Black Country Communion - 2

[TageRyche]

Black Country Communion
2
J & R Adventures - 2011
http://www.bccommunion.com

Picking up where they left off from their self-titled debut album, Black Country Communion fuses the modern day with the classic rock sound of the 1970's and comes up with another winning effort.

Although I wasn't as blown away by this album as I was with their first release, this is still one of the best albums of the year.

The varied yet cohesive talents of vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes, guitarist Joe Bonamassa, keyboardist Derek Sherinian and drummer Jason Bonham spotlight what it is that a pure rock and roll record should be like. All Balls, no Walls!

I saw an interview with Glenn Hughes where he said they didn't mean to make it sound like a record from 1974 it just came out that way. I'm hear to say that how the album sounds is just fine by me.

The album opens with a smoking hot kick ass track called "The Outsider". Glenn Hughes (who provides liner notes along with producer Kevin Shirley) has a killer lyric in the song when he sings:

"I'm the Keeper
You know my name
Kill the reaper
Feed the Flame

I'm a rider
Blood Red Sky
THE OUTSIDER
'Til I die"

The next track "Man In The Middle" remains up tempo but features more of a groove vibe. Yet it still manages to be a fantastic song.

"Save Me" opens up slow but the tempo picks up.

Joe Bonamassa continues to shred on the disc. He's had a hell of a year. He released this album, did a covers project with singer Beth Hart that was awesome and released his own solo blues album Dust Bowl.

Besides "The Outsider", the song "Smokestack Woman" is the true standout number on the album. It both burns brightly as a flat out rocker, but then features a nice groove to it as well.

While I appreciate the sentiments behind the writing of the song "Ordinary Son", I didn't find myself really getting into it all that much. The same can be said for the bluesy "Little Secret". It's not that they are bad songs but they didn't capture my ear despite multiple listens.

One note about the album that was both a positive and a drawback was that the album's material seemed to flow effortlessly from one song into the next.

That is a good thing because you feel engulfed by the music, but for the purposes of reviewing the disc, getting carried away on this musical journey meant I'd be listening and not realize I was halfway through one song when I thought I was still listening to the previous one. This meant I had to go back and listen over and over. Not necessarily a bad thing, but boy did it take that much longer to review this album.

Grade: A MINUS

[Scott]

Nice review Tage!  For me this is better than their debut work, it put together more melodically and the production quality is much improved as well.  I love both though! But if I had to pick one, this is it! 

 

I love the bits and pieces of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple (Mark III and IV) that I hear everytime I pick it up.  I also loved to hear Sherinians keyboards, Dream Theater is not the same without him!

 

It wouldnt have been as good of a year in Classic Rock without this!

[RJhog (Admin)]

Well, let me retype this and reconfigure my comment.  The first time I confused it with the wrong thread, so I'll try again.  I like this album better than the debut.  I love the heavy drum sound from Bonham.  Very Zeppelen"ish".  And I agree with the Deep Purple influence as well. 

I've been listening to this and Opeth's album this morning, and I think both should be higher than I originally placed them on my Top 10 Albums list.  This album did quite well on CRB's Top 10 Albums list, which I will reveal shortly.

[TageRyche]

Well, the list I sent as a means to take part in the nominations for best of 2011 will likely be a bit different than what my final list will be like, so I understand your feelings in that regards.

[Gordon Williams]

I like both releases by BCC, but I also think 2 is the better of the two. And I've always shown my preference for hard rocking, but two of my favorite tracks from BCC 2 is two of the more mellower tracks..."Ordinary Son", and "Hardian's Wall".

And, as great a vocalist as Glenn Hughes is (incredible, incredible range!), I really really like Joe Bonamassa's singing.

[RJhog (Admin)]

My favorite song from 2 is Faithless.  Of Joe B.'s two tunes, I like Ordinary Son better, but I like both of them.  I think he has a good voice, but sometimes it doesn't seem nearly as strong as Hughes' voice. 

[Gordon Williams]

Yeah, Bonamassa seems to stay in the same octive range most of the time, while Hughes vocals vary a great deal, which seems to show more range and ability. But, I just really like the harmony and melody of those two tunes sung by Joe. And on one of those, Hughes has a few lines as well...just can't remember at the moment which song it is where they share lead vocals.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Ordinary Son.