Customer Reviews
Joe Bonamassa - Yea, It Is Like That 
2008-09-07
Joe Bonamassa was a child guitar prodigy who grew up with and has carried on the tradition of, the blues. This album from 2002 is blues influenced, but not traditional blues for the most part. This is a hard rock showcase with blues as a common denominator. Bonamassa is an incredible guitarist and also has a good voice. Joe wrote all of the tracks on this disc proving that he can write good lyrics as well as music. Most of the songs on this album are in the 3 to 4 minute range which tends to keep his guitar restrained a bit, but he does pull out all the stops on the 10 minute plus "Pain And Sorrow" which is one of the highlights of the disc. Bonamassa's influence seem to be Stevie Ray Vaughn, Hendrix and other obvious mentors, but he has also been known to cover tunes by Yes and Jethro Tull. Bonamassa is a true talent on today's blues circuit and if you ever get the chance to see him live make sure to check him out.
IN the elite 
2008-08-29
These guy is awesome. If you can ever see him live pick up those tickets fast. I have seen him once already and have tickets to see him again in the fall.
He is in my opinion today's greatest blues guitarist. He mixes just the perfect amount of blues with rock. he also has a very unique voice.
Joe is the new and undisputed King of Power Blues 
2008-04-23
This was the last of Joe's CDs I didn't own. Once I hit the play button on "So It's Like That" it was unmistakably Joe! He has the power, voice and monster guitar chops that make him a true master of the guitar! His band is tight and polished. These guys deliver the goods.
If you've never heard Joe before but like great guitar blues/rock, you've got to get a few Bonamassa CDs. They are all great!!!
So It's Like that is a "gotta Have" as are all of Joe's releases!!!
Music 2008-04-09
Excellent cd!!!! Had never heard of this guy, listened to samples, bought it and love every song on it.
great the DVD made me a fan 2007-06-06
the dvd is great the music is #1 and they look likie they are enjoying themselves.
Fantastic! 2007-05-14
New York guitar prodigy Joe Bonamassa opened for B.B. King before he was a teen, but blues is just the springboard for the sound on this second solo outing. Bonamassa spotlights his songwriting this time, using his fluid and fiery guitar work to punctuate muscular melodies more akin to anthemic arena rock than basic blues. While Bonamassa's debut disc,
A New Day Yesterday, featured a supporting cast of Gregg Allman, Rick Derringer, and Leslie West, the follow-up keeps the focus on his power trio, with drummer Kenny Kramme and bassist Eric Czar providing most of the accompaniment (although keyboardist Cliff Magness creatively colors around the edges). Bonamassa is indeed a certifiable fretboard phenom, consistently capable of startlingly effective solos, but he's also a strong singer, and that's what makes the collection of songs, a dozen of the 13 cowritten by Bonamassa, successful. The title track, complete with a sizzling solo, sustains a Southern blues-rock feel, but most of the other songs, such as the power pop "Unbroken," the hard-rocking "Sick in Love," and the retro "Never Said Goodbye," which features Bonamassa on mandolin, showcase his abilities in different stylistic settings.
--Michael Point
WoW! 2006-07-11
Not a Bad song on the Album, but it's really a rock record, not a Blues one. "Pain and Sorrow" is amazing!.
Solid Blues Rock Album 2006-07-05
Great album from Smokin' Joe Bonamassa! His guitar work is impeccable - as always. Terrific songs like "My Mistake", "Lie #1", "Takin' the Hit", "So It's Like That" and "Pain and Sorrow". This guy is a young talent who is still forming his personal style but he will break big onto the musical scene if he continues with albums like this.
Disappointing 
2006-07-04
After listening to Bonamassa on "New Day Yesterday" I was captured by the raw power and abundance of guitar mastery.
So - I went and bought the lot of Bonammassas CDs hoping to dig into more imaginative guitar power.
In "So, It's Like That" I found an abundance of sing-along la-la cliches. If you are a fan of Bruce Springsteen you will like the hoarse screaming and loose guitar chords. Allright, a few places the guitar shines but the melodi lines and the broad chrorus style singing drags it down into the pit of trivialities. Sorry!
A single track, "Pain and Sorrow" shines though but boy it was hard to get to track 9. Track 13, "The Hard Way", has a 4 minutes sing-along intro ... or whatever happened as a new track actually starts after 4 minutes and 17 SECONDS OF SILENCE lastning the remaining almost 4 minutes. Maybe it's art, what do I know!
WHERE HAVE I BEEN THE LAST FIVE YEARS???? 2005-12-21
I don't exactly consider myself an ostrich with my head in the sand, but somehow I never discovered Joe B. until six months ago. Here I've been sitting around all this time waiting for (and then complaining about) new albums by Kenny Wayne S., Jonny Lang, and the like, and then here's this guy who just blows all those guys out of the water sitting right in front of my nose! Amazon even kept recommending him to me with their great little "recommender" that pops up when you get on their website, but I've been ignoring all that like a fool. Then recently I heard a DJ announce a song by Joe Bonamassa, and I was knocked out!
Coincidentally, I saw Joe open up for B.B. King about a week later, and was sold hook line and sinker. I bought one of his CD's right there afterwards, had him sign it, shook his hand and told him he has a new fan.
Amusingly, during his performance he recommended the audience to buy any one of his CDs being sold after his set, jokingly (I hope) adding, "...well, maybe not the second one." Well, I can assure you that it WAS a big joke, because this album is great all the way through. Some hard rock, some acoustic stuff, an amazing Hendrix-style tune (Pain and Sorrow)--all great stuff.
Definitely buy the CD, but try to find package with the bonus DVD if you can.THIS GUY IS INCREDIBLE. He is every guitar player I've been into all rolled up into one, yet he's his own man at the same time. THIS CD/DVD BOX SET IS WORTH TWICE THE PRICE. I thought the DVD might be one, maybe two songs like some of those goofy DVD "singles" that come extra with a CD. Dude, the DVD is almost two hours long, and the music SMOKES! The sound isn't DTS 5.1, and you'll have to turn up the volume on your stereo a little higher than when playing a DTS or Dolby 5.1 concert DVD, but the sound is still very good.
This guy has got it all--amazing, shredding guitar chops, blues feel galore, and a great voice. Don't stay in the dark like I have for the past five years--buy his whole catalog! You won't regret it!!!!!
