Hughes has called this a darker album, and while his songs are definitively edgier and grittier, his singing is more paced. Less an effort to sing hard rock, and more just doing it. Together with Bonham the rhythm section is as tight as the first album. What these two would sound like together if they had spent the last ten months touring together, instead of touring apart, it is frightening to wonder. It is Joe Bonamassa once again, however, that shines. The virtuoso guitar player provides great licks, tasty guitar lines and Paul Rogers-esque vocals. His acoustic showpiece, The Battle for Hadrian’s Wall, is the albums highlight.

But the album is full of highlights: Save Me, rescued from Bonham’s 2008 sessions with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones; Faithless, dark and mysterious sounding, so hard to not listen to again and again; Man in the Middle, BCC at their hardest; An Ordinary Son, Joe Bonamassa’s brilliant other showcase song; Cold, Glenn Hughes finest moment in his Black Country Communion suit.

With Faithless, Cold, Little Secret and, too a lesser degree, The Battle for Hadrian’s Wall, BCC2 has it’s share of slower or softer songs. Yet it is still by any definition, a very hard album, with a gritty edge they only let drop on Hadrian’s Wall.

Black Country Communion 2 is a solid album from beginning to end, with no unlistenable music or weak songs. Hughes and Bonamassa are in good voice, and the four very talented musicians are solid and tight. It may not quite be 70’s rock, but it’s the closest thing you’ll hear these days by a large margin.

Black Country Communion 2

1. The Outsider (Hughes, Bonamassa, Sherinian, Shirley): 4:23


2. Man in the Middle (Hughes, Bonamassa, Shirley): 4:35


3. The Battle for Hadrian’s Wall (Bonamassa, Hughes, Shirley): 5:11


4. Save Me (Bonham, Hughes, Bonamassa, Sherinian, Shirley): 7:42


5. Smokestack Woman (Hughes): 5:10


6. Faithless (Hughes, Bonamassa, Shirley): 5:10


7. An Ordinary Son (Hughes, Bonamassa, Shirley): 7:59


8. I Can See Your Spirit (Hughes, Bonamassa, Shirley): 4:11


9. Little Secret (Hughes): 6:59


10. Crossfire (Hughes): 6:03


11. Cold (Hughes, Bonamassa, Shirley): 6:55

Black Country Communion 2 is set for release on June 14th (June 13th in Britain)

Free Black Country Communion Download

Black Country Communion has made a song from their upcoming release, Black Country Communion 2, available for free download. The Outsider is the opening track on the new album, BCC2, available in stores  June 14th (June 13th in Britain).

The Outsider is a hard rockin' song reminiscent of Black Country, which opened the Anglo-American band's first album. While it carries a Black Country like groove, however, it has a short smokin' guitar solo and Derek Sherinian runs some very tasty, Keith Emerson like keyboard work.

Previously, Glenn Hughes performed an acoustic version of Cold.

UK Dates for Black Country Communion

Black Country Communion announced four UK shows following their appearance at London’s High Voltage Festival this July. The Festival, held at historic Victoria Park, takes place the weekend of July 23 & 24, 2011.

The new shows are:

• Tuesday 26th July - Leeds O2 Academy


• Wednesday 27th July - Newcastle O2 Academy


• Friday 29th July - Glasgow O2 Academy


• Saturday 30th July - Manchester Academy

The UK appearances follow a seven show tour of Germany from June 30 - July 14.

• 30th June Stuttgart, Germany


• 1st July Frankfurt, Germany


• 2nd July Leipzig, Germany


• 4th July Munich, Germany


• 5th July Berlin, Germany


• 6th July Hamburg, Germany


• 14th July Bonn, Germany

Tickets for the UK shows go on sale Friday Feb 4. There is a presale for 02 priority customers Feb 2.

Tickets are available through 24 hour box office at 0871 230 1101 or online at See Tickets or The Gig Cartel

Tickets are also available tat the individual locations:

LEEDS O2 ACADEMY

Tuesday 26th July 2011

Tickets: £40.00 Standing £45.00 Seated

Box Office: 0871 230 1101
 www.o2academyleeds.co.uk
55 Cookridge Street, Leeds, LS2 3AW

NEWCASTLE O2 ACADEMY

Wednesday 27th July 2011 

Tickets: £40.00

Box Office: 0871 230 1101
 www.o2academynewcastle.co.uk Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1SW

GLASGOW O2 ACADEMY

Friday 29th July 2011 

Tickets: £40.00 Standing £45.00 Seated

Box Office: 0871 230 1101
 www.o2academyglasgow.co.uk
121 Eglinton Street, Glasgow, G5 9NT

MANCHESTER ACADEMY

Saturday 30th July 2011 

Tickets: £40.00

Box Office: 0871 230 1101
 www.manchesteracademy.net
Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PR

Black Country Communion Rock Wolverhampton

Black Country Communion stepped on the stage in Wolverhampton tonight, playing their entire debut album plus classic tracks from Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Joe Bonamassa according to Nightwatcher's House of Rock and The Voice of Glenn Hughes.

On top of the songs from the album they played Led Zeppelin's <em>No Quarter</em> Deep Purple's <em>Burn</em> and Joe Bonamassa's <em>The Ballad of John Henry</em>.



Love that Jason Bonham bass drum and Bonamassa's painted amps.

Black Country Communion for Christmas

Black Country Communion has decided to launch the band from the place where it took it's name, England's Black Country.

BCC today announced two English shows over the Christmas holidays:

Wednesday Dec 29th at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
Thursday Dec 30th at O2 London Shepherd's Bush Empire

There will be an exclusive ticket pre-sale beginning next Monday, Nov. 15th through radio station Planet Rock. Tickets to both shows will then go on sale to the general public Friday November 19th.

The shows will be Black Country Communion's first full concerts. They performed a short, invitation only show that was broadcast on Planet Rock on September 20th, the day before their debut album was released.

Released on September 21st, the debut BCC CD, featuring Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Derek Sherinian and Jason Bonham, has met critical acclaim. It reached #1 on Britain's music charts in October, and has been selling well.

After the two shows, Black Country Communion, according to both Jason Bonham and Glenn Hughes, will return to the studio to record BCC2, before doing a full tour beginning in the spring.

Black Country Communion to Tour in May

In a recent interview with LeHigh Valley Music Blog, Jason Bonham lays out the itinerary for his supergroup Black Country Communion:

Yes, we got a show in England we’re going to do at the end of the year, ‘cause I finish this, then I’m going to go home for a couple of weeks and I go to England for Christmas and then do the Black Country show at the end of the year. And then we’re going back in the studio in January and recording another album. And we hit the road, I think, in May of 2011.

Black Country Communion is Bonham's group with singer/bassist Glenn Hughes, guitarist Joe Bonamassa and keyboardist Derek Sherinian. Their debut album, released in September, is an international hit that reached #1 on the UK music charts.

Black Country Communion on Planet Rock

Black Country Communion played a private gig for London radio station Planet Rock listeners on Monday, the day before the release of their fabulous self titled debut CD. There is video of the event and while, sadly, the vocals are buried in the mix (likely due to bad camera position), the videos give a nice peek at BCC.

A few thoughts: A Les Paul run through a Marshall Amp: Joe bonamassa has a Wah-Wah pedal and he’s not afraid to use it: A Hammond Organ for God’s sake. I love this band.

Black Country


One Last Soul


Beggarman

Review: Black Country Communion

I woke up this morning with a part of a song stuck in my head. I had listened to Black Country Communion’s debut CD three times yesterday. Before the CD arrived in my mailbox Friday, I had heard two songs: One Last Soul was released as a single and The Great Divide was released as a video. It is the latter song I can’t shake today. Specifically, it is the part of the song when the band comes out of the chorus: they have built up to a great crescendo, Glenn Hughes voice straining, Marshalls at 11 and they transition to guitarist Joe Bonamassa coming in with a tasty little guitar lick, bringing the band back down a notch. It is such a sweet, melodic little line: one of those moments when the music seems to sigh.

It’s also indicative of the whole album. Bonamassa’s playing shines throughout, without ever dominating the disk. On Beggarman, Bonamossa offers a 30 second wah-wah laced Hendrix-style introduction, yet, Beggarman is by no means a guitarists vehicle. It is more Black Dog style lick/vocal/lick/vocal song than a Hendrix one, although the comparison is hardly adequate.

Black Country Communion is listed as a “supergroup,” a group made up of musicians that were stars before the formation of the band. Joe Bonamassa on guitar, Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals, Jason Bonham on drums and Derek Sherinian on keyboards. Each has an impressive pedigree, each shines in their own way on the debut, self titled, album. The rhythm section carry song after song with pounding regularity. Derek Sherinian offers subtle touches of 70’s era keyboards, adding ambiance and feel, never taking over. And Joe Bonamassa is brilliant, his licks imaginative without overplaying.

Black Country Communion wears their influences on their sleeve, too often and too obviously to be accidental. Song of Yesterday, sounds like Bad Company (the song), with Glenn Hughes doing an admirable Paul Rogers. Black Country (again, the song) is all Iron Maiden, Sista Jane runs like an AC/DC song, until it is Won’t Get Fooled Again: Sherinian riding the keyboards, Bonham sounding more like Kenny Jones than Kieth Moon. There is a hint of The Doors, a bit of Heartbreaker, Jaime’s Cryin, even a touch of King Crimson. While Stand sounds too close to Deep Purple’s Space Truckin’, Down Again may be the best Deep Purple song Glenn Hughes ever recorded.

None of this is too suggest any of the music sounds like it is ripped off. Rather it is a chord here, a lick there, a vocal performance or keyboard section that brings influence to mind. The songs themselves are wholly original.

At 73 minutes long, it would be my normal MO to complain that Black Country Communion is too long, anything over standard LP length of 45 minutes being an extravagance. But for the life of me, I can’t suggest anything to cut. Everything seems to work and have a place, every song is good enough, every performance high enough quality. Other than the six minute jam, which some fans will love, at the end of Too Late for The Sun there’s nothing here to cut.

I don’t give stars when I review an album, but if I did I this would be the first album where I would be tempted to give five stars. If not for that six minute, album ending jam, perhaps Stand and Medussa, (two songs that, while still good, are the albums weaker moments) it would be a five star album.

As it is, Black Country Communion is the best post-Zeppelin work of anyone associated with Led Zeppelin.



Black Country Communion

1. Black Country 3:15
2. One Last Soul 3:52
3. The Great Divide 4:45
4. Down Again 5:45
5. Beggarman 4:51
6. Song of Yesterday 8:33
7. No Time 4:18
8. Medusa 6:56
9. The Revolution in Me 4:59
10. Stand (At The Burning Tree) 7:01
11. Sista Jane 6:54
12. Too Late For the Sun 11:21

Release date: Sept 21, 2010

Black Country Communion Review

The reviews are starting to come in. First up is Mojo Magazine:

With ties to all three of heavy rock’s most iconic bands –Black Sabbath,Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin – Black Country Communion is a modern supergroup to rival Them Crooked Vultures. BCC comprises Glenn Hughes, once of Purple and Sabbath, on vocals and bass; Jason Bonham, son of Bonzo on drums; Joe Bonamassa America’s new blues hero, on guitar and vocals; and Derek Sherinian, formerly of pro-metal masters Dream Theater, on keyboards. The music is as expected: blues-based heavy rock with a late-‘60s/early ‘70s feel. But where the Vultures are jam-driven, BCC have great songs, from badass single One Last Soul to Bonamassa’s Hendrix-meets-Zep showpiece Song Of Yesterday. And with 58-year-old former cokehead Hughes singing as powerfully as he did in ’74, Black Country Communion is one supergroup that really lives up to its billing.

They give it four stars.

Based on what I've been hearing, and One Last Soul, I'm looking very forward to this release. And I'm pleased to report that I will have an advance review sometime in the next week or thereabout.

Review: One Last Soul

Black Country Communion is the latest "supergroup," involving a Led Zeppelin member. Drummer Jason Bonham joins Derek Sherinian, Glenn Hughes and Joe Bonamassa to form the group, named after the area of Britain where Hughes and Bonham are from.

Hughes is the former bass player from Deep Purple, replacing Roger Glover in 1973. He stayed with Deep Purple until they broke up in 1976. Their biggest song of his era would have been Burn, from the album of the same name. Although Hughes was also considered a singer, he debuted with Deep Purple at the same time as their new singer, David Coverdale (who would, years later, form Coverdale Page with Jimmy Page).

Joe Bonamassa is considered a guitar prodigy. He has played with a vast array of blues artists including Eric Clapton and BB King. But he is mostly known for a successful solo career, that includes an excellent, but radio friendlier version of a song I have long loved: Tim Curry's Sloe Gin.

Derek Sherinian is a keyboard player who played keyboards for Alice Cooper during the  "Trash" and "Hey Stoopid" period. He would go on to tour with Kiss, including playing on their Alive III album before beginning a solo career in 1999.

Their first single is One Last Soul, available for free download at the Black Country Communion website. A sneak peek can also be had on the groups MySpace page.

Of all the post 02 Zeppelin material to appear to date, One Last Soul has been the easiest to like. Known for his funky, soul tinged bass lines, Glenn Hughes blends with Jason Bonham to create a tight rhythm section which drives the song.

It is, in point of fact, a very rhythmic song, having a classic rock groove without sounding 30 years old. The chorus has a solid hook, sticking in your head once the song is done.

At the same time, in looking for a point of comparison, One Last Soul is not immediately reminiscent of any other song.

One Last Soul is a nice introduction to what looks like it may be a solid rock band in the upcoming year.

The album, "Black Country Communion," will be released Sept 21, 2010, and the band expects to tour in 2011.

One Last Soul by Black Country Communion

Jason Bonham's new group, Black Country Communion, has released their first single, One Last Soul.

Black Country Communion features Bonham on drums with Joe Bonamassa on guitar, Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals and Derek Sherinian on keyboards.

The self titled debut album will be available Sept 21st. Pre-orders are available, as well as t-shirts. A free download of One Last Soul is also available - use the promo code OLS2010.

Meanwhile, here;s a live video from One Last Soul from March. This band, based on the one song, sounds really good and I am looking forward to this album.