Mike Rossi sings lead vocals on all but one of the tunes on this CD. Rossi sings with passion in a gritty yet soulful style. He can take ya down with a gravely, fierce "Unconditional Love," or cut the edge for a softened, smooth "What We Do For Love," which has a Santana-like feel.

Guitarist Angelo Rossi compliments Mike's vocals with an electric, yet artful grace in his playing. At times the interplay between the guitar and voice feels like a duet, with each part influencing the other as the song continues. "You're Gonna Lose It All" is a wonderful example of this captivating musical interplay. Mike's lyrics, "How could good lovin' be causing all this pain?" are answered by the sweet guitar work of Angelo. In "Rain of Tears" Angelo's delightful descending pattern of musical steps imitate the sound of a gentle falling rain.

Throughout this CD, the horn section is solid, and the rhythm section serves up a steady groove. Doug Burns plays a wicked harp, especially on the up-tempo shuffle, "Mean Man." Dave Stone shines on the sax on several songs, while both keyboard players add a delightful balance to this full sounding blues band. The only cover tune on this CD, "What Love Will Do" by Little Milton features the powerful vocals of Marvin Banks and could send even the most timid listeners into an unabashed dancing frenzy!

The Rossi Brothers wrap up this great CD with two and a half minutes of sweet acoustic Delta blues, entitled "Traveling Blues." These boys from the Bay Area would be wonderful to catch live! For now, you can enjoy their strong, yet soulful sounds by ordering the CD "Rain of Tears."

Web site: www.rossibros.net
E-mail: rossibros@aol.com
Knight & Day Media Control
E-mail: lknight1@aol.com
Toll free: 1-888-242-6227 pin 1015
FAX: 415-566-5608
Send mail orders to:
The Rossi Brothers
2558 Middlefield Rd.
Mountain View, CA 94043

This review is copyright © 1999 by Lisa Gault, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved.