Black Country Communion V Review: Joe Bonamassa's Tribute to Paul Kossoff? | Funky, Soulful Rock 

A band with nothing to prove letting themselves just enjoy their history which is ingrained into the DNA of Rock music, I think they feel so at ease with each other that the Egos are left at the door, this is a fantastic addition to their catalogue, nice review Phil!🔊🎶

Great album and review ,thank you ❣️ Greetings from Bavaria ❤🔥 ✨ 🎶

Hey Phil, great review. Although I agree there is a little Zep influence here, I think it’s more Purple led by Glenn. Don’t forget Glenn has been touring the Purple stuff now for the last 18 months, so I think there is a definite Stormbringer/Come taste the band influence, and the funkiness is reminiscent of Trapeze. Some of the keyboards are very reminiscent of Jon Lord, Derek does a great job on these tracks, totally agree. I noted that DS has done some work with DC refreshing some of the old Whitesnake tracks for the remixes of old Lord or Airey work and DC was blown away. My fav track here is Love & Faith , wow, brought tears to my eyes how good this track is 😅

It was actually The KLF who first called Glenn Hughes ''The Voice of Rock', on the 1992 single "America: What Time Is Love?".

Spot on review Phil - tbh I was expecting the GH show but no - I find it’s a pure BAND album - sort of confirmed where you are coming from regards Dereks contribution - now bring on the tour 🎸

I bought this record at my local record store (yes, they're still around), purely on the basis of your review Phil. I listened to it 3 times now. It's very good. Glad you convinced me. Some minor gripes, but I will not repeat what others have commented upon here. The cover though I do not like at all. It, looks like something Starship, Boston and Journey would have come up with. Not Hugh Syme's best by a (black) country mile.

Phil , I’m not sure how to articulate this so bear with me… The solo in the open road moved me to tears , I was 20 when the first BCC album came out , me and my friends went to see them at wolves civic that year. Their first ever full proper gig as a band , amazing Memory. The next time I saw them was London 2018… with the same friends except we were a man down , we lost our mate Chris in 2013 at age 23. When that solo played on the last track on possibly the last album it brought those memories back of being with my mate Chris at wolves civic in 2010. Being excited about the band together , we thought we were grown up but we were just kids …. As I hear this new album I am about to become a father , a powerful reminder that I’m not the kid now, I miss my mate , BCC may be coming to an end. That solo was the end of a chapter of my life . All this flooded to me as I listened …. I really hope to see this band one more time before they call it a day. I heard Joe said they are looking at the end of the year . Hopefully they do and we can all celebrate one last time. Thanks for the review as always

This is why I love this channel. An in-depth review, done from the heart. I think the album is really good. I just hope they can work something out with regards to some live dates.

Great Review Phil. The album is great however, I am not sure why BCC decided to add three live tracks from 2018 on the vinyl version but not the cd? This also happened on the previous album where they added one extra track With You I Go; on the vinyl, but not on the cd?

The album reminds me alot of BCC '2' (which i consider their best) almost like the band made a conscious effort to return to that formula. There's plenty of hard hitting riffs and power chords spread throughout the album like there was in '2'.

Another great review, thanks phil!

I’m so impressed and moved by your review, Phil! Thank you! Such a brilliant album! 🧡🎶🍀🌷🎶🧡

I think I remember seeing Joe Bonamassa sitting down and playing Kossoff's guitar. He might even own it. But I believe Joe has a warm affection for Kossoff's soulful playing and also enjoys hearing the band Free. Forgive me if I'm wrong about any of it. I love Joe's playing and Kossoff as well. Btw, thank you for the great review. I can't wait to get my copy.

Thanks for the review. JB is amazing. I’ve seen him twice in concert and as good as he is recorded, his playing live is as good as it gets. Rock on!

Mine should be arriving any day now...cannot wait to hear it, especially after your fantastic review, Phil. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll do some extensive touring behind this one, as I haven't had the opportunity to see them live.

Joe is also in a funk band and Kossoff tremdous influence on Joe. I had preordered and started listening to it as soon as it dropped. I have been playing it on repeat ever since. I'm a kid from the 70s and finding Joe a few years ago gave me back the sounds I love. Then I became aware of his collabs with others and fell in love with BCC as well. It's funny, I've been listening to music since I was born into a family already stepped in everything from raw bluegrass to Deep Purple, ZZTop, Alman Brothers, Free etc. My Dad played and my Brother was in a band (had a beautiful 74 Les Paul like Rhodes). I love music but I never draw the "sounds like this" references. Nothing wrong with it but I just enjoy in the moment what I hear. It just either moves me or it doesn't. I love this album. Thank you for the review! ❤

Phil, While listening to your review here, I found this album on RU-vid, I would stop your review after each song mentioned, and give a quick listen on RU-vid to each song. You are spot on with your comments, and I will be purchasing this album on Amazon. Thanks for the review and good day from the U.S.A.

Nice review Phil.

Great review, Phil! You pretty much echoed my thoughts exactly. Cheers from Toronto.

Great review! I got it last week but haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet. Sounds like it could be my favorite of the 5 albums!

I take it back. I was clearly not paying attention to Joe's vocals in Love and Faith. Went back to IV and had to remind myself too how amazing The Last Song for My Resting Place is. Can't believe it's taken 7 years since the previous record. Time flies indeed! Long may the BCC freak flag continue to fly! Would love to see them again (first time was at the 2011 High Voltage Festival in Hackney).

You are so right about this album Phil! Especially when it comes to the last song, because I thought the exact same thing. But opposite to you, I actually liked the album immediately, furthermore; I preferred this album the most in their catalogue, due to this is suddenly the least flashy of them.

V Is on order I'm looking forward to hearing it! I suppose after a long gap it's going to sound a little different! Great review Phil I agree about the musicians fantastic line up!

Great review as always thank you.

good album....bought it the other day.... no filler....all solid tracks.... the purple/zeppelin cross over....

Good review Phil..I agree that first listen,it sounds much of the same..but further listens reveals a whole lot more..it will probably be their best

You're Not Alone is my favorite track so soulful vocals from Glenn.You know your Zeppelin and Free as Martin Popoff used to say.I am looking forward to the Review from Pete.But he can cancel it and link to yours.Absolute on Point.Respect !

Which is your favorite album by Black Country Communion? Black Country Communion (2010) Black Country Communion 2 (2011) Afterglow (2012) BCCIV (2017) V (2024)

Good stuff Phil. Ambled on down to my local HMV to get this last week. Really like it. I have to admit that anything featuring Glen Hughes prompts a musical purchase for me. Does anyone else have the nifty ten track BCC set given away by Classic Rock in 2017? My copy lives in my car.

Restraint is a word I am happy to hear about this album, which I looked at today and considered purchasing...but put it back in the rack. Because as much as I love Glenn Hughes from his time in Trapeze and Purple, everything else aside from 'Play Me Out', 'Hughes-Thrall' and 'Burning Japan Live' ,has been real hit and miss for me. A lot of weak material - mostly filler, occasionally killer - coupled with the absence of a producer to keep him under control (i.e., insist on restraint) means Glenn played his ace in every tune and thus overplayed his hand long ago. Accusations of 'caterwauling' vocals, something he has acknowledged, have been valid. Cut the screaming to once a night and it will be a highlight. Screaming in ever tune doesn't impress anyone, even a serious fan like me. As Frank Zappa implied with 'Shut Up and Play Your Guitar', Glenn needs to shut up and sing. When the first BCC album failed to impress me, I gave up. Online videos did nothing to change my mind. However, your review (which I value as we are both Trapeze fans and you love 'Burn') has prompted me to go have another listen, which I will do tomorrow. I want to like what I hear. But that comes down to Glenn. Joe is great but is the sum of his inspiratons; Derek Sherinian is excellent but as you note, is in more of a supporting role (great to hear he's on Hammond) and John Bonham is, well, a Bonham. The correlation with Led Zeppelin doesn't thrill me, though with the right tune and Glenn respecting the music and the istener the band might be onto sommething better and more musically successful. Maybe they're learned from all those previous reviews.

Easy 4.5/5 for me. Probably their best. How does Glenn sound so amazing after all these years? Other than Love & Faith all the tracks are stellar. How are these guys not played in classic rock right now?

Sounds promising, I've got the other four albums, all of which have some great stuff on them. So looking forward to getting my hands on this one.

Definitely enjoying the new BCC V CD. I’ve only listened to it twice through and like all the others it’s a good album. At this time I would rank it third or fourth in their catalogue. But again not a bad album in the bunch.

I think it's a 5-star masterpiece Love music Love the artwork> it definitely will be in top 10 for 2024.

Glenn Hughes elongated vocal at the end of each 'sentence' is little annoying. For me a good album but not sure if it will be a highlight.

Absolutely Mr Big, a great review 👍🎸

I'm not so keen on the artwork, and it seems at odds with the style of the artwork on the other albums.

I've listened to the album twice, and will give it another listen, but I think it’s a bit of a let down. I do like the bit of funk they have added and I like that Sherinian gets more shine on the album and I love his hammond playing on Love & Faith - bit of Uriah Heep - July Morning-ish on the intro. But firstly, I find the production incredibly dull and flat. The Zeppelin overtones are a bit too much for me as well. The songs also sound quite derivative and predictable, almost as if they’ve all been played in the same key. There's a monotonous tone to the whole album. Hughes, while amazing for his age, or any age for that matter, is sometimes unintelligible and the overuse of delay doesn't help that. And he’s never had the best diction anyway. Hughes vocal delivery does become a bit tiresome on the ear after a while, I found. Bonham sounds great, and so does Bonamassa, especially on Open Road as you pointed out, Phil. But I feel he is holding back a little too much at times across the rest of the album. That competitive nature they had on the first album I think is what created such a great record. Like Blackmore said “friction can create great music.” And that definitely worked for those earlier records. But i’m looking forward to give it another listen.

I think this is an excellent album but would have liked more of Joe’s vocals. Is it just me Glenn’s voice is amazing preferred his vocals in Deep Purple over Coverdales , and here comes the however, I can only take so much of his voice, certainly not a full album worth I also really hate the funky/ soul stuff. Or the mimicking of Stevie Wonder

Nice review. I’d recommend the vinyl version as it has 3 live bonus tracks from 2018! V is a fine album. Great band

In my opinion Phil their best album

I bought the vinyl.Their best album so far for me.

Album hasn't blown me away, find Glenn's delivery somewhat irritating. Will keep trying.