Mike Zito – Life Is Hard
11 songs – 50 minutes
Few people in the world have had more reason to sing the blues in recent times that Mike Zito, who remained steadfastly at his beloved wife Laura’s side as she lost her valiant, year-long battle against pancreatic cancer last summer, leaving behind a large, loving family that the beloved teacher adored. And the blues-rock giant bares his soul, pours out his heart and much, more more on this fiery CD, which she helped plan as she laid dying.
Co-produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith and recorded at Sunset Sound Studio in Los Angeles about six months after Laura’s passing with additional work at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville, Zito considers this to be his best album yet. It’s a strong claim considering that he’s captured four Blues Music Awards and other nominations for his own work as well as others for his membership in the Royal Southern Brotherhood and in the Blood Brothers, his association with Albert Castiglia that’s released a couple of stellar CDs and toured occasionally in recent years.
To this writer’s ear, there’s no question that he’s right.
It’s a tour-de-force effort packed with sorrow and much, much more…a roller coaster of emotion full of rich lyrics, deep feelings and a heaping helping of love, too, as Mike reworks the music of Little Milton, Stevie Wonder, Walter Trout, Tab Benoit and others and contributes a couple of poignant originals as he celebrates Laura’s life, takes you on a journey through the seven stages of grief and bravely soldiers on in a cruel world.
Zito shines on vocals and guitar throughout this one with Bonamassa, Smith and Castiglia all contributing their six-string talents, too. Reese Wynans handles keyboards throughout, and the principals are supported by Bonamassa and Smith’s regular rhythm section, Calvin Turner on bass and Lemar Carter on drums. Also making appearances are sax player Paulie Cerra and French horn players Jennifer Kumma and Anna Spina with backing vocals from Jade MacRae, Dannielle Deandrea and Steve Ray Ladson.
A rapid-fire version of Milton’s “Lonely Man” cooks at high speed to open, giving the band plenty of space to work their magic as the lyrics profess deep love for a lady who, in the original case, has cast her mate to the curb. Searing fretwork and keys drive the message home. Written by Fred James, the ballad “Life Is Hard” speaks to the cruelty of everyday life along with repeated phrasing that, like its predecessor, communicates the singer’s pain and tears.
Wonder’s “Have a Talk With God,” meanwhile, suggests offering up a prayer to maintain your peace of mind when facing an ordeal. It gives way to Zito’s original, “Forever My Love,” a soulful, six-minute ballad that soars throughout. It’s a vow to be faithful for eternity because of the purity of the affection they felt for each other through the years. “No One to Talk to (But the Blues)” breathes new life into a country number first recorded by Lefty Frizzell in the ‘50s before covers of Tinsley’s “Dying to Do Wrong” — in this case the option of trying to escape the sorrow momentarily through drugs and other poor choices – and a sweet version of Bachman Turner Overdrive’s “These Eyes” and the tears and lonely nights contained within.
“Darkness” sets in with a redo of the Benoit tune before Zito begins wondering how he’s going to survive the inevitable in the bittersweet original. “Without Loving You.” His loss becomes palpable in a take on Trout’s “Nobody Knows Me Like You Do” before Rev. Gary Davis’ “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” and a radio edit of “Forever My Love” bring the album to a close.
Sure, this is an album of deep tragedy, but it’s also a love song for the ages, too. If this one doesn’t move you…well…you’ve got a hole in your soul.
