Costello can adjust his approach for whatever the song calls for. He gets gritty singing on "Anytime You Want," with a pretty Bloomfield-like guitar riff and an organ providing just a dash of soul.

"Same Old Game" is a funky rocker early-seventies style replete with a Charlie Watts rhythm. "Can't Let Go" is the melodic highlight of the CD, sounding like Hinton at his best. On it, Costello provides not one, but two short but sizzling solos.

"Hard Luck Woman" is blues-rock take on a prison work song with some stinging Billy Gibbons riffing. "How In The Devil" applies Howlin' Wolf vocal phrasing to no-nonsense hard-hitting electric blues.

"Told Me A Lie" shows off the fruits of working with Levon Helm in the gospel blues scene, utilizing a tuba for a blues dirge in true The Band fashion and employing a country gospel backing chorus on the refrain. Speaking of Helm, like the ol' singing drummer did for his Dirt Farmer CD last year, Costello likewise covers the traditional light waltz "Little Birds." In this rendition, Sean's shimmering guitar and weeping slide colors the song in a way that makes the song sound altogether different.

Costello's affinity for gospel continues on the album's only other traditional cover, a deeply soulful take on "Going Home."

There have been a lot of newcomers to the blues scene over the last ten or fifteen years, but few have given more reason to be excited about the future of the blues than Sean Costello. He's a completely developed package revitalizing the genre using more than a dozen years of experience most blues players don't get in a lifetime. And he's not even thirty yet. If he is this good on We Can Get Together it's scary to think how good he'll be by the time he finally hits that milestone birthday.

Photo by John Morris