Joanne Shaw Taylor is set to release her highly anticipated album of classic blues covers via Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping the Blues Alive (KTBA) label. Recorded at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, the eleven-track long-player – simply titled The Blues Album – was produced by fellow blues rock luminaries Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith who also lent their guitar-playing talents to the recording.
Following up 2019’s Reckless Heart, The Blues Album is Taylor’s seventh full-length studio album and sees her paying tribute to a host of artists including Albert King, Peter Green, Aretha Franklin, and Magic Sam, as well as some lesser-known gems from Little Village, Little Milton, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and James Ray.
Speaking of the electric guitars and amps used to record The Blues Album, Taylor says, “I mostly played my own guitar, my 1966 Esquire ‘Junior’… I tried to use a few of Joe’s Teles, but they’re set up for much bigger hands than mine. I did use Joe’s vintage amps – I believe one of his ‘60s [Fender] Vibroverbs mixed with a [Dumble Overdrive Special] for pretty much all of it. We didn’t use any pedals.”
Ahead of the album's release on September 24, the music video for Joanne Shaw Taylor’s new single "Let Me Down Easy" has been unveiled today...
Pre-order The Blues Album on vinyl, CD & digital from Joe Bonamassa’s KTBA Records website.
- Arm yourself with one of the best blues guitars
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