As I write this review, it is the 25th of November, which means it is officially one month until Christmas and, despite objections from the Moshville Times editors, it is time for some Christmas reviews.
There are many indications that Christmas is approaching: Christmas tat in the shops; Christmas lights in the town centre and a Christmas song from Joe Bonamassa! Releasing a Christmas song is a tradition that Mr Bonamassa has kept for a good few years now and his latest offering is Lonely Christmas Eve. (About ten years ago, he released “Lonesome Christmas” and I am hoping that in ten years time he either releases “Boxing Day Blues” or “12 Lonely Days of Christmas”!)
How does this latest release hold up? A Christmas classic or a Christmas clanger? The song starts with the singer’s regret that the person he’d hoped to be under the mistletoe with is not coming over. As he sits down with a whiskey (or two) to drown his sorrows, he hears from some old friends that they are coming over to have a party. Now if I was the singer in this song, I’d be in full panic mode about the imminent arrival of a bucket-load of friends! I’ve got no food in the house, the kitchen’s a mess and I’m far from being in a party mood. Mr Bonamassa, on the other hand, seems happy to welcome this crowd of Christmas freeloaders and declares that it is not going to be a lonely Christmas Eve after all. He is even cheered up enough to dig out his old sled and go for a ride. (Not sure what his friends are doing while he is off having fun in the snow. My guess is that they are finishing his whiskey!)
If you like what we do, consider joining us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
The feel of the song does remain downbeat, despite the arrival of his friends, but it is unmistakably Bonamassa and it will easily fit into my (ever growing) Christmas playlist. I have said before that his vocals seem to be better than ever these days. His soulful approach to this song and its subject matter is perfect and, as ever, his guitar playing is on Santa’s “Nice List”. If you remain unconvinced, watch the video at the end of this review and decide for yourself if you want to wallow in a lonesome Christmas under a redundant sprig of mistletoe, or party with friends and family with sledging to follow. Me, I’m going for the latter option.
Don’t fancy Patreon? Buy us a one-off beverage!
Lonely Christmas Eve was released in the middle of November. This song, along with fourteen previously released Christmas tunes, can be downloaded from Joe’s website free of charge!
Joe Bonamassa: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | spotify | youtube
