Mike Zito and The Wheel
Album: Songs From The Road
Label: RUF
Tracks: 12 CD - 13 DVD
Website: http://www.mikezito.com/

I can sum this album up in one word "Fantastic."

Mike Zito is a very interesting character who by his own admission is lucky to be alive. His early career was blighted by drugs and booze which goes a long way to explain many of the lyrics on this superb album. Take a few minutes to read his Bio on the website. It is a story of how adversity can lead to real success and should be an inspiration to anyone suffering from the malaise that is a curse on modern society.

The music is a mixture of blues, rock, and ballad and is recorded live at the Dosey Doe club in Texas. This is a double CD/DVD offering but the same tracks are not included on both. The CD contains "Little Red Corvette" which is not on the DVD. That is a shame as it is a terrific track. The DVD contains "I never knew a hurricane" which is possibly my favourite track of the lot. It also contains "one step at a time" another track worth listening to repeatedly. Mike even gets his little daughter on stage on "Let your light shine on me." Not sure she adds anything to the performance but she is very cute. "Greyhound" which appears on both CD and DVD is the song he wrote as he decided to jump on a Greyhound bus and see where it took him. He claims to have stolen the guitar and his Dad's credit card for the fare but that might be artistic licence. He also has a touch of Joe Cocker about him on this track.

The DVD contains a section called "Storyteller." This is well worth a watch as Mike explains in a solo performance how he came to be where he is now. So where is he? At the top of the tree and just about to embark on a major European tour! Check the website for dates.

Mike is a superb guitarist who plays with real passion and feeling. The band, The Wheel, consists of an excellent drummer, a fabulous sax player who is probably younger than he looks, a guy on keyboards who looks like he could be Mike's Dad and a bass player who looks as if he has escaped from ZZ Top. He spends most of his time hiding behind a pillar but drives the music along at a fair old pace. Not exactly your archetypal rock band but they really do work well together.

I have said before that I do not really like live albums but the audience in this one are so respectful of the music that at times you forget it is live. I do prefer the DVD as it makes me feel as if I am there with the band at the club which is very intimate and atmospheric.

So, as I said in the first sentence a FANTASTIC addition to my music collection and an inspirational story too.

Rory Stanbridge