Rick Vito’s Slidemaster is instrumental blues at its BEST! One of the cool things about the blues music genre is that it still respects the instrumental! Unlike other genres of music where instrumentals are far and few between, a good number of blues albums released each year contain one or more instrumental tracks. When someone of Rick Vito’s caliber issues an entire new album of instrumentals, it is well worth your attention!
Rick Vito has released a dozen or so solo albums over the years but is probably best known as the guitar player who replaced Lyndsey Buckingham in Fleetwood Mac. That alone tells you just how good he is! He also played guitar on Bob Seger’s iconic “Like A Rock” recording and has worked with Bonnie Raitt, John Prine, John Fogerty, John Mayall, Mick Fleetwood and a whole host of other music luminaries. He has even picked up a Grammy nomination along the way! Over the last 20 years, he has focused primarily on the blues and blues rock recordings. His 2024 album, Cadillac Man, was one of my favorite albums of the year.
What truly makes Slidemaster unique is that I can not recall another album in the last couple of decades that is devoted to this venerated guitar style. From the upbeat opening track Vegas Jump to a moving rendition of the Lord’s Prayer to close the recording, the entire album is a paeon to this guitar form. Of the dozen tracks on Slidemaster, five are remastered and remixed versions of previously released songs and seven are new. Rick’s covers of Albatross, A Change Is Gonna Come, Steal Away and The Supernatural are all exemplary. And my favorite Vito originals on the recordings are Red Hot Baby, Soul Shadows, and Slide the Blues.
Not only does Rick play the guitar on the album, he also plays acoustic and electric bass and percussion on various tracks. (And he designs a line of guitars when he isn’t otherwise employed!!)Â Drummers Rick Reed, Lynn Williams, and Charles Johnson all make contributions. Charlie Harrison plays the electric bass on several tracks and both Mark Horowitz and Kevin McKendree play organ on individual songs.
Slidemaster is not your usual experience when listening to a blues album. The music is cerebral at times and the slide guitar lends itself easily to an other worldly experience as you drift on the musical riffs. If you are like me and often listen to music as you write or surf on the the internet, this is a recording for you. If you have had a rough day battling real life and need a chill mix of music to listen to as you imbibe your favorite drink and wind down, this recording is for you. Rick’s work on Slidemaster is a vivid reminder of his singular talent and a pleasant way to spend an hour or so away from the pressures of the world.
Album Info
SLIDEMASTER
PRODUCED BY RICK VITO (C) 2026
Catalog Number: MMJ404
Released April 3, 2026
- VEGAS JUMP
- STEAL AWAY
- THE BIG BEAT
- THE DANGER ZONE
- RED HOT BABY
- ALBATROSS
- SOUL SHADOWS
- SLIDE THE BLUES
- A CHANGE IS GONNA COME
- RIVER OF BLUES
- THE SUPERNATURAL
- THE LORD’S PRAYER
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