Within the Blues/Rock business worldwide, there was a lot of trepidation about the release of Blood Brothers’ second album, especially given the exceptional amount of accolades received from fans of the genre and press, when their debut album was originally released in 2023.
A very successful side project of two contemporary giants of the genre, Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia, the project is a natural development of a personal and musical friendship between the two artists that has been going on for almost two decades, an artistic and human collaboration that, in time, brought the American guitarists and singer/songwriters to record an album together that would chisel even more their musical and personal bond.
It was kind of inevitable that, due to the global success received by the Blood Brothers’ debut album, Messieurs Castiglia and Zito would have given another go to a musical partnership that proved to work so well with the Blues/Rock audience; in fact, between working through their individual solo projects and touring live the United States with Hollywood Celebrity actor now attempting to build a singing career, Bill Murray, Zito and Castiglia found the time to put together the second Blood Brothers sonic helping, called Help Yourself, a record that sees the two artists joining forces once again with newly written material, with the sole exception of JJ Cale’s cover of Low Down.
Help Yourself is a sort of natural continuation of the Blood Brothers’ debut album; built between layers of 70’s Psychedelia (Can’t Be A Prophet), Soul (Prove My Love), Blues (Do What You Gotta), Gospel (The Best I Can) and 60’s Rock’N’Roll, the album offers a full sonic collage of Castiglia and Zito’s musical roots, also showing, at the same time, the rock solid musicianship of two talented artists, mastered through decades of working within the music industry.
Vocally, a particular note of merit needs to be given to Castiglia, whose qualities as a singer seem to get better with every passing year, as shown in songs like Can't Be A Prophet or Do What You Gotta, among others, whilst his renowned skills and talents as a guitar player shine high on this record once again.
Mike Zito shows once more, on Help Yourself, why he is considered one of the most solid and skilled Blues/Rock guitarist of the last quarter-plus of the century, through some remarkable body of work particularly expressed on the album’s title-track, on Prove My Love and Running Out Of Time, in our personal opinion.
In the whole, the album is perhaps a little under par, in comparison to their stellar debut album, but there is no doubt that Help Yourself is played and sang exquisitely, throughout the entirety of the record and it’s undoubtedly a record that displays two artists having so much fun writing and recording together.
A new body of work that expresses a positive, uplifting mood throughout, Help Yourself also confirms once again Albert Castiglia and Mike Zito among the most skilled and talented Guitar Virtuoso and singer/songwriters in the contemporary Blues/Rock world.
Help Yourself is out now and it is available to be purchased via Gulf Coast Records
