Neal Vitullo, Hub O’Nell and Billy "Bamm Bamm" Donahue compromise one of this nation’s best rocking, blues, electric bar bands. They are Young Neal & the Vipers. They are not strangers to your home or a town close to you. They are us and we are the and when you are listening to this disc, you get the full Vipers experience. This is the second King Snake release for Neal. And convincing, contemporary, electric-driven blues with heart and sweat earned meaning is what jumps out of his recording.

Twelve tracks, with eight original’s by the Vipers. Lyrics on this disc are a stretch above what is customary expected, for they reach down and relate very deeply to a chord deep inside. Neal’s been there and he’s come back to share it with us in word and especially in music. The cover art is pure Neal. Front cover, the Machine Gun Kelly pose familiar to all as he slays the crowd with electricity disguised as music. Back cover, we’ve got buff Neal pulling some chord out of the mystic, veins popping out of his neck, emotion screaming out of his fingers. This is one of the best optics of a musician I have ever seen on a cover. No affectation, pure talent.

Musicians serve as neoteric bodhisatva’s for a select group of late night gatherers. For those who cannot hear the lateness, the disc offers scriptures and paths to a better appreciation of life. Can the Blues be this country’s great teacher? Homegrown, for sure. Lot’s of time allowed formaturing and style development. In this line of thought, a messenger like Young Neal, serves as a senior spokesperson. There has been no hiding by this man. He has experienced life fully and is peaceful with all that has happened. Out of this bliss comes outstanding buoyant music that cover’s a full appreciation to his musical heritage.

The first four tracks on the disc are very strong, both style and lyrics. "One’s Enough," the title cut holds more about Neal than a paper full of columns. The covers, "Linda Lu", "The Hump" and "Tramp" receive the homage that musicians uniquely share between themselves.

A couple of years ago I brought along a female friend to a Viper’s concert in Niantic. It was a summer, Thursday evening, with a slow to enter crowd. She like many had heard about Young Neal and his adventures through the bailiwick of life, but she had never heard Neal and bandmates play. Once she was there for three songs, once she saw the raw athleticism of Neal’s guitar playing, once she saw the high wattage energy of Hub O’Neil’s bass, once she felt the bamming of Donahue’s stickwork, she become a fan for life. She always thought it was "guy" music. Heh-heh.

It is my pleasure to recommend this disc to you for your listening. And see this band in concert. They are apex of entertainment, in the liturgy we like to call the Blues!

-SABA