Zed Mitchell - Game Is On (2011)

Not often does a guitar player come along that really makes you listen to all six of his strings. Zed Mitchell is originally from the former Yugoslavia and let his fingers grow into a perfect blend of technical skill and feeling. If you ever wonder what would happen if Eric Johnson and B.B. King’s minds were melded together, this is about as close as you could get. The only other name that popped in my head regularly while I listened to this album was Jeff Healey. Those are not small names to be tossing around lightly.
Now this man has quite a history behind him. He has been playing since 1970. There is studio work up the wazoo, working on projects with musicians from Tina Turner, Phil Collins, Natalie Cole, and the million-selling Munich Symphonic Sound Orchestra. The band also opened for groups Joe Cocker, Santana, and B.B. King. That is just a few of the miles on his fingertips; take a listen and you can hear the rest.
Game Is On is a compilation of two albums that Mitchell has released since 2008, Springtime in Paris and Summer in L.A. The album is just shy of an hour and feels like it is longer, which is a good thing. Some songs just have such a good feel like Healey’s “Angel Eyes.” The continuity of the album is as smooth as 12-year-old scotch. If I never told ya it was a two in one you’d never know by listening. Kudos!
Zed Mitchell is as flexible as a gymnast. He doesn’t use one style to utilize his skills, but whatever suits the song’s message. You can classify him as blues rock and toss it aside if you like, but that would be to say that the folk music stopped when Dylan plugged in. Each song has well-thought-out lyrics that are about everyday life. They are simple and you can appreciate it so much. Sometimes it’s nice to have to forgo extra words and cut straight to the chase.
This album mixes up the styles enough to keep your ear coming back for more. You have blues rock (“Gonna Keep You Satisfied,” “Game is On”), some pretty heavy ballads (“Springtime in Paris,” “I’m a River”), some funk (“Don’t Lie To Me”), a classic car song (“Cadillac”), some West Coast swing (“Lonely Just Like Me”), and the album closes with a nod to Eric Clapton in his solo years (“Friends Are Like Diamonds”). It’s nice to hear all of these sounds played so well through a musician with his own sound. Zed Mitchell has been hammering on his neck long enough to find himself and present it to you six strings attached.
Some of the songs on Game is On have such a strong power that you naturally turn it up and get lost in the soaring notes. There aren’t many feelings better than that. To look at Mitchell’s resume and see who he has opened for, I’d hate to be any performer that would follow him on stage – he is blazing hot! This is the first I have heard of his music and I’m more than happy to have pulled up a seat for the spin and I think you will be too! ~Kyle M. Palarino