Rock’n’Roll: A Tribute To Chuck Berry
Ruf, 2019
9/10
Listen to Rock’n’Roll: A Tribute To Chuck Berry
A guitarist and singer-songwriter who has done just about everything you can do in a music career, Mike Zito takes on the always interesting tribute album here, as he puts his twist on tunes from the legendary Chuck Berry, where 21 guests are on hand.
“St. Louis Blues” starts the listen with that unmistakable guitar sound that Berry built his career on and that Zito replicates so well, as Charlie Berry III helps the key friendly, bouncy opener, and “Rock And Roll Music” follows as he does justice to the classic with strong rhythm where bright horns and female backing vocals from Joanna Connor add much to the setting.
With 20 tracks in attendance, each one is fantastic, but some of the best include the busy and meticulous “Back In The USA”, where Eric Gales lends a hand on the loud rocker, while the soulful and piano fueled “Too Much Monkey Business” benefits greatly from Luther Dickinson’s contributions.
The back half highlights include the cautious “Down Bound Train”, where atmosphere is an important part of the darker, mysterious mood, and the dance friendly, contagious fun of “Brown Eyed Handsome Man”. Probably one of the most playful, comical tunes ever, “My Ding a Ling” exits the listen and sounds like Zito and Kid Andersen had as a good time recording it as you will listening to it.
This is Zito’s 16th album, and like all of his earlier work, his esteemed guitar playing is top notch and his singing comes from the soul as the many players help add variety to the extremely well done tribute effort.
Travels well with: Bill Price- Dog Eat Dog; Jimmy Carpenter- Soul Doctor