Named after the early
Jethro Tull
classic, which he expertly covers here in a jaw-dropping performance,
A New Day Yesterday
is a fine debut by guitar ace
Joe Bonamassa
. And though his record company tried to ride the coattails of teenage guitar prodigies like
Kenny Wayne Shepard
and
Jonny Lang
and position him (misguidedly and much too late) as a straight-up prodigal
blues
kid,
Bonamassa
is really much more than a traditional bluesman. Rather, as best exemplified by the
number cited above, his bluesy take on
Free
's
"Walk in My Shadows,"
or his hard
boogie
romp through
Al Kooper
"Nuthin' I Wouldn't Do (For a Woman Like You),"
this excellent debut places the guitarist's influences as much in classic '70s
hard rock
as in the
. Along with his deceptively age-wearied vocals (he was only 22 at the time of this recording), this unusual combination translates into the aggressive, soulful crunch heard on
's many original compositions. Among these, the jolting double whammy of
"Miss You, Hate You"
"Colour and the Shape"
(note the Anglicized spelling) are the most obvious standouts, but the guitarist also makes the
Warren Haynes
-penned
"If Heartaches Were Nickels"
his own with a tense, riveting performance. All in all, a promising debut. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia