Joe Bonamassa - Royal Tea [2LP/180G]

Joe Bonamassa is known for taking risks and venturing into uncharted territory throughout his wide-ranging career but now he has found a new way to surprise his fans and music lovers. Inspired by his British guitar heroes Jeff Beck, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Eric Clapton and Cream and recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, Royal Tea truly brings Bonamassa full-circle.

"This whole adventure," admits Joe, "was a bucket-list thing for me." This album reconnects the 43-year-old with the guitar-slinging kid from upstate New York, who stumbled across the best of British blues music in his dad's vinyl collection – whose influences have shaped him to be the player he is today. "I would have been about twelve years old, and it was the sound I heard in my head. Like, ‘OK, I'm in. That's what I want to be'."

These 10 original tracks were co-written by Joe and a cast of homegrown notables including former Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden, ex-Cream lyricist Pete Brown and national-treasure piano man Jools Holland. "Writing this record in London has done its job," reflects Bonamassa. "It really does sound inherently British. Bernie and I, we finish each other's sentences. We're cut from the same cloth." Bonamassa's long-standing producer Kevin Shirley and regular touring band flew in for the recording sessions, which included Anton Fig (drums), Michael Rhodes (bass) and Reese Wynans (keyboards).

1. When One Door Opens
2. Royal Tea
3. Why Does It Take So Long To Say Goodbye
4. Lookout Man
5. High Class Girl
6. A Conversation With Alice
7. I Didn't Think She Would Do it
8. Beyond The Silence
9. Lonely Boy
10. Savannah