Artist: Various Artists
Album: Don’t Pass Me By: A Tribute to Sean Costello
Label: Landslide
Release Date: 10.18.2019
Sean Costello was one of a kind, and—by far—not enough music lovers are aware of that fact. Sean Costello enjoyed high peaks of success in his short life, but his triumphs were equaled by depths of despair. He became obsessed with blues guitar as a kid and by 14, was turning heads by his masterful grasp of the traditional Chicago style of playing. Two years later he released the first of his six studio albums (there are also two live compilation CDs available), all of which displayed not only stellar guitar, but deft songwriting, and a craggy, exceedingly soulful singing voice.
Every one of the artists called upon to contribute a rendition of one of his songs for Don’t Pass Me By: A Tribute to Sean Costello are obviously enamored, and each one of them exposes Costello’s brilliance directly from the heart, and with honorable purpose.
Costello’s fiery live performances quickly became legendary. But just one day shy of his 29th birthday in 2008, the fire was extinguished by an overdose, brought on by years of struggle with bipolar disease. In a real labor of love, all the participants gave freely of their time and talents for The Sean Costello Memorial Fund to Benefit Bipolar Research.
Distinctiveness shines all the way, but Steve Marriner of Canada’s MonkeyJunk offers the first of two uncanny performances. “How in the Devil” begins with spun-out rips of guitar, and settles into a hard bounce. Marriner spits Costello’s do-me-wrong-but-I’m-a-sucker lyrics with Costello’s type of soulful sting. But it’s Victor Wainwright’s rendition of Costello and Amy Helm’s soulfully pleading “Don’t Pass Me By” that could actually be a channeling. Wainwright expresses the exact scraped soul intonations in voice, and the guitar follows suit with barbs designed to catch everybody.
On other cuts, the methods of reverence run the gamut. North Mississippi Allstars play “Father” as dark, muddy Southern Gothic, down a step from Costello’s intention. Candye Kane and Laura Chavez rock sexily, Watermelon Slim barrels like a freight train, and Electromatics bop like a transistor radio transmitting pop. Seth Walker’s dreaminess on “All I Can Do” speaks volumes. Costello’s words “It’s all I can do to get up in the morning, it’s all I can do to count my blessings,” the real true blues. Sean Costello was a visionary cut short. This one hour, 15-song homage brings his vision into sharp focus.
—Tom Clarke
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