Considering his young age, it's amazing that Sean Costello has accomplished what he has in such a relatively short time. Picking up the guitar at the age of nine, the young musician first pursued a hard rock direction before discovering Stevie Ray Vaughan and turning towards the blues. Costello won the Beale Street Blues Society's talent award in 1994 at the tender age of 14 years. He subsequently toured as part of Susan Tedeschi's band, released his first album when he was 16, earned a coveted W.C. Handy Award nomination at 18, and had released his third album by the time that he was 21 years old.
The Evolution of the Costello Sound
Through the years, Costello has toured constantly, and has been able to perform beside some of his blues idols, giants like B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and James Cotton. Over the course of time, Costello has matured from a young, Stevie Ray-styled six-string hotshot into a complete blues artist. His raw, soulful vocals remind of a younger John Hiatt, though erring on the Muddy Waters side of grittiness. Costello's songwriting has also evolved through the years, as both a lyricist and a musician, his songs including elements of 1960s/70s-era soul, Southern rock, R&B, and Texas-styled electric-blues, all of which vie for attention in the mix.
Costello's We Can Get Together
We Can Get Together is Costello's fifth album, and represents his best work to date. A collection of rockin' blues and soulful R&B rave-ups, Costello shows his skill as both a bandleader and an instrumentalist while his crew displays a great chemistry playing together.
A slow, shuffling riff opens "Anytime You Want," Costello's gruff vocals wrapping around come-hither lyrics that are bolstered by a recurring guitar line and punctuations of organ courtesy of Rich Iannucci. The song is a sort of blues/R&B hybrid that highlights the best of both genres. Costello goes down the swamp with "Same Old Game," the song's Creedence-inspired licks and backwater Louisiana vibe enhanced by the singer's voodoo vocals and raw six-string performance.
There are plenty of gems to be unearthed on We Can Get Together. The guitar workout afforded "Hard Luck Woman," along with Costello's creative lyricism, stand out as a classically-styled blues number in a Willie Dixon vein. "How In The Devil" further displays Costello's deft hand, with Texas-styled rampaging fretwork a la SRV. Evincing a Chicago blues sound, the traditional "Going Home" features Costello's most soulful vocal turn to date, backed to great effect by a Gospel choir.
The Reverend's Bottom Line
Costello's six-string skills are polished enough to stand tall with any of the current crop of blues stylists, yet still raw and rocking enough to excite blues-rock enthusiasts. Considering that the artist is still a couple of years short of his 30th birthday, We Can Get Together is an impressive, remarkably mature work. The band here is tight, supporting and enhancing Costello's original material while not detracting from the main attraction - the artist's vocals and magical guitar work.
With We Can Get Together, Costello manages that hardest of tricks - walking the tightrope between traditional blues and contemporary blues-rock - but he does it well, delivering an entertaining and multi-textured album that I promise you'll play over and over again. (Delta Groove Records)
