Page 63 - BiTS_04_APRIL_2026

Rick Vito—Slidemaster—Mojo Records

Guitarist, singer and producer Rick Vito is perhaps best
known as a member of the legendary supergroup

Fleetwood Mac (1987-1991). His guitar work and songs
are featured on their albums, “Greatest Hits”, “Behind

The Mask”, “The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac”, “The
Chain”, and the live concert DVD, “Tango In The Night”.

Known for ihs beautifully controlled use of the slide, Vito

has gone whole hog here with a twelve track album of
blues music—with a touch of soul—all instrumentals. All of them feature his slide

work.

The album features some new pieces as well as re-mastered work from the past.
Rick’s last album “Cadillac Man” generated a great deal of airplay and praise for his
“expressive playing” and in one sense this could be said to be more of the same.

The new tracks, ‘Vegas Jump’ and ‘Soul Shadows’, are beautifully played and

somehow Vito (especially in the first one) makes his guitar sound like a ‘sacred steel’
lap or pedal steel, echoing Willie Eason, his nephew Aubrey Ghent or the better

known Robert Randolph.

I have no idea what guitars Vito used, suffice it to say that he is a designer of Art
Deco and Modernistic guitars and is the designer of the stunning “Rick Vito Soul

Agent” Signature model guitar (Reverend Guitars). This ‘two strings to his bow’ thing
enables him to put his skills as a luthier and his skills as a player firmly together.

The sound is magnificent.

We are treated to cracking arrangements of Peter Green’s ‘Albatross’ and ‘The
Supernatural’ as well as Sam Cooke’s, ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’. ‘Albatross’ was

brave choice, as it must be close to, if not the, best known slide piece in the world.
Nevertheless, Vito allows sufficient space for interpretation to make it his own.

The album finishes with an outstandingly beautiful version of ‘The Lord’s Prayer’.

Somehow he manages to make his guitar sing the words without the use of the
horrendous Vocoder.

I’m not sure this is for everyone, but for me, this is a lie-back-in-a-comfortable -chair,
-close-your-eyes-and-let-the-music-flow-over-you recording.

Well done Mr Vito!

Ian K McKenzie