Tommy Castro: Live at the Fillmore

Tommy Castro’s Live at the Fillmore (Blind Pig 5059; 62:26) captures the intensity of the guitarist’s tight, hard-working four-piece band on a particularly good night in San Francisco and the CD is enhanced with interview and performance excerpts.

A killer soloist with a penchant for passionate blue-collar rock ‘n’ soul, Castro summons up memories of a young John Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival on “Like an Angela” and alludes to Little Richard’s wildness on Bobby Troup’s “The Girl Can’t Help It.” “Lucky in Love” and “Keep a Good Man Down” are classic examples of raunch ‘n’ roll, while “I Got to Change” and “Just a Man” are both Otis Redding-inspired R&B offerings. For straight blues, Castro digs in and delivers the goods on “My Time After Awhile” and a powerful cover of Albert King’s “Can’t You See What You’re Doing to Me.” Along the way, Castro also tips his hat to Albert Collins on his funky “Nasty Habits” and to James Brown on a faithful, show-stopping rendition of “Sex Machine,” which qualifies with, “Fellas… I wanna get up and do my thing. It ain’t really my thing, I’m just gonna borrow it for a minute. But you know what I’m talkin’ about.” Go on with it, Tommy.

Originally Published June 1, 2000