–Metronome
Release Date: 22 September 2009
Genre: Rock / Pop / Blues
Publisher: (C) Eclecto Groove Records Inc./Delta Groove Music, Inc.
Label: Eclecto Groove Records Inc./Delta Groove Music, Inc.
Time: 55m 45s
Review Date:23-September-2009
Format: CD
JivePK™: http://jivepk.jivewired.com/mikezito
Click image to purchase from Amazon
Track Listing:
01. Dirty Blonde 3:36
02. Pearl River (w/ Cyril Neville) 4:53
03. Big Mouth 4:08
04. Change My Ways 5:14
05. Eyesight To The Blind 3:21
06. One Step At A Time (w/ Anders Osborne) 3:37
07. 39 Days 4:07
08. Shoes Blues (w/Susan Cowsill) 3:24
09. The Dead Of The Night 4:05
10. Sugar Sweet 3:29
11. Natural Born Lobe 5:29
12. All Last Night 5:26
13. C'mon Baby 4:56
Review:
An entertaining mix of rootsy originals, Pearl River is an intricate suffuse of Delta blues, Southern-fried country funk, and roots-rock. Mike Zito is a gifted vocalist and an accomplished song writer, belting out a bevy of bluesier numbers with passion and finesse emphasizing full, throaty vocals. Zito draws influences and inspiration from the likes of Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Many of the songs propound on standard blues imagery, but Zito offers glimpses of hope through change, self-realization, even salvation. What makes Pearl River special is Zito's ability to convey those emotions musically as well as lyrically.
This album features a song that could well be the independent blues & roots song of the year. The title song, Pearl River is a fiery composite of delta blues and roots music. Featuring Cyril Neville on vocal accompaniment (he also co-wrote the song), Pearl River is a bayou-bluesy, dusty road eulogy with an emphatic gospel feel. Zito is at his gritty best vocally and Neville is absolutely regal. Reese Wynans' sublimely fervent keyboards marinate well with Zito's guitar solos and impassioned vocals. Pearl River will likely spawn a blues/country/rock crossover hit for Zito.
One Step At A Time is the first single release from Pearl River and features Anders Osborne on acoustic guitar and accompanying vocals. Here Zito is at his soulful best, raising his stock as a singer/songwriter. Expressive and lively, there is a timelessness to this song; it feels like a standard. Alternating with him on lead vocals, Osborne offers a more casual style that makes a nice contrast to Zito's intensity and their harmonies are flawless. You'll find One Step At A Time impossible to forget.
Shoes Blues has a funky 1960's Memphis revivalist feel that is deep, raw and reminiscent of the legendary Stax Records signature sound. Here Zito performs a duet with Susan Cowsill (of The Cowsills fame). The vocal interplay works well; Cowsill offers heart-felt, country-accented vocals that perfectly underscore Zito's resonant sound, and again, the interplay between Wynans on keys and Zito on guitar is magical.
Other standout tracks include Dirty Blond and Natural Born Lover, both relentless, Texas-blues rave-ups that are roaring and impassioned tributes to some of the most vital, influential, and yet often unheralded figures in blues/rock, such as Jimmie Vaughan, Doyle Bramhill, C.C. Adcock and Guitar Slim. All Last Night is an unrestrained and vehement blues jam that will melt your CD player.
After four independent releases and his 2008 national debut with Today, Mike Zito is about to embark into somewhat epic territory as Pearl River will surely garner national mainstream and blues/country/roots crossover accolades. Produced by David Z. (Prince, Buddy Guy, Etta James, Jonny Lang) and joined by a handful of guests, including Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, Reese Wynans and Susan Cowsill, Pearl River is Mike Zito's most accomplished work to date. This five-star release comes with our highest recommendation.
--Michael Canter Jivewired.com
About Mike Zito:
Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, Zito was immersed in the gritty sounds of the south side that would unknowingly become the groundwork of his future in music. Like the legends before him, music has coursed through his veins from the early age of five, when he began singing and performing. It didn’t take long for him to discover his instrument of choice – electric guitar – after receiving a Van Halen record for his birthday. His education and journey were just starting – little did he know he would find himself among such legends at a local guitar shop just out of high school. “Everyone from Chuck Berry to Bennie Smith came in that store,” Zito shares of his experience. “I soaked up the sounds of that store and began building my own style.”
Zito’s journey took off at the age of 19, when he busted into the local St. Louis music scene, developing his sound even further from the stage. His first independent release arrived in 1996, titled “Blue Room” which included raw and funky songs “Hollywood” and “Pull the Trigger”. His songwriting experience would break through on his sophomore release titled “America’s Most Wanted” in 1999. This album shares his pop sensibilities and intense guitar work. "Crazy People", "Deal Me In" and his own rendition of Elton John’s "Rocket Man" all set the pace to bring him into a national audience.
With a clean slate and real world experiences to include in his songwriting, Zito released “Slow it Down” in 2004. Including songs like “Long Dark Road,” “Change My Ways” and the title track, “Slow it Down” Zito share what life experiences had taught him. He formed a new solid band and began again playing full-time across the country with over 250 shows in 2005. “Music can change everything…how you feel, how you see and what you believe,” Zito explains.
He would find his true sound from all his experiences, new and old, and release his fourth album, “Superman” in 2006. Touted as “Soulful pop ” critics would pen it as Zito’s sound with his voice and vocals rising above the music. His formative influences blend with additional musical heroes and legends such as Prince, Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, SRV, Walter Trout, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Danny Gatton, and even rising artists like John Mayer. His journey has lead him to a critical point in his life and career to a larger audience and sharing the stage with national recording artists such as Chuck Berry, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Tab Benoit, Walter Trout, Bernard Allison, Coco Montoya, Joe Bonamassa and many more. In 2007, Zito’s path crossed with Randy Chortkoff of Delta Groove Music. Within months he penned a deal and gained full support with Chortkoff’s label which later unveiled his national debut album “Today” on Eclecto Groove Records in 2008. Boasting top notch production values under the guidance of producers David Z and Tony Braunagel, along with assistance from a team of world class musicians that included keyboardist Bentmont Tench and bassist James “Hutch” Hutchinson, Zito realized his most satisfying and accomplished work to date. “Today” garnered high praise and critical acclaim for Zito’s strengthened focus on songwriting, and his resulting efforts landed the album on the Billboard blues charts for six weeks, in addition to daily rotation on Sirius Satellite radio.
“Pearl River” followed in 2009, bringing Zito’s guitar back to the forefront, while still maintaining an emphasis on his affective songwriting. The result was a rollicking slice of Americana served up with heaping slabs of greasy New Orleans funk, gritty blues and good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. The album was additionally bolstered by an all-star cast that featured Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, Reese Wynans, Susan Cowsill, Lynwood Slim and Jumpin’ Johnny Sansone. His collaboration with Cyril Neville on the album’s title track “Pearl River,” nabbed him a 2010 Blues Music Award for Song of the Year.
His latest release “Greyhound”- produced by Grammy-Award winning guitarist/singer/songwriter Anders Osborne - is the continuation of the songwriting process established by Zito on his two previous and critically acclaimed recordings on Eclecto Groove Records. His music still retains its bluesy Americana charm while also emphasizing that dusty, big wide-open Texas sound. Here, we find Zito exploring more personal and introspective themes; inspired by the Greyhound bus that helped carry him on his way out of town as a young man, ultimately steering him onto his current pathway and direction in life.
