Artist:     Rick Vito

Album:     Soulshaker

Label:     VizzTone

Release Date:     4.5.2019

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Chances are very good that you’ve heard Rick Vito’s signature guitar playing before. Accolades from his peers are quite astounding, whether it be John Mayall, Bonnie Raitt, Keb’ Mo’, Steve Miller or countless others. It’s Vito’s guitar solo, one that Bob Seger calls “the best I’ve ever heard,” on “Like a Rock” which later became the overplayed Chevrolet truck commercial.

Vito is a multiple Grammy nominee and BMA winner who has played not only with those previously mentioned but with Fleewood Mac and later the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, which earned a 2010 Grammy nomination for Blue Again. Additionally, John Fogerty, Roger McGuinn, Boz Scaggs, Dolly Parton, John Prine, Delbert McClinton, Roy Orbison, Jackson Browne, Hank Williams Jr., Todd Rundgren have called on Vito. Oh, there are more, but that’s enough.

Vito’s masterful slide work on Soulshaker speaks to his talent and in-demand session stature. It’s an album of a dozen originals with Vito handling all vocals and guitar parts as well as bass and keys. He’s joined by drummers Charles “Mojo” Johnson and Rick Reed, bassist Charles Harrison for two tracks, and organists Kevin McKendree (one track) and Mark Horwitz (two tracks). Given that Vito has his own signature “Rick Vito Soulshaker” guitar from Reverend Guitars, the album is a reflection of that sound and Vito’s singular approach.

His slide work has a deeper, richer tone than most, as he uses the entire fretboard and his caressing finesse enables him to better convey both melody and piercing runs than other slide players. Listen to his makes-the-hairs-stand up-on -your-neck slide work on “I Do Believe” for immediate evidence, or admire his gift for melody on the instrumental arrangement of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” or “Doggin’ Around.” His vocals aren’t bad either. They certainly don’t steal the spotlight from his stellar axe work, but they have the soulful quality you’d expect from a music veteran.

He can rock too as you’ll hear in the Chuck Berry-like “Dancin’ Little Sister” and the blast-off slide showcase “I’m Going to Heaven,” while “Promise Land” reveals his gospel side. Bonnie Raitt, whose no slouch as a slide guitarist, describes Vito’s playing as “sharp as a Cadillac tail fin.” Having listened closely to tunes like “World On Fire” and “Doggin’ Around” this writer can confidently put Vito right there with Derek Trucks, Duane Allman and Luther Dickinson in masterful slide technique.

Vito’s playing is transportive. It can take you to another place—go there and explore.

—Jim Hynes