Albert Castiglia: Big Dog Review
Albert Castiglia knows his sound, has been around for a while, and due to this, shows a better side of himself album after album. His vocals have improved and he features a great band, resulting in a solid finished product with Big Dog.
“Let the Big Dog Eat” is the opening track following the album’s name. The electric guitar is a delight, the barking at the ending not so much. With a tendency of being repetitive “Get Your Ass in the Van” and “Don’t Let Them Fool Ya” offer a consistent sound, and half a story; unlike “Drowning at the Bottom,” which tells tales that do give some meaning to the emotion in the raspy vocals.
“Let’s Make Love In The Morning” is somewhat repetitive, but it does have a certain je ne sais quoi, that might evoke giving it a second listen, as the ironic track “What I Like About Miami” does.
There are a couple songs that might go unnoticed,but shouldn’t. “Where the Devil Makes his Deals” managed to cut it, the band played a big part in that, and, well, there’s “What The Hell Was I thinking” written by Castiglia and probably the best track in the album.
I lit a cigarette as I began the album, it burnt out quickly, but still managed to do the job. It filled the room with smoke and got my hands shaking, kind of what this album did, not very exciting, nothing really new or ground breaking, but Blues through and through, so of course, not bad by any means.
The Review: 7/10
Can’t Miss Tracks
– What The Hell Was I Thinking
– What I Like About Miami
– Let’s Make Love In The Morning
The Big Hit
– What The Hell Was I Thinking
Review by Sofia Avila
Buy the album: Amazon
Please! I love this web site. It genuinely offers some (usually) excellent reviews, many of which are very often the only reviews of albums I can find, and are, therefore, majorly important (to me, anyway).
BUT….this review of Albert Castiglia’s latest offering, ‘Big Dog”, has to be one of the biggest pieces of drivel ever published on this site! It is terrible! It is lame. It is pointless, and offers the reader not one slither of useful information. Obviously, I will need to back up my opinion with rationale….so here it is…..
‘Albert Castiglia knows his sound’
Which is? Would you care to break it down for the non-initiated?
‘has been around for a while’
Sloppy – a throw away comment. Do you even know how long Albert has been around for? Do you know his pedigree? I fear not.
‘and due to this, shows a better side of himself album after album’
So confused. What the hell does that mean? Has the reviewer actually heard all of Albert’s albums?
‘his vocals have improved and he features a great band, resulting in a solid finished product with Big Dog’.
In what way have his vocals improved? God, this is getting really hard to understand. The great band, I can attest to, having actually seen them a few times, which is certainly not the case, as far as the reviewer is concerned.
“Let the Big Dog Eat” is the opening track following the album’s name.
I can overlook the speech marks. What confuses me is the statement as a whole.
‘The electric guitar is a delight, the barking at the ending not so much. With a tendency of being repetitive “Get Your Ass in the Van” and “Don’t Let Them Fool Ya” offer a consistent sound, and half a story; unlike “Drowning at the Bottom,” which tells tales that do give some meaning to the emotion in the raspy vocals.
In what way is the electric guitar a delight? Is it because it’s plugged in? Does it look amazing? Sorry, another fail. What is repetitive? Is it the sound? No, it can’t be, the sound is consistent, but with what? The whole paragraph is confusing, if you want to break it down – surely, the editor tried, no? You did try to break it down, Mr. Editor, right?
“Let’s Make Love In The Morning” is somewhat repetitive, but it does have a certain je ne sais quoi, that might evoke giving it a second listen, as the ironic track “What I Like About Miami” does.
Probably the only point I can agree with in this review – the author certainly doesn’t know, although why the French input is even in there, heaven only knows; it doesn’t make the reviewer sound knowledgeable, at this stage of the review.
‘There are a couple songs that might go unnoticed,but shouldn’t. “Where the Devil Makes his Deals” managed to cut it, the band played a big part in that, and, well, there’s “What The Hell Was I thinking” written by Castiglia and probably the best track in the album’.
Any song on an album (even the hidden tracks that some bands find amusing), are never unnoticed. I’ll ignore the bit about the band playing a big part, as, if they hadn’t, why were they there in the first place, but I cannot ignore the bit about the best track ‘in’ the album. No supporting argument as to why the reviewer felt this was the case.
‘I lit a cigarette as I began the album, it burnt out quickly, but still managed to do the job. It filled the room with smoke and got my hands shaking, kind of what this album did, not very exciting, nothing really new or ground breaking, but Blues through and through, so of course, not bad by any means.
I feel like swearing at this point! Lose the cigarette crap! It makes for a very poor analogy, if indeed, that was its intended purpose. I was certainly unaware that people smoked just to fill a room with smoke, and get their hands shaking. What have I been thinking?! But wait, I have been burying my head in the sand even more – I had no idea that an album could fill the air with smoke, and get my hands shaking – where have I been for 58 years?!
To conclude, if I was marking this as a student’s homework (age 12, mind), I would have to fail the effort. Please tell this reviewer to get himself/herself to some live music gigs, learn to feel some emotion, and come home and let the adjectives drip off the lips! Get some feeling into these reviews, mate, or mate-ess, ant tell your audience about the album and artist – after all that’s your job, isn’t it?
By the way, Albert Castiglia and his band are as tight an outfit as you will find, playing the southeast states. They play blues with a distinctive rock feel, the drummer and bassist laying down some tight grooves, and Albert’s playing often morphing into some lengthy jam sessions. This man is the real deal. He’s paid his dues, and is regarded as one of the foremost guitarists of his genre, by the people that know – his peers.
i love you dogs