“No wheels are reinvented here, but there’s something to be said for doing a familiar thing with heart and style.” Now where have I heard those words before? Oh yeah—I said them in my review of Mike Zito’s last album, released about a year ago (Zito makes a lot of music; this new album is his fifth in four years). This one’s a little different, being a blues-rock summit with fellow guitar slinger Albert Castiglia, but those words still apply handily.

If you know Zito’s work, you know he’s too tasteful to make this an album of endless guitar showdowns. Those are pretty much confined to the album’s one instrumental, “Hill Country Jam,” which sounds exactly like something Dickey Betts would have written for the Allmans (congas and all), and hinges on some potent lead/slide guitar interplay (true to the Allmans model, it even features a Hammond solo before the guitars step forward). Elsewhere they do equal parts bluesy tunes and barroom raveups, and you can always count on John Hiatt to provide a song (“My Business”) that’s a little of both. And there are a couple surprises, like “In My Soul” which starts as a gospel-ish ballad and turns into something akin to “American Woman.” I’m not a big fan of guitarist Joe Bonamassa who co-produced this set, but I’ll hand it to him: His solo on “A Thousand Heartaches” is subtle and tasty, and he gets points for making his guest appearance on one of the softer tunes.

It’s clear throughout that Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia get off on each other’s company: The opener “Hey, Sweet Mama” is a Stonesy workout that in truth, ain’t that much of a song; but the liveliness of their guitar/vocal interplay kicks it up a few notches. The two come off solidly as journeymen, which is something to be proud of if you’re doing it right. Come to think of it, I said that one last time too.