MIKE ZITO "PEARL RIVER Source: Sonic Boomers Date: 12/2009 Writer: Bill Bentley

The musicians who know how to take things to the river are the ones to keep your ears on. Mike Zito’s sophomore album has an edge to it not many blues-based players know how to find. He uses the Fender Stratocaster like a knife, carving out guitar solos like someone who knows their way around the rough side, and has decided to search for the hard beauty living there. He never tries to use notes to impress; instead Zito stands square on the mark and gets down to business. There are plenty of scars on these songs, from the title-track “Pearl River” co-written with Cyril Neville, to the chilling “The Dead of Night.” He has picked players who believe in these minimalist maneuvers, so there are no cross-purposes. Everyone finds the groove right away, works it until it gets white hot and then still doesn’t stop.

Is Mike Zito possessed? Absolutely. He believes in the power of the blues to make people shimmy and sweat, all the time showing the truth inside the songs. A native of St. Louis, he lives on the road now, more or less, and you can hear it in his voice. There is a weariness that comes from life’s knocks, but there is also a beautiful belief that shines through to show us that place where hope lives. Like his debut album Today, Pearl River is a promise fulfilled. It evokes the soul of John Mayall’s early records, when he had guitar players like Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor frying the fretboard without resorting to tricks. These are the guitarists that give the instrument a good name, and keep us believing in the strength of the blues to slip us salvation when we need it most. Listen to these lessons and learn.