February 3, 2005

SHAKIN' UP THE BLUES WITH SOUL

Pity the poor bluesman - his is a tough life.

Not because he has the blues, exactly, but because most people think "having the blues" means playing slick, soulless guitar solos over histrionic harmonica and moaning about love through dumb metaphors about sewing or seafood or whatever.

It's tough to stand out when everyone is doing the same thing. It was smart, then, for guitarist and singer Tommy Castro to do something different on "Soul Shaker" (Blind Pig), his latest album. Although there's plenty of blues on the record, Castro puts emphasis on the soul. The result is a batch of rocked-up tunes that owe as much to Bob Seger as to Buddy Guy.

Castro's guitar yields to a bold, blowsy saxophone on "Just Like Me," and there's a gritty, blue-collar "Rock & Roll Never Forgets" vibe to "Let's Give Love a Try." Castro lays back and lets his rough-edged vocals shine on "Anytime Soon," and there's a subtle, yet insistent blend of horns bobbing just beneath the surface.

Even the more straightforward blues tunes tend to steer clear of blues clichés. "The Next Right Thing" is loaded with crazy guitar and sax solos, but the funky bass line keeps it interesting. "No One Left To Lie To" does the slow-burning, late-night blues thing with passion.

This is the first album on which Castro contributed to all the songs, and the personal touch is evident. He says in the press notes that he and his collaborators "let the songs dictate the approach. The result is that, while for the most part the material was done in a familiar way, we were also led into some new territory."

Castro, like many of his peers, has been hailed as the future of the blues, an accolade that's almost right. Really, though, the new territory Castro explores on "Soul Shaker" should be the music's future.

Eric R. Danton
danton@courant.com