Done Moved On

Guitar and steel (pedal, lap, and triple neck) slinger Chris Casello releases his first solo recording out after moving to Nash Vegas and dissolving his long-running Starlight Drifters unit. As one would expect, it's a bad-ass guitar boss's project with a load of pals dropping in to lend a hand. Recorded in both Detroit and Music City, it's a roots-drenched record with Casello playing everything from drop-dead rockabilly burners to romantic Western swing tunes with a whole slew of originals in the mix. An immediate difference is Casello handling all the vocal chores himself this time out -- and he can actually do it! Of the 15 tracks, the covers he's chosen may be nuggets to some, but the sheer challenge of doing them justice is another story: "Merle Travis's Cannon Ball Rag" and Spade Cooley's "Shame on You" are a couple that Casello actually adds something to, preserving them for modernity. And while there's humor here, there is certainly no kitsch. Check his own "All Messed Up" and the title track with its bluesed-out lead-in riff and vocals that sound like they come from a horror film soundtrack. An then there's Leon McCauliffe and Johnny Shamblin's "Twin Guitar Special" with its precise rhythm and hard-swinging jazz choruses. Done Moved On is a winner through and through, and the record that should finally get this well-kept secret noticed outside of the roots community.