Het is inmiddels 4 jaar geleden dat Seesaw uitkwam, dus het was weer de hoogste tijd dat de 2 topmuzikanten opnieuw de krachten gingen bundelen. Beiden hebben in de tussentijd enorm succes gehad met hun solocarrières en Joe ook nog met Black Country Communion en er was eindelijk weer tijd om de agenda’s op elkaar aan te laten sluiten en een nieuw album op te nemen met 10 pareltjes uit de soulcatalogus. Dit leidde tot Black Coffee die uitkomt uit op 26 januari.
Met producer Kevin ‘The Caveman’ Shirley (Joe Bonamassa, Led Zeppelin, Black Crowes, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Rush) achter de knoppen in Studio at the Palms, Las Vegas en met de hulp van Anton Fig (Drums/Percussion), Ron Dziubla (Saxophone), Lee Thornburg (Horn Arrangements/Trumpet/Trombone), Reese Wynans (Keyboards), Michael Rhodes (Bass), Rob McNelley (Rhythm Guitar), Paulie Cerra (Saxophone), Mahalia Barnes (Backing Vocals), Jade Macrae (Backing Vocals) en Juanita Tippins (Backing vocals) werden er hommages gebracht aan songs van Edgar Winter, Etta, James, Ike & Tina Turner/Steve Marriot, Ella Fitzgerald, Lil’ Green, LaVern Baker, Howlin’ Wolf, Lucinda Williams en Waldeck.
Shirley over de sessies die leidden tot Black Coffee: “We’re trying not to dig into a playbook that’s been done many times, which is the old soul classics. We try and find a different spin on it; originally, it was about trying to find some songs that people didn’t know at all and bring them back to people’s attention.”
“It’s really predicated on the vocals,” legt Bonamassa uit. “We can’t cut these tunes without Beth singing and once she starts singing, it’s the glue that inspires us to get the extra 10% out of the playing. If we just cut them and sang later, the magic wouldn’t be there.”
“That’s something the two of us stopped doing many years ago,” beaamt Hart. “There was all this layering, and then it’s time for you to sing. It’s like you’re not even making music any more. There’s nothing like being able to sit there live and see Joe, seeing the drums, seeing the bass, being able to see Kevin. I can feel the vibrations, it changes the whole thing.”
“Kevin really gets that,” vervolgt ze “It works the best. In the old days, that’s how they did it; bad ass singers and bad ass musicians would have a couple of hours to get a whole record done.”
Bij de sessies werd iedereen zo veel mogelijk gestimuleerd. “They are always out of their comfort zone in the studio; this session especially wasn’t comfortable,” onthult Shirley. “This isn’t a summer in the grass session, just a couple of chords; this is people digging in. Everyone left feeling totally challenged, and at the end of the day, completely enthusiastic.”
