West Coast blues-rocker Tommy Castro has released 16 albums on several labels, played 150 to 200 dates a year for a loyal and ever-growing audience, and won awards and respect from his peers. He has remained a vital musician, pushing his music ever forward. Castro & the Painkillers A Bluesman Came to Town, produced by Tom Hambridge, is arguably the first blues concept album. Its about a farm boy who discovers the blues, learns to play guitar, and hits the road. One neednt follow the story to enjoy it. A remarkably diverse set, its 13 original songs careen across roadhouse, Chicago, and modern electric blues, roots rock, soul, and even funk. Somewhere is a swampy, wrangling slide guitar blues with wailing harmonica by guest Jimmy Hall. The first-person lyrics highlight the protagonists desire to escape his dull rural life. The title track offers a soaring vocal and swirling leads in a story about the beginnings of an itinerant wanderer offering experiential advice against meeting the Devil at the crossroads. Oakland blues queen Terrie Odabi duets with Castro on Child Dont Go, a rocking gospel-blues thats as much Saturday night as it is Sunday morning. You to Hold on To was inspired by the Stax Otis Redding-Steve Cropper fakebook. It showcases Castros resonant emotional power as a singer. The Wurlitzer piano, organ, and entwining guitars buoy and frame his protagonists pleading lyric. The sleek, funky Hustle reflects James Browns influence, with a mantra-like vamp from fingerpopping staccato horns, wah-wah guitar, and an octave-drop bassline. Blues Prisoner offers a lowdown steamy drama worthy of Albert King in a 12-bar blues played in 3/4 time. It contrasts Castros testifying, confessional vocal, Kevin McKendrees cautionary upright piano, and mean single-string guitar fills in a dark, unruly blues storm. On I Caught a Break, Castros raspy, punchy delivery recalls Delbert McClintons in a Chuck Berry-esque stomp, whereas Women Drugs and Alcohol is a tale of vice, pleasure, and pain in the dialect of barnstorming blues-rock. The atmospheric guitar intro to Draw the Line gives way to a midtempo, minor-key Chicago-style shuffle driven by Wurlitzer electric piano, reverbed tom-toms, and Castros razor-sharp leads. His road-weary voice confesses the protagonists wandering, losses, and soul-defeating compromises. I Want to Go Back Home is a return to soul as Castros croon evokes the rough sweetness of Redding, as well as the roadhouse desperation of Southside Johnny. It features gorgeous alto sax playing from guest Deanna Bogart. Bring It on Back delivers a lyric about a soul-quaking epiphany amid nasty, distorted, slide-saturated blues-rock; it sets up a stripped-down reprise of Somewhere with just acoustic slide and muffled drum kit. All told, A Bluesman Came to Town is a towering achievement for Castro. Through the roots and blues vocabulary, excellent songwriting, musical imagination, and inspired performances, he offers an unflinching, behind-the-scenes look at the joys, perils, and defeats in a traveling musicians life. ~ Thom Jurek

Rovi