If you’re like me, and you love some slide guitar, commsummate musician and sideman Rick Vito has an offering for you.
Vito, who was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1987 until 1991, and who toured or sat in on recordings with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, John Mayall, John Fogerty, Bob Seger (Vito played the slide solo on Seger’s “Like a Rock”), Leon Russell, Boz Scaggs, Jackson Browne, Steve Goodman, John Prine and many others, has quietly built up a body of solo work, starting with King of Hearts in 1992. A native of Pennsylvania, Vito’s influences included Elmore James, Robert Nighthawk, B.B. King, George Harrison and Keith Richards, among others. (Of note, Reverend Guitars offers a sweet art deco-inspired Rick Vito signature guitar!)
On Slidemaster, to be released April 3, Vito offers a selection of both new and remastered instrumental slide guitar tunes. Among the best are the Bo Diddley-style “The Big Beat,” the rolling “River of Blues,” the covers of Peter Green’s entransing “Albatross” (originally played by Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac) and haunting “The Supernatural” (first heard on Mayall & the Bluesbreakers’ A Hard Road), and Sam Cooke’s reflective “A Change is Gonna Come.”
About the author: Bill Wilcox is a roots music enthusiast recently relocated from the Washington, DC area to Philadelphia, PA and back again.