Tom Principato - House On Fire (2003) Lossless

Released around 2003, this seems to be the lesser known CD from the guitar legend Tom Principato and his Band, but that's about the only thing "lesser" about this CD because it burns and swirls from beginning to end. The material includes 7 Tom Principato originals and 4 covers, most notably Willie Dixon's "Crazy Mixed Up World" and Roy Buchanan's "Done Your Daddy Dirty".
Backed by Joe Wells on drums and John Perry on bass (who often perform live gigs with Tom), Tom's singing and playing are on fire throughout, and after listening to the whole CD, I got the feeling that the CD title is well-justified. Tommy Lepson guests on the organ on the playfully rockin' "Voodoo Thing", the grittier "House On Fire", and the gospel-infused "Baptized In Muddy Water", while Kevin McKendree plays the piano on the jumping rendition "Crazy Mixed Up World".
The album generally leans toward rock-n-roll with a driving rhythm, except the slow and tortured "Very Blue" and the bare-bones gospel-influenced "Baptized In Muddy Water". By the consistent growl of the guitar tone, I would guess that Tom played his Telecaster, pictured on the cover, for the whole CD. I think Tom has special connection to a Telecaster, and it's always a special experience to hear him play that particular guitar. His signature Telecaster sound is definitely recognizable.
One of Tom's other strengths, and this comes through on just about each of his CDs, is that he's a talented composer. There are 7 originals here, and they are all catchy, interesting, and different. That's not to be taken for granted, as many guitar players out there than can do the pyrotechnics but are weak in coming up with original material. This is definitely NOT the case with Tom Principato and his band.
To sum up, everybody is playing at their best here, and the CD comes across as very well put-together and is a blast to listen to, with solid compositions, plenty of guitar pyrotechnics by Tom, and some great singing throughout. (amazon)