MIKE ZITO Source: Virus de Blues Date: 10/2009 Writer: René Malines

Second album after Mike Zito Today on the Californian label for this young man, and one must confess, despite this reviewer's lack of interest for anything blues-rock, it's a rather nice surprise.

Good singer with a voice full of growl, this guy also is, of course, first of all a guitar player, just as any other blues-rocker. But, and this is where the surprise resides, his soli, if often firy as it's mandatory in that style, are far from being futiles or simply talkative with no real musical idea. In other words, guitar wise, Mike Zito has things to say and he does say them. Gifted with pretty nice fingering, he doesn't just show off his technic.

On the contrary, he puts it at the service of a coherent musical speech where imagination and good taste are honored. Even better, not only is Zito a better guitar player than what the genre has us used to, he also knows how to write swell little songs in different enough styles that it keeps the listening interest up all through the CD. He wrote nine out of thirteen of the tunes presented here, among which the title track benefited the help of his guest Cyril Neville on both vocals and writing. Other guests are Susan Cowsill, vocals on Shoes Blues, Anders Osborne, vocals and acoustic guitar on One Step At A Time, Lynwood Slim, harmonica on Last Night, Jumpin' Johnny Sansone, accordion on Dead Of The Night, an of course Randy Chortkoff on harp on Born Blind.

But dont let the words above frighten anti blues-rock readers: this is often closer to Tinsey Ellis' best than to Gary Moore, or Popa Chubby. And when he doesn't color his blues with a touch of funk ala Albert Collins, just to make you shake a tailfeather a little, Zito stretches as far as venturing into non blues territory without ever losing the listener in the process. No, Mike Zito succeeds in making a very good album that, if it does wonder away from the Mississippi banks, still makes for an excellent moment of today's music.