In the blues-rock scene since the early seventies, Rick Vito (born in 1949), a multi-instrumentalist and master of slide guitar, has spent much of his professional career lending the distinctive voice of his guitar to colleagues who fully recognize his virtues as a top-tier musician. Deeply influenced by the greats of the blues, in his early days he joined Delaney & Bonnie and gained valuable experience for several years, recording with John Mayall and Roger McGuinn, among many others, until Bonnie Raitt chose him as the guitarist for her band. Later, in the mid-eighties, rock star Bob Seger enlisted his talents, and together they also recorded the major hit “Like a Rock.” When Lindsey Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac in 1987, Vito took his place, touring with the band and recording the successful album “Behind the Mask.” In 1991, he left the group to begin a solo career that to date includes eleven albums plus a compilation, and has taken him on powerful tours, including European legs. Rick Vito is a complete composer and an essential reference guitarist for those familiar with the most expressive pop and blues of the past five decades. “Slidemaster” is a wonderful statement of expressiveness, emotion, and musical subtlety. Vito handles guitars and keyboards and shares bass duties across these twelve instrumental tracks, a giant at the helm of this fierce modern blues experience, the sound of a slide guitar backed by an undeniable legacy, indeed, one of the very best.