February 4, 2005

Tommy Castro makes a strategic and effective musical shift on his latest release Soul Shaker (Blind Pig). One of the finest pure singers in the contemporary blues world, Castro highlights his demonstrative, exuberant vocals even more on such songs as "Let’s Give Love A Try," "No One Left To Lie To" and "Just Like Me," with his leads being punctuated by spiraling horn arrangements provided by Tom Poole and/or Keith Crossan. Besides Castro’s regular bandmates that include saxophonist/flutist Crossan, bassist Randy McDonald and drummer/percussionist Chris Sandoval, the session also includes excellent contributions from the New Directions vocal ensemble and several top guest players. Roy Rogers adds some biting slide guitar to "Soul Shaker," while Kevin Bowe provides acoustic and electric guitar work, drum loop programming, bass, organ and background vocals parts to "Big Love." Still, it is Castro’s mighty singing and frenetic accompaniment and guitar playing that links all these elements. Soul Shaker nicely navigates the middle ground between bluesy soul and soulful blues, retaining the best elements of each style and delivering consistently excellent, varied compositions.

Ron Wynn
rwynn@nashvillecitypaper.com

Original Review (Offsite Link)