J&R Adventures [Release date 14.06.24]

After a 7 year hiatus, the Anglo-American super group Black Country Communion return with an album that rocks hard.

There’s plenty of intensity, spirit and a handful of decent tunes with plenty of early 70’s Classic Rock riffs.

Drummer Jason Bonham has reportedly said the band had no concrete ideas when they came together again, but worked organically. And ‘V’ is very that kind of album, being a riff and groove driven project which works hard to capture the collective spark within dreamy, eclectic lyrical landscapes.

There’s a satisfying retro feel to the project as a whole, as if they’re subliminally tapping into their Zeppelin and Purple antecedents, giving Joe Bonamassa all the room he needs to colour the band’s canvas with a tapestry of riffs and tones.

Everything is glued together by Glenn Hughes impassioned vocals and snaking bass lines, Derek Sherinian’s layered keys and earthy B3, and Jason Bonham’s bombastic bluster.

In many ways ‘V’ is a restatement of the band’s ability to update the early 70’s rock template into a contemporary cross-generational mould.

They achieve that via Zeppelin, Purple and even Angus Young riffs, leaving enough room to incorporate Hughes’s funky feel and his ability to find emotional substance in even the hammiest lines.

At their best Black Country Communion lock into grooves and work their way towards catchy uplifting hooks as on the second single ‘Enlighten’, on which a combination of the flinty riffs and Hughes’s startling vocal searches for a sense of grandeur.

The lead single ‘Stay Free’ fuses Steve Wonder with Zeppelin over crashing chords and a rich vocal chorus complete with a gospel style wail.

Bonamassa’s husky toned solo, unexpectedly veers into a spacey Steve Hillage territory, while Hughes’s loping bass runs and Bonham’s crunch give the track a stomping feel.

‘Red Sun’ recovers from a lumbering opening riff and an all too familiar lyrical opening (“On my way to Avalon”). to being an expansive track. A stonking Zeppelin style riff and an animated Hughes vocal eventually settles on a repeated chanted hook.

It’s the perfect example of Hughes’s ability to weave elusive poetic lyrics into a heavy arrangement, giving the music an ethereal feel, as on: “Drawn to the skyline, Into the maze, Lost in the harmony,” and “I see the bluebird fall, Inside a dream, Ghost in the karma, Last stargaze, Beside the haunted sea.”

‘Restless’ is another highlight. The bluesy feel allows us to catch our breath, as Hughes draws us into a sultry groove with an intuitive intro vocal.

His extended phrasing is an exercise in subtle dynamics and the power of suggestion.

He further revels in extending a note over some perfect band accompaniment to create the perfect moment for Bonamassa to deliver another significant burst of notes.

‘Restless’ provides Hughes best vocal performance on the album and it could even have been the title track. It nails the vibe, mood and feel of the set, but perhaps it’s too bluesy to occupy that role.

The AC/DC influenced ‘Letting Go’ is a good example of the way Hughes’s languid vocal sweep and Bonamassa’s tension breaking solo evokes the title of the song, while ‘Skyway’ is an organ-led intro to some Purple riffery with overly familiar ethereal lyrics and another catchy chorus.

From the loose count-in of ‘You’re Not Alone’ onwards, the riffs seem to get heavier as the band works hard to bring fresh impetus, complete with a Sherinian combination of B3 stabs and a melodic sweep.

‘Love & Faith’ is framed by a Kevin Shirley ‘kitchen sink and all’ approach. Topped and tailed by a Joe Cocker ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ style hymnal organ part, it’s also notable a Hughes/Bonamassa duet which features probably one Zeppelin style riff too many.

A combination of Hughes rumbling bass and Bonham’s high-energy drive powers the band into ‘Too Far Gone,’ notable for a fleeting Sherinian B3 flourish.

Hughes clearly enjoys himself, as evidenced by his 3.31 minute exclamatory whoop which leads him to an exuberant extended note outro.

The closing funky ‘The Open Road’, illustrates his ability to inhabit a song, even when sudden tempo change ushers in a Bonamassa, Paul Kossoff style solo.

It’s a curiously mixed back track which gives the album a considered rather than fever pitch finish.

No matter, ‘V’ is a solid reminder of a great band that remains a definitive conduit between classic rock’s past and present. ****

Review by Pete Feenstra

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)