antiMusic.com: Tony Campanella - Taking it to the Street

Tony Campanella - Taking it to the Street

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Folks in the St. Louis area have been enjoying Campanella's talents for a long time, and now the rest of the world can get in on the fun with the release of the guitarist's debut album. And you just might want to put a pillow on the floor before you start this one spinning as your jaw is going to drop right from the get go as Campanella comes roaring out of the gate with the effort's title track, a searing guitar fiesta that hints at a fondness for Johnny Winter, Eric Clapton and early ZZ Top. As a vocalist Campanella works with the voice of experience both as a man and as a bluesman, knowing but not grizzled and using just the right inflection on songs like "Finger on the Trigger" which is, as many blues songs are, loaded with double-entendre. "Mr. Cleanhead" is a slow blues where Campanella amusingly riffs on having lost his hair through extensive lovemaking; besides Tony's evocative guitar playing, the cut is gussied up with piano from Lewis Stephens. Also guesting on the album is Mike Zito, who also produced and released the album on his Gulf Coast Records imprint. With the spooky "Texas Chainsaw," the Allman Brothers-informed "One Foot in the Blues" and the classic "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" clocking in as just a few of the album's highlights, those getting their first taste of Campanella here will likely become fast friends.

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Tony Campanella - Taking it to the Street
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