Not his best
After you see his live dvd's, its hard to give this 5 stars when you
know he is capable of so much more.

1st exposure to Joe Bonamassa **WOW what a talent***
In my opinion this album is very deserving of the praise.
Perhaps the difference is that I am an eclectic listener and not locked into any particular genre when it comes to music. I like everything from heavy metal, like Metallica, to Celtic and country. It simply has to be good music, and this album was my 1st exposure to Joe Bonamassa.
Bonamassa's "Wish I was in Richmond" was sent to me as a joke (because I was away from home on an extended business trip). The talent of the singer so impressed me , that I went to the person who sent me the song and asked to listen to the entire album. Not only did I go straight to Amazon and place this album in my cart, within a couple of days listening to this CD, I bought 3 additional Bonamassa albums.
Bonamassa's talent on the guitar is clean and uncluttered. You will hear no scratchy stings whine. His voice is not uncommon but the passion and depth of emotion he puts into the delivery can not help but move you. On certain songs, the voice and guitar combined touches even the deepest, darkest and most frozen places. If this is not his best album then I am looking very forward to the arrival of the other 3.... He is an amazing talent. Another note about this reviewer... the only other Blues artists I own are Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton and Bonnie Rait (at least I think they are blues artists).

Awesome Guitar
If you love rock and roll and blues rock in particular - you have got to get anything by this guy. After you listen to the audio cd get the dvd "Live at Rock Palace".

Blues Deluxe
Joe Bonamassa is the greatest guitarist no one's ever heard of.

At this point in his career he should be filling hockey arenas, It's a shame that the American public has become mindless drones of one hit internet wonders who are forgotten in 6 weeks, when a pure musical genius like Joe is out there caressing our ears with the sweet sounds of a well played guitar.

My favorites on the CD are Around the Bend, Sloe Gin, Ball Peen Hammer and Richmond.

He does an awesome version of Bad Company's Seagull. Catch Tim Curry's original rendition of Sloe Gin on YouTube and you'll see why no one heard of Sloe Gin before Bonamassa did it. (Curry's over emoting is comical but doesn't do the song justice.)

I have traveled from LI to New Haven to see Joe, this year we'll see him at BB KIngs in October for the second time. My wife and I will be at more shows after that as well, because as great as he sounds on Sloe Gin he's even MORE impressive on stage.

Every track is a mind-blowing guitar solo.
Joe Bonamassa's previous album You & Me received phenomenal reviews all over the world and saw him lifted to the top of the mountain in the blues/rock/guitar arena.
His live performances are simply spectacular and electrifying selling out prestigious venues like the Paradiso in Amsterdam, The Birchmere in Alexandria, MA and Sheperd's Bush in London, to name just a few.
Born in upstate New York, but resident in L.A., Joe Bonamassa comes with the academically precise imprint of The Blues Foundation, while infusing it with fire and originality.
Wild electric blues rock from hot young American guitarist Joe Bonamassa is currently the new guitar slinger in contemporary blues.
A musician prodigy who supported BB King at the age of just 12, his ability to fuse classic Chicago electric blues with a hard rock drive make him the natural heir to Rory Gallagher and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
"Sloe Gin" is the 30-year-old's seventh solo album showcasing wild electric currents of sound like few other contemporary guitarists .
Since his 2001 debut album he's delivered on an album-a-year schedule establishing his roots in the richly satisfying raunch of 1970s' style hard rock guitar-heroics
"Sloe Gin" was originally set out to be an acoustic album but once in the studio the album turned in more electric and a full follow up to "You and Me".
The album features eleven songs of sheer beauty and power. And every song is a mind-blowing guitar solo.
It's more blues and a little milder than his previous album and shows another side of him. Besides, this time a major focus is on Joe's captivating singing.
There's plenty of Joe's trademark blues rock guitar plus some acoustic with a mix of originals and covers including Bad Company's "Seagull".
It's self-indulgent as hell, boisterously energetic, but undeniably viscerally powerful.
It shows blistering guitar solos and delivers great songs, great vocals and of course smokin' guitars !
While listening to this album, I was blown away by this guitar phenomenon, who may be the overall best guitarist on the planet.
My favoutite tracks : "Sloe Gin", "Ball Been Hammer", "Jolly Roll" and the fantastic closer "India".
Essential listening.

Truth
Consequence of Chaos
Blue Velocity
Surfing with the Alien Legacy Edition (CD + DVD)