Customer Reviews

Cuttin' In

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's been 4 years since Costello put out that great first album "Call The Cops" at the age of 16. He's grown up some since then. He sings with a little deeper voice now, and the production has gotten better. The songs on here are divided between the west coast blues sound, such as the title song "Cuttin in", written by west coast bluesman extraordinaire Junior Watson. And "Jumpin Salty", an instrumental track with a big bass drum sound throughout. Pure west coast. But he also gets into the Chicago blues with Willie Dixon's "I Want To Be Loved", and the slow 7 minute burner "Double Trouble", in which Costello displays some great chops that can rival any of those young bluze-rockers out there. But that's not really his style. He plays a restrained, yet swinging style, somewhat in the vane of Rick Holmstrom or the late great Hollywood Fats. But he's still got a sound of his own. I also like his song selection on here. Even though he only wrote 3 of the songs on here, he makes up for it by bringing back little obscurities such as the odd but infectious "Goombay Rock" and "I Got Loaded", which Los Lobos made famous a few years ago. All in all, this is a nice album that I really enjoyed. I would also highly recommend Costello's first album "Call the Cops", which really swings hard with an energetic rock and roll feel to it. Whether you want Sean Costello the teenager or the grownup, you can't go wrong with either.

This could be the blues album of the year. Sean Costello is not only a world class interpreter of historic American music, he is a first rate singer/songwriter and a mind blowing guitar player. The album features wonderful new versions of chestnuts like "Mama Talk To Your Daughter" and "Double Trouble" and digs deep into obscure gems such as John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson's "Mellow Chick Swing." This guy is no Jonny Lang or Kenny Wayne Sheppard soundalike though. He digs a lot deeper and has unbelievable chops to go with the tasty material. Incredible that he is only 20 years old and sounds like a masterful veteran.

With so many young blues players on the scene, I received this CD with some skepticism. I had recently listened to "Call the Cops" which showed a lot of potential but other than that, have heard very little about this 20 year old guitarist. To my surprise, Costello's second CD demonstrates both his creative abilities as well as his appreciation for the heritage of the blues. Costello's 3 originals continue the raw and energetic Chicago style blues demonstarted on his earlier CD. "Cold, Cold, Ground" features an uptempo piano based shuffle while "Who's been Cheatin' Who" is a hard driving number leaning more towards rock than blues. The covers on this CD are done well and are very close copies of the originals. Most notably, "I want to be loved by you" and "Close to you" by Muddy Waters. Some blues fans may yawn at the cover selections and the lack of original interpretation. Given the potential demonstrated on the 3 originals as well as the earlier CD, I would have like to see a little more creativity. For that reason, I deducted one star. Nevertheless, this is a good second effort and shows a promise for future releases.

After listening to Sean Costello's "Cuttin In" and seeing him live throughout Georgia, this writer sees someone who respects and loves the Blues plus puts his own stamp on his original songs. While Johnny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepard play the so called "Bluesrock field" Sean has moved front and center in the presentation and performance of traditional electric blues reminiscent of a young Otis Rush,Freddie King or Buddy Guy. Sean has a crackerjack band led by the next great harmonica maestro in Paul Linden which accents Sean's singing and playing. As long as Sean keeps growing by trying different types of music whether it be his own or someone elses the Blues is in fine hands. I'm looking forward already to his next album!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heard about a 20 year old phenom and thought I'd check him out. I haven't actually heard the CD yet, but I caught him live at Northside Tavern in Atlanta last weekend. In a word - AMAZING! Excellent guitar work, suprisingly good vocals, and a piano player who could back up any blues band out there. I'll give it four stars since I heard most of the songs live and thought they were great.

With all due respect to the writer from London, Sean Costello's new CUTTIN' IN cd is definitely a step way up from his debut album. While CALL THE COPS is an excellent album, CUTTIN' IN shows a far more mature and self assured artist playing a wider and more challenging variety of material. The singing is much improved and the guitar work, mixed with terrific ensemble accompaniment, is outstanding (and thankfully not "over the top"). The sound of the album is vintage, but it rings through loud and clear, just like some of those old Muddy Waters Chess records. This one's a must.

I had my hopes up real high for this release, the follow-up to "Call the cops", but it fails to deliver up to the standard of his first CD. While "Call the cops" had a wonderful dynamic and direct sound, "Cuttin in" sounds as if it was being recorded in a shoe box. The intention was clearly to emulate the sound of the fifties but it sounds somewhat dull. The musicianship is at times rather weak and it is surprising, especially in light of the fabulous first CD. Sean's guitar work is not as imaginative or fiery but the vocals mostly delivers. His harp player, Paul Linden, plays very imaginative and brings in jazz elements into the playing, backing up on essentially every tune. The songs are mostly covers, but the choices does not offer anything new. I know that Sean will be one to count on in the future but better production, band and choice of covers is essential. The CD is not bad, it is just that it is a major step back for Costello and band. This CD is for fans only, go for "Call the cops" instead, and let's hope for a better 3rd release.

If you purchase this cd--get ready because you will be jumping and grooving all day long! This cd gets better as you listen to it as well. It starts off the "Talk to Your Daughter" a standard blues song that Sean belts out with his gritty voice. Its a real good cover of that song and I've heard a lot of them!! Some songs sound like old-style swing songs with a blues twist--and they are good songs. Most will have you grooving and rocking. "Mellow Swing Chick" reminds me of a late night evening in a smoky Havana club. The song "Double Trouble" is also a cover and it takes you down a road filled with emotional turmoil as you hear the heart-wrenching guitar solo on this..its a great song.

There are so many good songs on this cd. I love it. I also like "Goomsbay Rock" a calypso-sounding groove that I really enjoyed. I go to the cd a lot. Of course I love Sean--saw him live--had my pic taken with him. He was a very hard worker in the blues scene & it shows on this cd. ((RIP Sean--we love you))

Cuttin' In, with its guitar-driven style and strong vocals combine to make it a must-have for anyone who loves the blues. Although "Double Trouble" is the reason I bought the CD, the other 13 tracks are hot, too.

O.K., I will admit that I didn't think it was possible to top Sean's first album "Call the Cops". Unfortunately,it turns out I was right. This disc is better than alot of the new blues that has been issued in recent years, but it is not as strong as his first. I was somewhat warned when I heard Sean's playing on Susan Tedeschi's grammy nominated album "Just Won't Burn". It seemed that he was getting away from the strengths of his playing- namely swing and jump blues. This disc is much more varied in the style of music- which is great, but by doing this, he seems to move away from the things that made "cops" so good. This disc is more traditional in its approach. He covers some unusual songs from the likes of Sonny Boy I and A.B. Higgs (the odd Goombay Rock). But, at the sime time, he covers songs that don't need to be covered anymore- i.e. "Double Trouble" and "Mamma Talk to your Daughter" these are chestnuts of the blues catalog that have been done to death- as good as Sean is, we don't need more versions of these songs. His vocals have improved by leaps and bounds (although the disortion on the mic helps him sound rougher than his voice is). I don't mean to discourage you from buying this CD, but before you do- get his first one.