The 43-year-old New York state guitarist was influenced early on by his father's vinyl collection, which included albums by Eric Clapton, Cream, the Jeff Beck Group and John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers. These British blues influences have shaped him and made him the musician he is today. "I must have been about 12 years old when I first heard this sound and was immediately captivated by it. This whole London adventure," admits Bonamassa, "was the fulfillment of a great desire The ten songs were written by Joe and some English music greats like former Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden, ex-Cream lyricist Pete Brown and pianist Jools Holland. "Writing the songs for this album in England was just right," reflects Bonamassa. "It sounds British by nature. Bernie and I, we finished each other's lines. We're cut from the same cloth. All you had to do was ask Bernie, 'What would the British do?' And he came in with all these chord changes and I just thought, 'Ah, this is the sound. You get all these typical tunes with that." For the recordings his longtime producer Kevin Shirley came to London, as well as his musicians Anton Fig (drums), Michael Rhodes (bass) and Reese Wynans (keyboard).