Black Country Communion was—is—our next Led Zeppelin. Decades down the line, the band’s three records will be reissued, celebrated, there will be a book or two on the band, a documentary, and Bonzo The Second, Glenn, Derek and “throw it all away” Joe will take their rightly, thronely perch along with others overlooked and then gradually emboldened sleeping giants/rekkids like Nick Drake, Vashti Bunyan, Montrose, Rodriguez, Oar, The Ghost, Pentagram, Big Star, Pet Sounds, that Dennis Wilson album, and one that is mostly of my incessant raving, the torrid second Ram Jam record, Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Ram.

Glenn Hughes may or may not overtly know or think that, but he’s smart enough to feel it in his bones. And so he’s found a way to try top BCC, with a killer first salvo, a self-titled record from the newly-minted California Breed, which finds the man howling epically in power trio format with young new guitarist Andrew Watt and the best drummer on the planet living or dead, Jason Bonham, atomic clock for the Zeppelin of ’07 and the Zeppelin of ’10 to ’13.

California Breed plays not the flurry of notes that Black Country did, but it’s still fully vaulted of greatness towards a Led Zep-type of orbit, and, as I mentioned to Glenn, it’s reminiscent of a band called Collision, two records for Sony in ’92 and ’95, a self-titled and one called Coarse—bassy, boomy, open of architecture, organic, fully within the spirit of the power trio.

“I’m all ears,” says Glenn, and sounding like the documented music fanatic that means it, although I know not to dwell and we move on quickly. So please, now in your words, contrast California Breed with Black Country for us; set the stage...

“Good start, good start. For me, after Black Country, as you know, Martin, you know me pretty well, I never repeat myself. Throughout my career or kind of the bands and records I’ve been in... although it is rock. It is rock. Once I firmly planted the seed with Black Country four years ago, I decided, you know something? I really do enjoy the rock side of my game, although I love all kinds of music. But you know, the genre which is rock for me, really made a poignant stance with Black Country. The flag was planted, if you will. And everybody welcomed me back. All the critics and fans. So when we broke up, people would’ve thought, oh, is Glenn going back to solo, what’s he going to do? What kind of music is he going to make? Well, it’s very firmly planted in my brain I was going to form a new band. And Jason was going to be in the band. But who was going to play guitar or keyboards? Well, let’s have no keyboards, because although I am the singer of Black Country and Jason is the drummer, we didn’t want to sound like… Like, we chose a different producer, engineer, the guys that mixed it. We wanted it to be a trio.”

But so much of the steamroll and roil of the thing comes out of the sizzle of the production of the record’s 12 tracks as well, another clear break from Black Country and that band’s need to sit on a bed of conservative, no-noise production values. Not so necessary with no keyboardist and a bulldozer for an axeman in Andrew.

“Here’s what I wanted to do in the band, and here’s why we chose David Cobb,” explains Hughes. “I’ve been into Cobb for quite some time, and I know all about Dave. And he was the guy to steer the ship. It also allowed us to actually be ourselves. He’s a firm believer in the kind of music that we were making. I played him stuff over the phone and he was really eager. Jason and I were really into having him, and then of course we got Andrew in, and we got him involved, getting to know who Dave Cobb is. Look man, a producer of a record is extremely important—extremely important. And the gloves were off with Dave. He had no fear. And he allowed us to be ourselves, in the realm of the appropriate style that we wanted to be, due to the fact that it’s a groovier sound and arrangements than Black Country. But again, Martin, we didn’t want to sound like Black Country. Although it’s two of... half the band is here, you know, in this band. So Cobb was the perfect tool for me. And remember, I don’t think you know this, we recorded this onto two-inch analog tape. Vocals were done completely live. First time I’d ever, in 45 years, first time I’ve ever done an album, tip to toe, live vocal. And the same goes for drums too, and guitar, and I overdubbed the bass. And so it’s a glorious feeling.”
“You know, let’s talk about left-handed,” says Glenn, subject turning to the band’s unknown weapon of a guitarist Andrew Watt. “Look, there’s the left-handed dudes, the hammer-on guys, Eddie, great guitar player, good friend of mine. The Yngwies, the ‘80s sort of left-handed hammer-on stuff. Well, I’m before... I’m a retro, I’m actually retro. Not trying to be—I’m a retro guy from the ‘60s. So I grew up with Clapton and Beck and Blackmore. You know, and Iommi. I would consider them to be—like Keith Richards, Angus Young—right-handed sort of chunk guitar players. And I haven’t been in a band like that since Trapeze, long time ago. And it just so happens, when I met Andrew—I really believe in karma and fate—when I met him, and he came to my house and we played, and I listened to the way he wrote and we played, I’m going, this is ridiculously the right thing for us to do. You know, we don’t have to have anyone sound like Joe Bonamassa, and let’s take the keyboards out, and let’s go back organically to the late ‘60s, like really bass, drums and guitar. Let’s pump it up; let’s distort it a little bit, and let’s get aggressive. Let’s get really organic, and let’s go to two-inch tape. And we just did exactly what we wanted. And Dave Cobb was completely… He was the fifth Beatle, if you will. Dave is, in my opinion, one of the greatest rock producers today, Dave Cobb. Fully, fully committed, really musical dude. And a great guy to work with.”

So the guitarists can listen for Andrew’s texture and power, production fans, Cobb’s electricity of boom room, vocalists... well, that’s a clinic right there. But man, after grooving to California Breed on all those levels, to these ears, this is a gorgeous drumming record. Duly noted, as Hughes bubbles o’er Bonham that, “Between you and I, and he might’ve said this to the press, that he believes that this recording is his finest work. Well I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you from me to you and the fans, this is the best. And this is a really respectful thing, because Jason’s dad was a really good friend of mine, really close. Jason can now hang his hat next to his father’s, because this is a really tremendously Bonham Jr. recording. Tremendous recording. Absolutely phenomenal from the get-go, man. From the get-go, on the way, all the way to ‘Breathe.’ It’s astronomical.”

“I’ve been a fan and a friend of Jason since 19... well, since he was in diapers,” continues Glenn. “I’ve watched him... I mean, I was at the Song Remains The Same premiere in Birmingham in... ’76? And Jason, I think he was ten, playing... I saw him playing, like in the bar that night, after the premiere afterwards. And I’m going, Jesus, this guy’s good. I remember Jason playing when he was three years old at his dad’s house. He was playing when he was three years old! But you see, Jason, a sober man, got his life sorted out, his dad’s a famous drummer, probably the greatest... in fact, the greatest rock drummer of all time. It’s really hard for Jason, to make a name for himself with that name. You know, and with Black Country, it signalled the birth of the new Jason. I think Celebration Day really, really helped him as well, because Jimmy was really happy with Jason’s playing on that, and Robert and John Paul. All spoke highly of him on that, so...”

So, indeed. And as for the messaging within Glenn’s California Breed musings... “As always the same, Martin. As I’ve told you before, I never sing about fairies and goblins. Singing about the human condition, lust, anger, pride, jealousy, distrust. You know, just, hurt, celebration, death, near-death. I’m striking things that will affect. Anyone that listens and reads lyrics, I’m really talking about shit that is happening to us, people! You know, I don’t write… See, I’m not believable singing about Tolkien or King Arthur. You know, there’s a lot of other singers that do that really well. But I’m a singer that sings about the human condition. In ‘All Falls Down’ I’m singing about one of the darkest moments in my life where I almost died. I was there in the hospital, my friends are all around my bed, I’m singing about it. So on the album, I’m really singing about stuff that goes on, you know, within the band, especially with me, with what I’ve been through.”

“God gave me this gift to write music, and to record,” reflects rightly Glenn, in closing. “And the greatest achievement after that, Martin, for me, is to bring it back to the fans. And we are going to go on tour and we’re going to play all this record. We’re gonna play it from start to finish. You know, why would I want to go out and play like a bunch of like cover songs? We really believe in this project, we believe in this record. This isn’t like eight tracks and four filler songs. It’s like... that’s the way some people used to make their albums, with fillers or ‘deep tracks.’ We believe every track on this record is playable and it’s listenable, and it needs to be promoted. And you’re speaking to a guy that is probably the most grateful guy you’ll interview this year—because it wasn’t that difficult after Black Country to do this. It was, what am I gonna do? Go home and watch TV? No.”