Blood Brothers – Help Yourself
10 songs – 49 minutes
After their impressive and well-received 2023 debut album and the rapid subsequent follow-up, Live In Canada, Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia return with another welcome slice of guitar-heavy blues-rock. Recorded at Shock City Studios in St Louis, Help Yourself comes roaring out of the speakers with the swaggering title track. Assertive, confident and a nice balance between brawn and brains.
More stripped down than its predecessor, in particular without the horns and backing vocals that gave Blood Brothers a smoother sound, Help Yourself highlights the raucous guitar interplay between Zito and Castiglia, with rock solid backing from Lewis Stephens on piano and organ, Scot Sutherland on bass and Matt Johnson and Ray Hangen on drums and percussion. The result is a testament to the solid months of touring the band has undertaken over the last couple of years, which is reflected in the tightness and dynamism of the performances.
The 10 tracks are primarily written by Zito and Castiglia, with one co-write between the pair, and one song, “Soulard Serenade”, credited to the full band. There is also powerful cover of JJ Cale’s “Low Down”. Moving easily between the heavy blues-rock of Castiglia’s “Can’t Be A Prophet” and Zito’s soul-rock love letter, “Alive”, there is a muscular underlay to Blood Brothers’ music that is expertly caught by Paul Weihagen’s engineering and David Farrell’s mixing and mastering.
The instrumental “Soulard Serenade” features some memorable harmony playing by Zito and Castiglia in addition by some fine soloing by both guitarists as well as Stephens’ organ, while “Low Down” has the strut and power to drag the most two-left-footed of people onto a dance floor. There is a definite sense of genuine friendship and camaraderie in all the performances, but the guitar interplay at the end of “Low Down” is certainly a highlight.
Stephens’ organ is again put to great use on the soul-infused “The Best I Can”, which also includes some of Castiglia’s best vocals on the album, while the minor key “Prove My Love” is another irresistible toe-tapper. “Ol’ Victrola” is a joyous celebration of the power of rock and roll. “Running Out Of Time” has a relentless urgency driven by some ferocious jungle drums. The slide guitar on the closing track, “Do What You Gotta” successfully keeps the track on the blues side of blues-rock. There is a very in-your-face attitude to this album and one easily envisage it attracting both blues fans and rock fans.
Help Yourself is a powerful statement of intent from Zito and Castiglia, placing them firmly at the top of the current blues-rock tree. Great songs. Great playing. Great production. Very impressive.
