Joe Bonamassa Premieres 'Is It Safe To Go Home' Video

10-06-2023

(Noble) Joe Bonamassa has released a music video for his new Josh Smith produced single "Is It Safe To Go Home" to celebrate the arrival of his brand new studio album, "Blues Deluxe Vol. 2".

"I wrote 'Is It Safe To Go Home' specifically for this project and for Joe," Smith recalls. "I can't believe what he did with it. The vocal and solo are some of his best work (in fact, he hits the highest vocal note he ever has on record), and it's just an absolutely epic performance and arrangement."

Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 revisits and pays homage to Bonamassa's musical roots, offering listeners fresh takes on classic blues tracks that have shaped his journey. The album boasts two new originals and eight covers, honoring legendary names in blues, from Bobby "Blue" Bland to Albert King. Both Vol. 2 and Blues Deluxe Remastered are available on 180 Gram vinyl, with the former as a gorgeous translucent blue color for collectors.

Reflecting on his growth as a musician, Bonamassa says, "Part of my approach to these new recordings was that I wanted to see if I had matured musically over the years, and if I had gotten better as a player. I'm happy to say that I am a much better singer than I was 20 years ago - though I still don't really consider myself to be a legit 'singer,' I can now carry a tune a little better than I could back then."

Among the album's treasures is "Hope You Realize It (Goodbye Again)," another original collaboration between Bonamassa and Tom Hambridge. "This is a song that I wrote with Tom Hambridge, and we did a real Tower Of Power treatment on it," Bonamassa recalls. "Twenty-Four Hour Blues," a fiery reinterpretation of Bobby "Blue" Bland's iconic track from the Dreamer album, boasts one of Bonamassa's most potent vocal and guitar performances to date, while "Well, I Done Got Over It" pays tribute to Guitar Slim's 1953 release, and "Lazy Poker Blues" rejuvenates the classic song originally performed by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac.

Featuring Reese Wynans (keys), Calvin Turner (bass), Lamar Carter (drums), Kirk Fletcher (guitar), and Josh Smith (guitar), additional highlights from Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 include "I Want To Shout About It," originally performed by Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters and "It's Hard But It's Fair" by Bobby Parker. "I knew I wanted to push him really hard vocally," Smith adds. "I'd heard him sing things just messing around or when we'd be producing for other artists that I'd never heard him do on record. So the songs were both chosen and written with that in mind. If you listen to the vocals on "Twenty-Four Hour Blues" and "Is It Safe To Go Home," you'll hear Joe really going for it."