The Ballad of John Henry (album)

The Ballad of John Henry
Studio album by Joe Bonamassa
Released	February 24, 2009 (2009-02-24)
Genre	Blues rock
Length	64:23
Label	J&R Adventures
Producer	Kevin Shirley
Joe Bonamassa chronology
Live from Nowhere in Particular (2008) The Ballad of John Henry (2009) Live from the Royal Albert Hall (2009)

The Ballad of John Henry is the seventh studio album by the American blues rock musician Joe Bonamassa. Produced by Kevin Shirley, it was released on 24 February 2009 by J&R Adventures and topped the US Billboard Top Blues Albums chart.[1]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
PopMatters	(7/10) [3]

The music website Allmusic gave The Ballad of John Henry four out of five stars, with its reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine claiming that "everything that [Bonamassa]'s dabbled with on previous albums is pulled together here, making for his most varied album and possibly his best, even if that heaviness means that it's not necessarily the easiest to enjoy".[2]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Ballad of John Henry"	Joe Bonamassa, Mississippi John Hurt	6:26
2.	"Stop!" (Sam Brown cover)	Sam Brown, Gregg Sutton, Bruce Brody	6:48
3.	"Last Kiss"	Bonamassa	7:15
4.	"Jockey Full of Bourbon" (Tom Waits cover)	Tom Waits	5:22
5.	"Story of a Quarryman"	Bonamassa	4:59
6.	"Lonesome Road Blues"	Bonamassa	3:08
7.	"Happier Times"	Bonamassa	6:40
8.	"Feelin' Good" (Cy Grant cover)	Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley	4:44
9.	"Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter" (Ike & Tina Turner cover)	Aillene Bullock	5:00
10.	"The Great Flood"	Bonamassa	7:39
11.	"From the Valley"	Bonamassa	2:24
12.	"As the Crow Flies" (Tony Joe White cover)	Tony Joe White, Tennessee Swamp Fox	3:58

Personnel

Musical performers Joe Bonamassa – guitars, vocals, liner notes Rick Melick – keyboards, backing vocals Blondie Chaplin – rhythm guitar Carmine Rojas – bass guitar Anton Fig – drums Bogie Bowles – drums Lee Thornburg – brass instruments, brass arrangements David Woodford – saxophone

Production personnel Kevin Shirley – production, mixing Jared Kvitka – engineering Additional personnel Rob Shanahan – photography Dennis Friel – art direction, graphic design, illustrations Josh Smith – graphic design assistance Marcus Bird – photography and direction

Chart performance

Chart (2009)	Peak
US Billboard 200[4]	103
US Billboard Top Blues Albums[1]	1
US Billboard Independent Albums[5]	8
Dutch Albums Chart[6]	23
Swedish Albums Chart[7]	46
Swiss Albums Chart[8]	97
UK Albums Chart[9]	26

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[10]	Silver	60,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Blues Albums". Joe Bonamassa Album & Song Chart History. Billboard Music. Retrieved 10 January 2012. ^[dead link‍]
2. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Joe Bonamassa - The Ballad of John Henry". Allmusic. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
3. Heaney, C. T. (11 March 2009). "Joe Bonamassa: The Ballad of John Henry". PopMatters. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
4. "Joe Bonamassa Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
5. "Joe Bonamassa Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
6. "Discografie Joe Bonamassa". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
7. "Discography Joe Bonamassa". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
8. "Discography Joe Bonamassa". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
9. "The Official Charts Company - Joe Bonamassa". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
10. "British album certifications – Joe Bonamassa – The Ballad Of John Henry". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 December 2024.