May 7, 2003

Gratitude
Castro Pays Mighty Tribute to Masters Who Inspired Him

If you have ever heard Tommy Castro before, you know that the man has been pumping out a series of excellent albums that are a combination of hard Blues, Memphis Soul and traditional guitar-driven Rock 'n' Roll. His voice is one of the most soulful around, obviously influenced by the Soul and Blues artists who he grew up listening to. Now Tommy has decided to give a serious tip-of-the-lid to his idols with this new album of cover songs. I can relate to where he is coming from. For example, the first track is a classic from one of my early favorite duos - Sam & Dave. With help from the equally soulful Curtis Salgado, they tear through "I Take What I Want," with Curtis doing Sam Moore while Tommy handles the role of the huskier voiced Dave Prater. The two get a considerable push here from Castro's rhythm section of Randy McDonald on bass and Billy Lee Lewis on drums. Keith Crossan blows up a storm on sax, while guest John Turk rattles the ivories, playing the piano like it was going to be his last go-round.

Needing to catch our collective breaths already, they slow things down and do a straight Blues, Ray Charles style, on "Come Back Baby." Tommy rips some vicious and slinky licks on his Fender guitar, adding passion and fire to the tune. It definitely takes boulder-size cohones to tackle Ray Charles, but Tommy doesn't shy away from the challenges there. Next up, he does a duet with Sista Monica Parker, reprising Otis Redding's and Carla Thomas' "Lovey Dovey." The Gospel influence is very evident so far on this album.

What is cool about the songs on this album is the fact that Castro does not try to duplicate the earlier performances, instead wisely opting to put his own stamp and style to these classics. For one thing, I don't recall this kind of tough-sounding guitar all over the originals. Damn, this guy can sing and play!

Almost everybody knows how foolhardy it is to attempt to sing a Howlin' Wolf song without it sounding forced or wimpy in comparison, but Tommy does the Wolf's "44" next. The Wolf was incomparable, but Tommy does a fine job, aided greatly by the barrelhouse piano of John Turk.

In the year 2000, Castro had the supreme honor of being a special guest on a package tour with B.B. King as the headliner. He shows his gratitude by roaring through the King's "Bad Case Of Love," sidestepping any cliches in his playing along the way.

Next up is a high-energy dose of straight Rock 'n' Roll with a nice cover of Chuck Berry's "Tulane." Salgado is back on this track with vocal help, along with some terrific Blues harp to change things up. Of course, Tommy has to pull out the requisite Berry riffs, though.

The last time the great John Lee Hooker recorded a song before he passed away in 1991, it was for Castro's album, Guilty Of Love and Tommy considers his collaboration with The Hook as a pinnacle in his career. So it comes as no surprise, whatsoever, that Tommy pays tribute by doing the stomping, slow Blues of "It Serves Me Right To Suffer." Tommy couldn't resist suddenly breaking into John Lee's familiar "Boogie Chillun'" riff in the last half of the song, eventually winding things down and ending with the phrase, "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" and an "Oh, John!" You know Tommy still feels the sting of Hook not being around, except in spirit.

Next, we get a James Brown tune. But instead of the trademark Funk we have come to expect from the catalog of the 'Godfather of Soul', this is a Jump Blues from his earlier days - "I Feel That Old Feeling Coming On," with some rolling piano work from Mr. Turk and some honking sax from Mr. Crossan. Tommy adds some loose licks on his axe to complement his gritty vocals.

Perhaps no one epitomized the perfect marriage of Blues and Soul than Albert King and the band embraces Albert's "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven" with a groove that would make the ol' Stax crew proud. Turk adds some nice organ work this time around and the added horns of Tom Poole on trumpet and Michael Peliquin on sax give the song the needed punch.

"I Found A Love" is one of those belly-rubbin' Soul ballads that is a challenge to pull off vocally, but Tommy gets very able assistance from both Salgado and Turk on the choruses. This is an early Wilson Pickett tune when he was still with The Falcons. This makes two songs on this album ("It Serves Me Right To Suffer" being the other one) that has also been covered by The J. Geils Band in their earlier prime.

Can you do a tribute album without including Muddy Waters? I think not, and apparently Castro agrees as he does his take on the Willie Dixon-penned "I Wants To Be Loved."

The album closes with Buddy Guy's "When My Left Eye Jumps," proving that even though Tommy strays from the Blues quite a bit, he can do an intense slow Blues with the best of them. Again, John Turk shines on piano, while the horns riff in the background.

This album clearly illustrates the impact that the masters have had on Mr. Castro, and it's a beautiful thang baby...

T-Bone Erickson
Founding Editor of BluesWax

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