Mike Zito: Outside Or The Eastside Review

Coming in hot right behind his 2025 Blues Music Award for Blues Rock Album of the Year with Life Is Hard, Mike Zito is back and still breathing fire.

His new album includes four new tunes and seven covers, and he’s chosen them well. Staying away from the over-played standards, Zito has included some of the best by past masters. Not only are they discriminating choices, but they also lend themselves well to Zito’s guitar and style. And, whether covers or originals, each song is illuminated by Zito’s display of guitar pyrotechnics.

Besides being a fine musician and writer, Zito has a history of being a great blues-rock showman and choosing extraordinary collaborators. Working in the past with Devon Allman and Cyril Neville, collectively known as Royal Southern Brotherhood, and frequently teaming up with Albert Castiglia (and sometimes Bill Murray) as the Blood Brothers, it’s his name alone on the marquee of this one. With Outside Or The Eastside, he’s offering up his fourth solo album for Gulf Coast Records.

He wastes no time drawing the listener in with the title track. It’s a fun, upbeat shuffle driven by Zito’s guitar, punctuated by Lewis Stephen’s piano. “Outside Or The Eastside” is the perfect opener with a clever and highly infectious refrain.

The second track is a Lonnie Brooks composition, entitled “Don’t Take Advantage Of Me.” Guitar solos with a fuzzy edge are backed by the drums of Matthew R. Johnson, who provides a driving undertone and slick fills.

“Kiss You All Over” is a funky, sexy original featuring pulsating rhythm and melody underscored by Zito’s seductive guitar work and tempting vocals.

Next up is “Downtown at Midnight.” Zito’s writing comes to the fore here as the opening riffs immediately summon visions of a dark, downtown scene. Lyrics bolster the feeling in what he calls “Confronting the consequences of addiction and broken trust with brutal honesty.” Through both mood and metaphor, Zito delivers a tour de force classic with this track.

Still rooted in experience, “Grand Avenue” is described in the liner notes as “Grit, rhythm, and reality of everyday life in St. Louis.” The funky bass of Scot Sutherland opens the track and is followed by Zito’s well-placed guitar phrasing and lyrics dripping with reality.

The aforementioned pyrotechnics figure strongly in Zito’s cover of the Buddy Guy tune, “Too Broke To Spend The Night.”

Following is “Just Like I Treat You,” a Willie Dixon composition. But Zito makes this version far more upbeat than the original Howlin’ Wolf version. It’s been covered many times, from Hubert Sumlin to the Rolling Stones, but Zito manages a worthy version helped along by Stephen’s piano and some more thrilling guitar.

It seems likely that not including an Albert King song would be tough for a blues guitar virtuoso like Zito. And he doesn’t disappoint with his cover of “Down Don’t Bother Me.”

More surprising is the inclusion of “Do I Move You,” a reworking of the Nina Simone song from 1967. Zito maintains the original sultry, shuffle feel, ably anchored in organ work from Stephens but definitely punctuated by his signature guitar work.

Another Willie Dixon-penned tune follows. “Close To You,” first offered by Muddy Waters, is updated in the opening bars by Zito’s guitar, and the more driving feel is maintained throughout. The pace is, once again, complemented by Stephen’s underlying piano providing a base to the blistering guitar work.

Closing out the 11-track album is another befitting homage, this time to Roy Buchanan. Zito is able to imbue a fatter sound than Buchanan on his cover of “The Blues Lover.” But there’s no doubt he had fun recording this song. He seized the opportunity to honor the master while flexing his own considerable finger muscles as they danced along the fretboard. All the while, Zito throws in some soulful and funky blues-rock while still finding time to leave behind some permanent crimps in the strings, victims of his formidable string-bending mastery.

The Review: 8.5/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

– Kiss You All Over
– Outside Or The Eastide
– Grand Avenue
– Downtown at Midnight

The Big Hit

– Downtown at Midnight