Albert Castiglia

June/July 2008 Issue Blues Revue

by Don Wilcock

This is a flat-out, hands-down, unconditionally great record. Notice I didn't say it was a great blues record: Over 11 cuts, Castiglia covers everyone from Bob Dylan to Little Willie John. He gives "Night Time Is The Right Time" his best Ray Charles treatment - you can practically see the background vocalists swaying in their fish- nets. "Celebration" is a "Pink House" for those who've lost faith in corporate rock, and "Need Your Love So Bad" features Susan Lusher's quivering church organ accompaniment to Castiglia's scorpion-sting lead guitar. His vocals sound like he's twice as old as we know he is.

Castiglia, who was Junior Wells' last lead guitarist is the Miami- bred son of a Cuban mother and an Italian father. He's played everywhere from European capital cities to Gulf Coast sports bars,
where he's competed against flat-screen televisions on Kentucky Derby Day. The result is a tough as nails 30-something industry veteran who knows where to leave spaces between the notes and sings like he's the love child of Dr. John and Joe Ely.

He does it all, from the muscular Ronnie Baker Brooks-like Another Bloody Day to "Blues For Evan" which sounds like Castiglia's standing next to Elmore James and inventing the electric guitar on the spot. "Godfather Of The Blues" pays homage to Wells from the perspective of someone who played with him until he was on his deathbed, and "Bad Year Blues" opens the album with one of the best original lines since Willie Dixon passed: It's been a real bad year/Only 12 more months to go.