Life Is Hard– Lonely Man, Life Is Hard, Have A Talk With God, Forever My Love, No One To Talk To (But The Blues), Dying To Do Wrong, These Eyes, Darkness, Without Loving You, Nobody Moves Me Like You Do, Death Don’t Have No Mercy
Personnel: Mike Zito: Guitar, Lead Vocals; Joe Bonamassa: Guitar; Josh Smith: Guitar: Reese Wynans: Keyboards; Calving Turner: Bass: Lemar Carter: Drums; Paulie Cerra: Saxophone on “Lonely Man”; Jennifer Kumma: French Horn on “Forever My Love” and “These Eyes”; Anna Spina; French Horn on “Forever My Love” and “These Eyes”; Jade Macrae: Background Vocals; Dannielle Deandrea: Background Vocals; Steve Ray Ladson: Background Vocals on “Death Don’t Have No Mercy”
Mike Zito – Life Is Hard was produced by Joe Bonamass and Josh Smith, engineered by Alan Hertz and Nate Haessly, mastered by Eric Boulanger at the Bakery Mastering, recorded at Sunset Sound Studio Los Angeles, CA, and released on the Gulf Coast Records label.
The release is a mix of seven originals and four covers that bare the deep emotion that Mike has for the loss of his wife. An experienced musician writes what he feels, and through every chord he plays and lyric he sings, he opened his emotions on how he is surviving and moving forward, and we are rewarded with an exceptional release.
The release opens with the cover of Lonely Man, written by Little Milton, with a pounding bassline that opens to Mike’s deep Blues vocals and his extraordinary guitar work. The band projects the same level of emotion and feeling that is formed by Mike’s playing and the result is a powerful opening track. The release sways into the heart rendering title track, Life Is Hard, written by Mike. The lyrics leave everything on the table as he sings “Life Ain’t Easy, it is a long hard rock-n-roll…… Don’t matter how you try, life is hard and then you die,” and coupled with his resounding guitar work you have a compelling title track.
The cover Have A Talk With God, written by Stevie Wonder, is taken to a new level with Mike’s interpretation and soulful vocals. The track Forever My Love, written by Mike, is a poignant ballad that captures you from the open call from Mike, “Forever My Love…I will always be with you, until the end of time…” The emotions and feelings run deep but true throughout the track.
No One To Talk To (But The Blues) is a track that sums up the release as Mike is at his best when he communicates through the medium of the Blues. This is a jump blues track that opens up the “lighter” side of dealing with tragedy and shows that you can move forward as long as you retain the past.
The cover of the Guess Who classic These Eyes is perfect for this release and Mike’s vocals are so tender and impactful as he sings, “…I long to hold you again, the hurtin’s on me, I will never be free…” The track Darkness is a slow burn of guitar and drums that draws on the feeling of loss, and through Mike’s masterful guitar work, projects the “conversation” that people have with themselves to close the longing.
Without Loving You carries powerful lyrics that opens the book on how many people must feel dealing with the loss of a loved one, “I have your number baby, it is written across my heart, …tell me how I am going to live without loving you…” The guitar work is masterful, slow, and paced to the heartrending lyrics.
The release closes with Mike’s song Nobody Moves Me Like You Do, a down and dirty Blues track that is a raw and effective track that leads into the closing cover Death Don’t Have No Mercy, written by Gary Davis. The chant lyrics performed by Mike are accompanied by a melodic drum beat and a series of guitar chords that play behind the drums to augment the sound.
Life is Hard is one of Mike Zito’s most compelling releases, and this from a multi-Blues Music Award-winner. So, make sure you give this release a listen and add it to your music files.
Websites where you can procure Mike Zito – Life Is Hard: Gulf Coast Records, Apple Music, Amazon, The Blue Note, Collector’s Choice Music, and Rough Trade.
Social Media:
Facebook Mike Zito – https://www.facebook.com/mikezitomusic
Instagram Mike Zito – https://www.instagram.com/zitorox/ @zitorox
Twitter Mike Zito – https://twitter.com/zitorox?lang=en @zitorox
YouTube Mike Zito – https://www.youtube.com/user/MikeZitoOfficial @MikeZitoOfficial
Spotify Mike Zito – https://open.spotify.com/artist/4IPDnwurwc0J2tXUty2hO4
Facebook Gulf Coast Records – https://www.facebook.com/GulfCoastRecords
Instagram Gulf Coast Records – https://www.instagram.com/gulfcoast_records @gulfcoast_records
YouTube Gulf Coast Records – https://www.youtube.com/ @gulfcoastrecordws8800
X formerly known as Twitter – https://twitter.com/RecordsGulf @RecordsGulf
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