Tommy Castro
Whole Lotta’ Soul
Blind Pig BPDVD 6005
During the second half of the '90s, Tommy Castro
helped develop today's contemporary blues. He grew up in San Jose and became
enthralled with the blues after realizing it influenced Eric Clapton and Mike Bloomfield.
Castro sings charismatically, plays wailing guitar and writes forceful rock 'n' soul numbers.
Randy McDonald (bass), Keith Crossan (sax) and Tommy have been performing
and recording together for 14 years. Chris Sandoval (drums) is the newest band member.
Like Blind Pig's other recent live DVDs, this one was
also recorded at the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, CA, in 2005. The 350-seat venue is
where the PBS TV series Sierra Center Stage is recorded, has excellent acoustics and has
been called one of the best live music spaces on the West Coast. Castro appears dressed in
black and plays his well worn Stratocaster.
The riveting 11-song set includes nine songs from Soul
Shaker (which spent 19 weeks on the Billboard blues chart). The only songs that do not
appear on Soul Shaker are "You Only Go Around Once" and "Texas
Flower". The latter, which sounds like it came from an Elvis Presley movie
soundtrack, appeared on McDonald's solo CD and is the only track not written by
Castro.
Interviews with Castro and his band add 16 minutes to the
hour long concert. Kevin Bowe adds guitar to several numbers, while sultry red-headed
Renee Austin provides jostled backing vocals on "Let's Give Love A Try".
Tom Poole's assertive trumpet and Jimmy Pugh's bold organ can be heard on
practically every Castro CD. "The Next Right Thing" is sleek, sheik and loaded
with funk. During "Take Me Off The Road", Castro is self-reflecting and
soul-searching, while McDonald launches into a wild trucker's CB radio rap. At times,
Crossan blows his sax as deep as a Great Lakes freight ship's horn. Throughout, he
injects a rock 'n' roll feel ala the Silver Bullet Band.
Castro is a real inimitable string-bender. As proof, just
watch and listen to "No One Left To Lie To". Time and time again, the ghost of
Otis Redding can be heard in Castro's vocals that moan, shout, scream and hum. In a
different era, Castro would have been the ruler of FM radio. For the present, he is
without a doubt, the king of rock 'n' soul.
- Tim Holek -
Southwest Blues DVD Review - May 2007
Current Reviews - 2007 Reviews - available at our store
