Sean Costello - Sean's Blues: A Memorial Retrospective - Landslide Records 2009

His final release, We Can Get Together, was released on Delta Groove Records just months before Sean died, and was being touted as his best ever. A joint statement from Delta Groove CEO Rand Chortkoff and President Robert Fitzpatrick following Sean's passing reads "Sean Costello was a genius...His musical legacy will live on through his music forever." Fortunately for Blues fans, the statement is spot on, and a significant portion of that legacy is presented by Landslide Records with the upcoming release of Sean's Blues.

The album hits store shelves and online retailers September 29, 2009, and I had the honor of sitting down with a copy of the CD this week. I can tell you without hesitation that this compilation is a must have for your collection, and it is a tasteful collection that serves as a terrific salute to one of the most promising Blues talents of his generation.

Sean's Blues consists of 20 tracks culled from recordings made between 1996 and 2002, with a scant 8 of those being previously released to the public. The remaining dozen tracks consist of previously unreleased studio and live recordings, including a blistering version of the Robert Johnson standard "Walking Blues" that was recorded in 1998 and features Susan Tedeschi on lead vocals.

Sean's Blues is amazing, in that, the listener can actually trace Costello's musical progression as each track unfolds out before you. The disc starts with three tracks from Costello's debut, Call the Cops; an album that was released when Sean was only 17, but at the time, captured his maturity as a musician and as a young man, which was light years ahead of his true age.

Tracks 4-7, as well as the aforementioned "Walking Blues," are previously unreleased studio sessions from 1998; sessions that led to Costello's signing by Landslide at the urging of Blues Rocker Tinsley Ellis, who according to Landslide's Michael Rothschild's liner notes, "...recommended Sean avidly." Tracks 8, 10, and 11 are from Sean Costello's subsequent Landslide Records debut, Cuttin' In; among those, a scathing version of the Otis Rush classic "Double Trouble." (The first of three Rush covers)

Then there are the three live cuts: Another Otis Rush great, "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)," and J.B. Lenoir's "Mojo Boogie," both recorded in Marquette, Michigan; and a version of Johnny "Guitar" Watson's "Motor Head Baby" recorded in Chicago, that features a guitar solo sure to leave bruises on your chin as a result of your jaw hitting the floor.

"Don't Be Reckless With My Heart" and third Otis Rush cover "It Takes Time" come from 2001's Moanin' For Molasses; and Sean's Blues wraps up with tracks 16 and 18-20, recorded in Atlanta in 2002. Two of those songs, "Feel Like I Ain't Got A Home" and "She Changed My Mind," are the original versions of songs that would eventually be rearranged and included on later Costello albums.

Sean's Blues: A Memorial Retrospective is an amazing glimpse into the musical legacy of one of the most acclaimed Blues talents of the last decade-and-a-half, and provides fans a wonderful way to replay their memories of the late Sean Costello, whose amazing musical prowess was thankfully captured for us all to enjoy.

Standout Tracks: All of Them

A Portion Of the Royalties From the Sale Of This Album Will Benefit The Sean Costello Memorial Fund For Bi-Polar Research - http://www.seancostellofund.org

Click Here To Place Your Pre Order of Sean's Blues by Sean Costello.