Mike Zito - Make Blues Not War (2016) [Official Digital Download]

St. Louis guitarist Mike Zito has made several acclaimed albums with his tight road band “The Wheel,” which run the gamut of rocking blues, honky tonk, boogie, introspective singer-songwriter, and good old rock & roll. For his latest effort ‘Make Blues Not War,’ set for a November 2016 release, Zito paired up with Nashville ace producer and drummer Tom Hambridge and his crew at Sound Stage Studios to make a straight ahead Blues Rock record and get the full music city star treatment. Without the burden of sharing the spotlight with his sidemen Zito has built a very guitar centric album full of tasty fret work.

The 11 new tunes kick off with a classic low down blues “Bad News Is Comin’,” a tale of hard times and regret with Zito preaching the blues with his pleading vocals and ripping leads over mournful piano and Hammond B3 underpinnings. “Chip Off The Block,” was written about his oldest son, Zach Zito, who is the featured guitarist on this fun loving father and son celebration, and superb introduction of the next generation blues man. The frantic six-string showboating and hyper drive boogie beat of “Crazy Legs,” could have been lifted from the Jeff Beck Group catalog. Zito’s vaunted slide playing sweetens up the punch-drunk love song “Girl Back Home.” Zito delivers the bump and grind on the greasy title track “Make Blues Not War,” making a sly political statement “That the Blues is good for you,” veiled in a plea to a lover sent out to a troubled world. He gives us quite a collection of traveling songs beginning with the southern rock boogie ‘One More Train To Ride,’ then a clavinet infused funk burner with “On The Road,” a slow grooving portrait of an apologetic working man “Road Dog,” and the glorious barrelhouse road map stomper “Route 90.” Songs of the road are certainly in Zito’s wheelhouse since he and his guitar have been working the road for going on three decades.