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something new to it by incorporating other blues elements and also humour, plus all the players
involved are masters of their craft.

Graham Harrison

Mike Zito Albert Castiglia—Blood Brothers—Gulf Coast
Records ASIN : ‎0BRNRT7CH

This record is released on Mike Zito’s own Gulf Coast Records and
features both him and Albert Castiglia on guitars and vocals. It is
produced by two other guitarists: Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith.
It follows on from Zito and Castiglia’s ‘Blues Brothers’ gigs in 2022
and we blast off with the rocker ‘Hey Sweet Mama’ but Zito’s ‘In
My Soul’ is poignant southern rock with Mike singing and Albert
providing rasping lead guitar. ‘Tooth and Nail’ by Tinsley Ellis is
a mid-tempo blues with unison lead guitar à la the Allman Brothers
and ‘Fool Never Learns’ is a classy blues with restrained brass and
nice lead guitar, while ‘A Thousand Heartaches’ is a ballad with Albert on vocals and Mr.
Bonamassa adding a thoughtful, melodic guitar solo.

John Hiatt’s ‘My Business’ has Mike and Albert sharing the vocals and Mike playing slide guitar,
‘You’re Gonna Burn’ and ‘Bag Me, Tag Me’ both have Albert on vocals with the former being a
powerful slow blues with blistering lead guitar and the latter being another Chuck Berry-style
rocker. Mike is back at the mic for ‘No Good Woman’ with its Albert King-style guitar solo and
‘Hill Country Blues’ is a seven-minute instrumental with unison playing but also solo spots from
both men. We bow out with a muscular take on JJ Cale’s ‘One Step Ahead of the Blues’. As good
as Mike and Albert are out front on guitars and vocals the band here also play their part, they

are from Mike’s touring band Lewis Stephens (keyboards), Doug Byrkit (bass) and Matt Johnson
(drums) and from Albert’s band Ephraim Lowell (drums). I’m not a big fan of blues rock but
Mike Zito does it better than most and this album with Albert has variety but still has that grit
and drive of real blues, plus Joe and Josh’s production could have resulted in an indulgent
guitar-heavy set but instead what we have is an album that puts emphasis on the songs – albeit
with a few lead guitar solos included.

Graham Harrison

Van Morrison—Moving On Skiffle—Exile Records ASIN :
B0BK4QPT1X

The title of this new album from Mr. Morrison is very apposite –
this is an album of skiffle songs but Van doesn’t try to do them in
the style of Lonnie Donegan (after all he’s already done that), this
time he’s “moved on” and does them in his own unique style, that
mix of blues, jazz, rock, C&W and ‘Oirish’. His band comprises
Richard Dunn (keyboards), Dave Keary (guitar), Pete Hurley
(bass), Colin Griffin (drums) and Alan ‘Sticky’ Wicket (washboard)
and they similarly treat the songs with great respect but bring a
level of skill and professionalism that was never there in the
original 50’s skiffle. Even Van’s own sax and harmonica playing sounds very good in this context
and his singing is also first class, he sings the songs straight without some of the vocal gymnastics
he sometimes employs. All the skiffle classics are here ‘Freight Train’, ‘Careless Love’, ‘Take This
Hammer’, ‘Worried Life Blues’, ‘Cotton Fields’ etc. etc. - that classic mix of Leadbelly songs, blues,
folk and C&W.