SEAN COSTELLO Source: KRFC / Fort Collins Date: 02/2008 Writer: Jeff Koepke

One of the young lions of the blues guitar, Costello was still in high school when his lead work on Susan Tedeschi’s award-winning 1997 release “Just Won’t Burn” introduced him to the public.  He’s spent the past ten years playing with just about everybody in the biz and trying to develop his own sound.  I applaud him for taking to heart the lesson that a guitarist doesn’t need to shred in order to burn.  Costello credits Texas guitarist Felix Reyes for that bit of wisdom.  Other mentors include Ronnie Earl and Levon Helm, though it sounds to me like Costello’s incorporating more soul and funk elements in this recording.  I think Costello is still developing and that his best is yet to come, but he’s light years ahead of his peers; Costello wrote 10 of the 11 tracks, and most are decent songs instead of overly clichéd pablum.  While there are still snarling electric blues licks, they are subservient to the song instead of the other way around.  I liked tracks #4 (love the sousaphone, the interesting percussion, and the vocal harmony on the chorus), #5 (churning blues / rock), #6 (hard blues shuffle).  #3 and #9 reflect the soul influence.