Simon RushworthThe Sleep Eazys – Easy To Buy, Hard To Sell (Mascot)
The Sleep who?
Come on.
Wake up and smell the Bonamassa!
This is workaholic Joe’s latest project featuring his all-star backing band…
…and the vocals have been ditched for the time being, at least.
Hot damn! The Sleep Eazys don’t need a lead vocalist.
Words don’t matter when the tunes are this good.
Easy To Buy, Hard To Sell is a classic instrumental record.
And it’s all the better for it.
Listen to Bonamassa pluck away on the jazzy Move and it’s simply mind boggling.
But his mates bring just as much to the hippest party in town.
Legendary keys man Reese Wynans is in blistering form on opener Fun House.
And he’s ably supported by Paulie Cerra’s super-sweet sax.
The pacey Ace Of Spades (no, not that one) brings Anton Fig to the fore.
In tandem with Musician’s Hall Of Famer Michael Rhodes (bass), the ‘tight as a Yorkshireman’ percussionist lays an unbreakable foundation.
And it’s impossible to identify a weakness as Bonamassa’s latest tour de force soars.
A tribute to mentor Danny Gatton, this is no lame vanity project.
Easy To Buy, Hard To Sell serves to breathe new life into a slew of genre classics.
But the vibe is laid back jam rather than full-focus Bonamassa.
And that’s no bad thing.
Single Bond (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) bounces off a badass retro-fuelled riff.
Hawaiian Eye has its sights set on some sunlit, wave-kissed beach bar.
And a stunning version of the stone-cold classic It Was A Very Good Year flies in the face of 2020’s anus horribilis.
Listen out for harmonica hero Jimmy Hall’s star turn on Polk Salad Annie.
In fact, listen out for everything you can possibly soak up in one sitting.
But one word of warning – this is a record that demands some serious attention.
And as for sleeping easy?
No chance if you’ve got this glorious earworm in your head.
