Mike Zito, Life Is Hard. Zito recorded the new album in September at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California, with Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith producing. Both Bonamassa and Smith were involved in the production of Blood Brothers, the critically-acclaimed album Zito recorded with fellow label guitarist Albert Castiglia. The even-dozen tracks on Life Is Hard include not only several Mike Zito originals, but also his takes on a wide variety of blues songs written by such contemporaries as Tinsley Ellis, Walter Trout, Tab Benoit and Fred James. Sprinkled in are covers from a diverse assortment of blues/roots music icons, including Little Milton ("Lonely Man"), Stevie Wonder ("Have a Talk with God") and Reverend Gary Davis ("Death Don't Have No Mercy"), plus the outside-the-box blues-worthy rendering of the Guess Who classic, "These Eyes." Mike Zito - Guitar and Vocals / Joe Bonamassa - Additional Guitar / Josh Smith - Additional Guitar / Reese Wynans - Keyboards / Calvin Turner - Bass / Lemar Carter - Drums / Paulie Cerra - Saxophone on "Lonely Man" / Jennifer Kumma and Anna Spina - French Horn on "Forever My Love" and "These Eyes" / Jade Macrae - Background Vocals / Dannielle Deandrea - Background Vocals / Steve Ray Ladson - Background Vocals on "Death Don't Have No Mercy" / French Horn Arrangements by Calvin Turner