#140 JOE BONAMASSA - At Maida Vale Studio (Flac)

Between 2006 and 2016, Joe Bonamassa was an annual guest on the Paul Jones Blues Show, broadcast by BBC Radio 2 FM (apart from 2012). Four sessions were recorded at the BBC’s Maida Vale studios in London during this time. These were split between two studio and two live in front of a small audience.

During the soundcheck for the 2010 live session at Maida Vale, Paul Jones interviewed Joe Bonamassa, and welcomed him back to the "scene of a previous triumph." It was a reference to Joe's second appearance on the show in 2008. That live session recorded in front of a small audience of about one hundred people, appeared on a Russian bootleg CD. 

Joe regales Paul Jones with the tale of how they were going to Russia for the first time, to play a couple of shows. On seeing this great theatre where they were scheduled to perform, Joe said, "This will be really terrible if only eighty people show up. Who knows us in Moscow? and apparently the guy, who was the biggest source of said bootlegs, had recommended us for this gig because our bootlegs were doing so well. We ended up selling the place out the first time, based on the strength of like, the Paul Jones show bootleg and a few albums that had the wrong covers and the wrong songs and stuff like that. So you go, well it's not so bad!"

This is the show that was bootlegged. There are numerous excellent high quality sounding officially released live shows on CD and DVD. In fact so many that in recommending a live show it was necessary to focus on something intimate and a bit different. 

I have selected this from the earlier formative years of Bonamassa's solo career. That this show helped him sell out a theatre on his first visit to Russia, is proof enough of its potency. Also included in the post is the first studio session at Maida Vale, broadcast in 2006. The final track has attracted the biggest ever response to a session performance on the Paul Jones' show.

Joe Bonamassa - At BBC Maida Vale Studio
BBC Radio 2 FM Broadcast - Feb 11, 2008

01. Bridge To Better Days (5:38)
02. So Many Roads (6:21)
03. [chat]    (5:13)
04. One Of These Days (5:57)
05. Sloe Gin (7:19)
06. [Question and Reply session] (7:12)
07. Woke Up Dreaming (4:11)
08. You Upset Me Baby (ft. Paul Jones) (5:06)
09. Just Got Paid (9:10)

Time: 56:13

LINK 1 

Joe Bonamassa - At BBC Maida Vale Studio
BBC Radio 2 FM Broadcast - Oct 19, 2006 (track 1 & 2) 
                                                 - Nov 23, 2006 (track 3)

01. Woke Up Dreaming (3:18)
02. Walk In My Shadow >
      So Many Roads >
      Bridge To Better Days (16:36)
03. Just Got Paid >
      Dazed & Confused instrumental section (9:46)

Time: 29:40

LINK 2