Grits & Glory [CD], Albert Castiglia, CD

Albert Castiglia isn't pulling any punches on Grits & Glory, his latest solo studio album on Gulf Coast Records, recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. The record feels like a full-circle moment - reconnecting Albert with the wide-eyed, guitar-slinging kid from New York whose world was flipped from black and white to technicolor by an 8-track of Rubber Soul on the way to a ball game. That spark of curiosity sent him chasing sounds and players - Jeff Beck, John Mayall, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page - whose influence has echoed through Castiglia's playing ever since. British blues always felt essential to his DNA... just out of reach. Until now.