Albert Castiglia - A Stone's Throw (2006)

   1. Big Toe
   2. Walking Blues
   3. Youth Wants To Know
   4. Ghosts Of Mississippi
   5. Hurricane Blues
   6. Party Till The Cows Come Home
   7. Hoodoo Man Blues
   8. Speed On
   9. Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bunt
  10. Crying The Blues
  11. Someone Else's Problem
  12. Sittin And Waitin

Albert Castiglia (vocals, guitar); 
Sandy Mack (harmonica); 
Ned Berndt (drums).

To me Castiglia is a like a Deeper South Stevie Ray Vaughan- that's what I think of when I hear "A Stone's Throw". To back up that assertion I suggest a listen to the humorous opener "Big Toe". Once the song kicks in you got yourself a very "Pride & Joy"-like riff and some authentic Texas throaty (yet nasal) singing. In it Castiglia says: "Working all day in the sun/Big bossman got a big shotgun/I'm going take my shovel and cut off my big toe/If I can't walk I won't have to work no more". Now that's hatin' your job! More important, is the fast fingered guitar solo that he makes seem so easy. I can't even play air guitar like that. "Toe" was written by Graham Wood Drout (of Iko Iko) as was the fantastic "The Ghosts Of Mississippi". I was already familiar with this latter gem via Joey Gilmore but instead of Gilmore's piledriving arrangement Castigilia treats the song to a fast paced acoustic/slide guitar boogie which is closer to Drout's own version.

To his credit Castiglia breathes new life into Robert Johnson's Jurassic Blues number "Walking Blues" which closes with a 2 minute guitar avalanche and he rocks the house with Kim Wilson's "Sittin And Thinkin". Plus, Castiglia offers up four original compositions like the Katrina song "Hurricane Blues", which incidentally rocks you like a hurricane, funky "Speed On" that shows off his vocals with slippery phrasing and the cool, midtempo "Crying The Blues " where he finds his woman is "sleepin' and creepin' with every friend she can find". His guitar solos are nearly Santana-esque on this latter cut, thoroughly proving Castiglia is no three riff stiff but a consistently creative and versatile picker. Methinks this record will place Castiglia but a "stone's throw" from the upper echelon of guitar wizards in the minds of Blues guitar aficionados. --- liveblues.blogspot.com

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