Rick Vito, Pink & Black, Wildcat Records

For over 20 years, guitarist Rick Vito has been one of rock's elite sidemen, a reliable team player and hired gun who has sparked tours and sessions for everyone from Albert King, Bonnie Raitt, Roger McGuinn, Fleetwood Mac and Todd Rundgren to Bob Seger (the slide guitar solo on Seger's Chevy truck commercial "Like A Rock" is Rick) and dozens of others. Vito steps out on his own with Pink & Black, a rootsy rock recording that explores blues, rockabilly and more and does so with fire, high energy and, ultimately, good taste and soul. "I Wouldn't Lay My Guitar Down" grooves with a Chuck Berry vibe. "Let's Get Some Work Done" rocks hard and fast, "I Stand Accused" mines the Elmore James vein of slide guitar and Peter Green's "I Loved Another Woman" percolates with a bluesy Latin feel.

Pink & Black is a great rootsy/bluesy disc that showcases one of the most accomplished guitarists this writer has ever heard. Get your copy for $15 from Rick at PO Box 903, Franklin, TN 37065-0903.

Bernard Allison, Across The Water, Tone-Cool Records

Guitarist Bernard Allison is the son of the late and certainly great Luther Allison, the most serious contender for the title "king of the blues," whose life was cut tragically short in 1997 from cancer. I've never really thought too highly of the younger Allison's discs until now, most of them consisting of worn out blues licks and ho-hum original material. All that has changed with Across The Water. Exhibiting an obvious debt to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and other hard-edged blues and rock guitarists, Allison takes aim squarely at the rock side of blues this time, straying far from the run-of-the-mill 12-bar blues format on most occasions, and delivers outstanding material and performances that burn with energy and spirit. Blues purists will diss this disc, but in my humble opinion, Across The Water is Bernard Allison's finest recording, the first time he has successfully stepped out of his father's vast and all-consuming shadow. Absolutely indispensable for you hard core blues rockers.

Walter Trout and the Free Radicals, Live Trout, Ruf Records

Speaking of blues/rock guitarists, they don't come much better than Walter Trout, an American expatriate guitarist in the classic mold of Hendrix/Beck/Clapton/Page/Vaughan, etc. Although a bona fide superstar in Europe, Trout, a Californian by birth, has been working hard for the past two or three years to break the American market. With almost non-stop touring and unceasing album releases, plus his latest, Live Trout, a bold, over-the-top, in-your-face six string attack, Walter Trout should, by rights, have his day in the land of his birth. Guitar freaks, this one is GUARANTEED to tickle your distortion box, but best taken in medium-sized doses.

Rich Chorne featuring Tommy Lepson, My First Car, Chorne Music

Rich Chorne (that's Shor-Nay) is another name that will probably fail to strike a memory chord with you, but the Maryland-based guitarist/vocalist possesses the instrumental and vocal chops necessary for bigger and better things. Born into the Texas blues guitar tradition, Chorne has worked with ZZ Top, Lou Ann Barton, Boozoo Chavis and many other names. My First Car is a fun disc of rootsy rock 'n roll covers and originals, with a little blues as well. My only suggestion would be to drop the cover tunes next time and go all original, but other than that small point, My First Car deserves greater attention. Rich Chorne will be appearing at this fall's Blues 2000 Festival at the Nevelle Hotel on September 19. Get a copy of his disc by writing to Rich personally at 855 DeFranceaux Harbour, Pasadena, CA 21122.

Mark Arshak, Natural Born Blueser, Fernelius Music

This Michigan-based blues guitarist owes a debt to Stevie Ray Vaughan for his out front guitar work, and Jorma Kaukonen of Hot Tuna for his vocal shops. Arshak's band is tight, his material listenable and he's a local favorite on the club scene back home. Natural Born Blueser won't net Arshak a Handy Award, but it's an honest recording that is undoubtedly representative of the tunes he performs live every weekend.

Bob Willett & The Blue Devils, Messin' With Your Mind, 'Ol Blue Light Records

Bob Willett is another Michigan guitarist whose music embraces not only the usual blues licks, but reggae and jazz as well, and does so with a thoughtful and fiery attack. Willett has chops to spare, and his musicians generally rise to the occasion along with him, although the drums occasionally sound thin and poorly recorded. That aside, this is a good disc from a regional guitarist who deserves more than the title "local hero."

Jamie James, Crossroads, Oglio Records

Californian Jamie James goes for a country rockin' sound on this, his first solo release. With a vintage Gretsch guitar in hand, James is an able soloist, but eschews guitar gymnastics for good taste and first-rate musicianship instead. He enjoys juxtaposing Scotty Moore-inspired rockabilly runs with slippery slide guitar without ever losing sight of the melody or the genre in which he's playing. Recommended.

Various Artists, Nashville Guitars, Nuance Records

Subtitled "A Showcase of Nashville's Hottest Guitar Players," Nashville Guitars is the brainchild of session guitar ace Louis Shelton, himself a Nashville veteran. You've probably heard all these pickers before on other people's records! This is the first chance for many of them to spotlight their own artistry, and there's not a clinker in the batch. Stylistically diverse stuff.