Since his electrifying live 1994 debut album, Tommy Castro has rocked the blues music world with his powerful vocals, fiery fret-bashing, and signature “rock-n-soul” sound. Over the course of seven studio albums and a pair of live rockets, Castro and his crew have become one of the genre’s premiere houserockin’ bands, with such musical legends as B.B. King and Carlos Santana singing their praises. With the release of Painkiller, his tenth album, Castro has delivered a seriously rocking, once-in-a-lifetime achievement.
Castro and crew crank it up from the first note with the chooglin’ “Love Don’t Care.” With a stabbing guitar riff and some mighty fine horn-blowin’, the band breaks into a vaguely Latin-flavored rhythm as T.C. croons his soul-blues lyrics concerning Cupid’s lack of consideration. A brief lick taken straight from the Chuck Berry playbook opens the lush, big-band R&B revue-styled “I’m Not Broken,” Tony Stead’s nimble-finger ivory-bashing bringing a Jerry Lee vibe to the song’s bluesy roots.
Tommy Castro’s Painkiller
The album’s title track is a soaring blues-rocker with top flight hornplay, a passionate vocal turn by Castro, a fast-walking rhythm, and a red-hot six-string solo in the middle to tie it all together. “Big Sister’s Radio” is a throwback to the early ‘60s, the sort of R&B-steeped roots-rocker that they were kicking out of the Crescent City studios at the time. Keith Crossan’s sax solo is especially effective, evoking memories of a simpler time and a more innocent world, a perfect match to the song’s nostalgic lyrics.
Guitarist Coco Montoya joins Castro on a delightful romp through Albert Collins’ “A Good Fool Is Hard To Find.” The two respected blues musicians swap vocals and compare notes with spry solos that display each man’s respective talents. It is, perhaps, the album’s high point: a raw, rockin’ cover of an already tuff-as-nails song. Things slow down a bit for the moody “Err On the Side of Love,” a silky-smooth number that perfectly recreates an early-1980s blue-eyed soul vibe. Castro’s seductive vocals are complimented by his otherworldly guitarplay.
The first few notes of a gale-force blast of funky sax let the listener know that “I Roll When I Rock” is going to be a blustery R&B rave-up, and Castro does not disappoint. The entire gang struts and swaggers through the song, the energetic rhythms nearly overshadowed by the cameo solo spotlights of guitar, saxophone, and piano. Guest vocalist Angela Strehli lends her considerable pipes to a particularly fine reading of the great Freddie King’s “If You Believe (In What You Do),” dueting with Castro and providing a bluesy sheen to the song’s slow-rocking roots.
“Goin’ Down South” mixes a barrelhouse piano undercurrent with Castro and Teresa James trading verses on the vocals on this Dixie-fried travelogue that name checks traditional music-oriented cities as Memphis, Tennessee; Austin, Texas; and San Diego, California. A dark-hued storm cloud descends on “Lonesome and Then Some,” a mournful tale of looking for love that features an appropriately winsome vocal performance set against a haunting keyboard backdrop. Castro’s fretwork here is stunning, capturing the song’s many shades of emotion.
The Reverend’s Bottom Line
Every now and then even the most jaded music fan will find an album where all the pieces just fall into place. That’s the case with Painkiller, Tommy Castro and his band firing on all cylinders as they roll through this spirited collection of blues, rock, R&B, and soul. Producer John Porter (Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Santana) has created a bright, beautiful mix for these songs, allowing Castro’s charisma and the entire band’s talents to shine right through your speakers. Painkiller won a 2008 Blues Music Award as “Contemporary Blues Album of the Year,” and for good reasons…this album rocks! (Blind Pig Records, released February 2nd, 2007)
It’s cold as a penguin’s patootie outside as I write this – a measly four
degrees with a minus seven wind chill here in WNY – so it’s time to crank up the
Victrola and spin some hot tunes to melt the ice from your eardrums and push
away frostbite for another day. Here’s some of the Reverend’s picks for winter
playlists, every one guaranteed to get rid of yer ‘winter blues’!
The Continental Drifters
were easily a decade ahead of their time, or maybe a decade too late, depending
on your perspective. Featuring a brace of skilled songwriters – Peter Holsapple
(The dB’s), Susan Cowsill (The Cowsills), Vicki Peterson (The Bangles), and Mark
Walton (Dream Syndicate) – and a slew of talented noisemakers, the Drifters were
an ‘80s-era college rock dream band with the jangle to prove it. They released
four albums over a decade (1993-2004), their final album actually recorded as
their first, and they danced at the intersection of pop and rock at a time when
musical culture was dominated by some of the ugliest and most brutal sounds one
could capture on tape.
As shown by
White Noise & Lightning: The Best of the Continental Drifters
(Omnivore Recordings), music this intelligent, creative, and oftentimes
beautiful is timeless, a magical talisman just waiting for an audience to find
it. With this collection – and the band’s recent biography of the same name
penned by Sean Kelly – the door to rediscovery by a younger generation is wide
open. Pulling material from all four of the Drifters’ albums, and including a
previously-unreleased live track in the form of the electrically-charged “Who We
Are, Where We Live,” White Noise & Lightning offers up everything from the
gorgeous pop ballad “Mixed Messages” to the hard-rocking “Don’t So What I Did,”
as well as the band’s folkish ‘theme song’ “Drifters,” beautifully sung by
Cowsill. Dig into the Continental Drifters, the best band you never heard!
Grade: A+
BUY!
[Omnivore]
Old Town Crier
(a/k/a Jim Lough) has received digital ink here before, notably for the 2023 LP
A Night with Old Town Crier, which Lough used to raise money for The Pine Street Inn, a Boston-area
non-profit fighting homelessness. The four-song EP
Motion Blur (self-produced) was recorded in the winter of 2004, the tape
promptly lost, and then rediscovered last year. Keeping with his usual ‘modus
operandi’ Lough has released Motion Blur on Bandcamp, with half the proceeds
going to the Plymouth COPE Center at bamsi.org, a pretty cool and worthwhile
non-profit that is creating “equal opportunities for individuals with
developmental disabilities and mental and behavioral health challenges.”
Motion Blur
depicts the imaginative rocker in a different light, with a bit of twang in the
grooves and a rockabilly heart. The short, sharp shock of “Back Door” swings on
the hinges of a truly reckless guitar lick that eats at your brain like a
politician’s promise while evincing a cowpunk aesthetic. The toothier “Rebecca”
welds a standard honky-tonk dancefloor rhythm to a slinky Exile-era
Stones soul groove with wiry, madcap fretwork and a joyous spirit while “Country
Boy” is a hillbilly rave-up with clamorous instrumentation and revved-up vocals
that go down like a Mason jar full of ‘shine (smooth, with a finish that kicks
yer ass). Closer “Real Good Friend” injects a ‘60s-era garage-rock vibe into the
mix, like Sky Saxon riding a mechanical bull at Muhlenbrink’s Saloon in West
Nashville, with some mighty fine git pickin’ driving the vox. The EP is a
delightfully lo-fi affair but nevertheless displays plenty of heart and soul
with its performances.
Grade: A
BUY! [Bandcamp]
Any outfit with a name like
The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown
is certain to get the Reverend’s attention, and the band’s spicy debut,
RepurposE Purpose Vol. 1 (Org Music), lives up to its billing. Masterminded by producer/bassist John Heintz, The
Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown has been bubbling under the public’s consciousness for
better than a decade, but the seven-song RepurposE Purpose Vol. 1 EP
(which delivers all of the energy and cheap thrills of a full-length LP!) should
raise the band’s profile and deserves every dollar you throw out for a copy.
Digging into a long-lost funk goldmine with a veritable ‘who’s who’ of musical
talent, the EP features name players like Jack Irons (The Red Hot Chili
Peppers), Angelo Moore & Norwood Fisher (Fishbone), Jimi Hazel (24-7 Spyz),
Larry LaLonde (Primus), Leo Nocentelli (The Meters), and Ra Diaz (Korn), among
many others. Of course, it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got the swing, and
superstar studio party times have been known to go awry before, but it’s all
good with The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown.
Opener “All Together Now” is a
solid musical statement, an energetic instrumental with jazzy horns blasting
above a hardcore funk rhythm and embroidered by the legendary Nocentelli’s
bluesy shards of jagged lead guitar. “Body Magic” offers up P-Funk’s Ronkat
Spearman delivering his silky vox above a spry, space-age funk ensemble that
mixes brass and percussion with a soul undercurrent to booty-shaking effect. The
throwback vibe of the instrumental “420 Ocean Drive” displays echoes of prime
‘70s-era Funkadelic with P-Funk axeman Eric McFadden leading the charge with
imaginative and powerful leads, yet still manages to explore new and exciting
musical territories. Fishbone’s Moore takes the microphone for the low-slung,
raunchy “Spirit Stain” with Jimi Hazel weaving some devastating guitar licks
beneath one of the boldest, nastiest, and entertaining cosmic grooves to ever
tickle your cerebellum.
The avant garde instrumental “Ten Hits” may
be the most intriguing and fascinating cut on the EP; led by Primus
guitar-wrangler Larry LaLonde and featuring Fishbone bassist Norwood Fisher and
Mike Dillon (from Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade) on vibes and
tabla, the performance definitely digs into exotic turf to deliver a gem of a
lysergic fever dream. Instrumental versions of “Body Magic” and “Spirit Stain”
are as engaging and electric as the vocal versions, but possible with more heft
given the change in focus. Blessed by the almighty Godfather himself, George
Clinton, The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown is the real deal,
RepurposE Purpose Vol. 1 a stone-cold killer with big funk energy and –
most importantly – the undeniable sound of a bunch of musical brethren making a
joyous noise just for kicks.
Grade: A
BUY! [Bandcamp]
Tommy Castro
has been knocking around the blues world for 30+ years now, but has never gotten
the mainstream recognition his status deserves. Since his 1995 studio debut
Exception to the Rule (and with the Dynatones before that), Castro has
been preserving, yet pushing blues music to new heights. He’s won a slew of
‘Blue Music Awards’ from The Blues Foundation, including the coveted ‘B.B. King
Entertainer of the Year” award an unparalleled four times. He’s an electrifying
performer, an underrated singer and guitarist, and yet he wouldn’t be picked out
of a lineup if he stole a ham sandwich from Carnegie Deli.
It doesn’t
matter, tho’, because what pop music ignores, blues fans heartily embrace and,
as shown by Castro’s latest effort, Closer To the Bone (Alligator Records), the man still has a lot to say. As usual, Castro’s guitar playing in the
grooves is sharp, clean, and concise, reminding of B.B. King but with a little
toothier bite to his solos. Even after decades of shouting the blues, Castro’s
vox remain strong, soulful, with a touch of grit. “One More Night” is a
swinging, Texas-flavored blues romp a la Stevie Ray, but with less six-string
pyro (but still some…) while “Keep Your Dog Inside,” a duet with the
multi-talented Deanna Bogart, evinces Elvin Bishop’s sense of humor while still
managing to sizzle like a steak on a hot grill (and name checks the jocular
Bishop in the outro).
“Ain’t Worth the Heartache” rides an exotic
backing rhythm and Billy Branch’s harmonica wizardry to nirvana while on
“Freight Train (Let Me Ride),” Castro channels Johnny Winter with his wicked
Resonator play. The old-school, West Coast jump blues of “Bloodshot Eyes” jumps
right out of the speakers and grabs you by the ears and, really, all of
Closer To the Bone is pretty much guaranteed to put a smile on the face
of any blues fan. Castro is more of a traditionalist than, say, Joe Bonamassa or
Walter Trout, but neither is he afraid to mix a little rock or jazz into his
blues sound. Neither is he hesitant to call upon his influences (B.B. King,
Albert Collins, Stax Records) when needed to make a point. As such,
Closer To the Bone is both an amalgam of everything that has come before
in the blues world with Castro still managing to put a contemporary spin and
energy to the sound.
Grade: A
BUY! [Alligator]
Although not often credited as such, Wendy Carlos was a major innovator in the field of electronic music. Her groundbreaking efforts directly influenced such subsequent genres as ambient music, New Age, techno, and electronica, all of which depend heavily on the synthesizer as a lead instrument. Carlos studied musical composition at Columbia University under Vladimir Ussachevsky and Otto Leuning. While working as a studio engineer in Manhattan, the young classical music enthusiast met up with Dr. Robert Moog, an innovator himself and the inventor of the Moog Synthesizer.
Carlos recognized the synthesizer’s potential and recorded her first album with the instrument in 1968. Switched-On Bach (East Side Digital) proved to be a remarkable showcase for the largely unknown electronic instrument. Her electronic recreations of fugues and concertos, although scorned by classical purists, was a big hit with the mainstream audience, winning three Grammy™ awards and becoming the first classical recording to be certified Platinum™ for one million units sold. A digital recreation of Bach’s “greatest hits,” Switched-On Bach transfers to compact disc with great clarity and resonance.
Carlos followed her debut with a couple of similar classical reconstructions, which would receive lukewarm response. She would hit a homerun again in 1971 with her original score for the Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange. Also reissued by East Side Digital, the project would show the roots of an evolution in Carlos’ sound, the soundtrack mixing electronic interpretations of Beethoven and Rossini with original compositions that sounded like nothing before (or since). These instrumental interludes were the first shots in a musical revolution that would yield such influential electronic artists as Larry Fast, Kraftwerk and Neu. Carlos would also use this album to introduce the Vocoder voice synthesizer into popular usage.
Carlos would continue her sojourn into what would later be called “New Age” music with the brilliantly realized 1972 release Sonic Seasonings (ESD), a two-album set of “environmental” music. Using natural sounds combined with subtle electronic flourishes to compose suites for each of the four seasons, the album paved the way for dozens of musical imitators. This 2-CD reissue also includes Land of the Midnight Sun, a previously unreleased project from 1986 that extends and builds upon the suites composed for Sonic Seasonings, serving as a sort of artistic bookend for this important and often overlooked work.
Better than a decade later, Carlos would again revolutionize electronic music with 1986’s Beauty In the Beast (ESD). A masterful and disturbing hybrid of digital sound, classical composition and traditional music from around the world (Tibet, Bali, Africa and East Europe), the project redefined electronic music as a medium rather than a style. The most difficult Carlos album to listen to, with unusual tunings and cacophonic rhythms, Beauty In the Beast is nevertheless worth the effort, the album a musical revelation that would subsequently inspire artists such as Brian Eno and David Byrne to mix world music with electronic pop.
Carlos continues to record sporadically. A pioneer in sound reproduction, Carlos has worked with various software developers and is well known as a sound engineer. Unlike many artists who have no input over their early work, Carlos was intimately involved with the production of these reissues; her background in engineering and electronics no doubt valuable in coaxing the best sound possible out of tapes created by what is now ancient technology. Other Wendy Carlos titles in the East Side Digital reissue series include 1969’s classical collection The Well-Tempered Synthesizer, 1984’s Digital Moonscapes, and Tales of Heaven & Hell from 1998. All of the reissues feature crystal-clear 20-bit remastering and are enhanced with content available via computer. More information on Wendy Carlos can be found online at www.wendycarlos.com.
I remember living in Detroit back in 1979, haunting local clubs like the New Miami to hear performances by rockers like Sonic’s Rendezvous Band, Destroy All Monsters, and the Romantics. If you wanted to hear the blues, though there was just one place to go – the basement of the Blind Pig Café on South First in Ann Arbor. The club drew all the major league heavyweights of the blues world; they put out records too, on their own Blind Pig Records imprint. The first Blind Pig album I remember buying was by roots rocker Steve Nardella and I’ve spent a lot of cash on records from the Blind Pig folks since then.
A quick glimpse at the line-up of talent for the double-disc Blind Pig Records 25th Anniversary Collection shows exactly how the label managed to extract so much of my coin during the past quarter-century. The 35-song retrospective of the label’s history includes material from such blues legends as Arthur Adams and B.B.King, Muddy Waters, Snooky Pryor, Johnny Shines, Pinetop Perkins and James Cotton as well as contemporary mainstays like Tommy Castro, Jimmy Thackery, and Mitch Woods.
The collection also includes the contributions of fresh, young blues talents like Popa Chubby, Deborah Coleman, Joanna Connor, and Big Bill Morganfield. A third disc included with the set is a CD-ROM that includes interviews and performance videos that can be watched on your computer screen. Did I mention that the set sells for the price of a single CD? Blind Pig Records has been able to stay atop of the blues game for twenty-five years and this anniversary collection is a fitting tribute to the label’s vision and integrity. (View From The Hill, October 2001)
At this point in time, bluesman Tommy Castro is pretty much a familiar face, as big a superstar one can be in the blues genre for anyone not named "Waters," "Wolf," "Walter," or "Guy." Some 20 years after the release of his debut album, with twelve studio and live recordings to his name; with half a dozen Blues Music Awards earned on a dozen nominations, including two "B.B. King Entertainer of the Year" honors, if you're a blues fan and you don't know Castro by now, the only question that remains is what rock you've been living under the past couple of decades.
That's not to say that Castro is a dinosaur or deaf to changes in the genre that he's helped define over the years. Neither is Castro immune to trends – cultural and economic – and while there was some minor carping a year or so ago when he broke up his long-running Tommy Castro Band to assemble a leaner and meaner outfit in the Painkillers, the new band is OK by me. With a TCB holdover in bassist Randy McDonald, Castro added keyboardist James Pace and drummer Byron Cage and was with these Painkillers that he went into the studio to record The Devil You Know. A welcome change of pace, the new album retains all the stuff that fans loved about Castro and mixes it up with a fresh, stripped-down sound that is raw, rockin', and more immediate than the BMA winning Hard Believer album, which was released five years and a virtual lifetime ago.
Tommy Castro & the Painkillers' The Devil You Know
The title track of The Devil You Know is indicative of Castro's new direction, which isn't all that much different from his old direction – just dirtier, nastier, and bluesier with no horns and a distinct Delta groove running like the Mississippi River beneath the arrangement. Castro's rattletrap guitar scrapes and swoons in the heat of the performance, the band crashing and clashing behind its frontman in making a glorious, rhythmic noise. Castro's slight electronically-altered vocals are befitting the lyrics, adding a bit of chaos to the affair, a discomforting disconnect bolstered by his screaming, razor-sharp guitar solos and blustery vocals.
Castro changes directions on a dime with "Second Wind," a funky, West Coast R&B inflected romp that reminds of 1960s-era Cali bands like Sons of Champlin mixed with Southern blues-eyed soul revues like Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. The song's vigorous percussion hints at an exotic, Latin-flavored rhythm while Castro's slippery vocals and lively fretwork dance atop the song's deep groove. A cover of former Savoy Brown frontman Chris Youlden's "I'm Tired" is a rhythmic blues-rocker notable mostly for guest picker Joe Bonamassa's riptide guitar licks, Castro's forceful, gruff vocals, and the amazing guitar interplay between the two talents. The song itself was nothing special until these two forces of nature laid a little grease in the grooves, turning it into a bona fide barn burner…
When I Cross The Mississippi
Tommy Castro photo by Steve Sherman
A cover of Chicago blues legend J.B. Lenoir's "The Whale Have Swallowed Me" builds upon what was great about the original – the song's imaginative lyrics, its spry foot-shuffling groove, languid guitarplay – by adding a heaping helping of James Pace's tinkling ivories, Tasha Taylor's vocals (which compliment Castro's grittier tones), and Castro's taut guitar licks. This is the sort of big-boned R&B romp that the Tedeschi Trucks Band has build its rep on, and Tommy and Tasha knock it out of the park with glee.
"When I Cross The Mississippi" is a curious hybrid, some of the song's blusier elements a throwback to early 1970s sounds while dancing partner Tab Benoit brings his guitar and a contemporary Louisiana R&B feel to the tune. The chemistry between Benoit and Castro is heightened by Mike Finnigan's chiming keyboards and drummer Byron Cage's relentless big-beat timekeeping. Now that Castro has everybody warmed up and ready to roll, we rock right into "Mojo Hannah," a greasy garage-blues number with a New Orleans vibe written by Andre Williams. Joined by the great Marcia Ball on vocals and piano, Castro and his Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue bandmate raise the roof with an energetic, fun, and raucous take on the song that crackles with electricity.
Keep On Smilin'
Castro's original "Two Steps Forward" is a thunderstorm blues-rocker that would have been right at home in the late 1960s British blues boom. A monster riff leads into Castro's bellowing vocals, the song suddenly breaking into a too-cool-for-school soul party with the Holmes Brothers adding righteous backing vocals and Magic Dick channeling the spirits of Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson with his quicksilver harp runs. Castro gets into a bit of the supernatural himself with "She Wanted To Give It To Me," his soaring solos blasting from your speakers like zombie Hendrix, his vocal gymnastics matched by a stomping, stammering rhythm that joyfully bludgeons your ears from the first note.
An inspired cover of Wet Willie's 1970s-era Southern rock classic "Keep On Smilin'" is spot-on; the band laying down a soulful bedrock for Castro's fine vocals with Mike Duke's subtle keyboard flourishes riding low beneath the well-oiled rhythms. Castro's guitarwork doesn't get to shine until around three-minutes in, when his solo intertwines with guest guitarist Mark Karan to recreate a beautiful twin-guitar sound reminiscent of Duane Allman and Dickey Betts. Castro's voice takes a backseat altogether on "Medicine Woman," the talented Ms. Samantha Fish taking the lead here and imbuing the song with an incredible energy and vitality. As good a guitarist as Fish is – and it would have been good to hear her play here – as a singer she simply sets the song on fire as her vocals fly high above Castro's flamethrower git licks, Pace's tasty keyboards, and the hypnotic, syncopated rhythms. All the song's elements combine to create a bit of real musical magic.
The Reverend's Bottom Line
The Devil You Know is Tommy Castro as you've never heard him before, two decades of hard-won experience and thousands of miles of roadwork combined in the creation of a career-defining work. As a producer, Castro proves to have a deft hand on the controls, The Devil You Know showcasing his frequently-underrated vocals and definitely overlooked six-string skills. If you're familiar with Castro, you may want to give him another listen, and if you're a blues newcomer, The Devil You Know is an entertaining, highly-rocking introduction to the charms, charisma, and talents of Tommy Castro. (Alligator Records, released January 21, 2014)
New album releases in 150 words or less… Tommy Castro & the Pain Killers – Killin’ It Live (Alligator Records)
Twice-named “B.B. King Entertainer of the Year” by The Blues Foundation, Tommy Castro is one of the most popular artists on the blues scene today. The man’s immense talents as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist are the primary reason for his success, but every aspect of Castro’s music comes alive onstage with each electrifying, crowd-pleasing performance. Castro and his band the Pain Killers kick out the jams with Killin’ It Live, their first live disc, a ten-track barn-burner with a setlist spanning Castro’s lengthy career that delivers a red-hot selection of blues, rock, soul, and R&B. Castro commands the spotlight, but individual band members also get a chance to shine on songs like “Make It Back To Memphis,” “Calling San Francisco,” and a deft cover of Buddy Miles’ classic “Them Changes.” Nothing’s as good as witnessing Tommy Castro perform in person, but Killin’ It Live is the next best thing. Grade: A BUY!
Gary Clark Jr. – This Land (Warner Bros. Records)
I’ve long been a fan and critical supporter, but I find Gary Clark Jr.’s This Land somewhat of a disappointment. Clark has rightfully been considered a musical visionary, pushing beyond hidebound blues traditions to incorporate elements of soul and hip-hop into his genre-busting sound, Clark’s masterful performances boosted by his incendiary guitar playing and evocative vocals. When it works – as with the title track’s powerful anti-racism screed, the throwback soul of “I Got My Eyes On You,” or the rollicking, rocking “Gotta Get Into Something” – Clark’s muse serves him well. But far too often here, Clark’s blustery, inventive fretwork just isn’t enough to balance out the stretched-too-thin experimental songwriting and awkward artistic flirtations with jazz, funk, and cod-reggae mixed among his modern blues and old-school soul jams. For the first time in his stellar career, the misses far outweigh the hits on Clark’s This Land. Grade: C+ BUY!
R. Stevie Moore – Afterlife (Bar None Records)
Lo-fi pioneer and rock ‘n’ roll lifer R. Stevie Moore has been as prolific as one person could possibly be, releasing literally hundreds of albums over the last 50+ years, both D.I.Y. efforts and through independent labels worldwide. Moore ventured into a professional studio to record Afterlife, an inspired collection of new treasures and well-worn gems all delivered in his indomitable and unique pop-rock style. Moore is joined by fellow travelers like Ariel Pink, Jason Falkner, and Lane Steinberg and long-time friend Irwin Chusid co-produced Afterlife, but it’s entirely Moore’s show. Songs like the breathless “Irony,” the Beach Boys-styled pop-psych of “Here Comes Summer Again,” or the skewed-melodicism of “Too Old (To Fall In Love)” showcase Moore’s lofty vocals, underrated guitar playing, and sly songcraft. Too eccentric for the big leagues, Moore’s poetic lyricism and visionary musicianship has created a legacy that will nevertheless influence artists for years to come. Grade: A BUY!
Jason Ringenberg – Stand Tall (Courageous Chicken Records)
After a productive songwriting residency at Sequoia National Park in 2018, Jason & the Scorchers’ frontman Jason Ringenberg recorded Stand Tall, the singer’s first solo album since 2004’s critically-acclaimed Empire Builders. Wandering around the Sierra Nevada Mountains may have sparked Ringenberg’s restless creative muse, but the raucous instrumentation provided breakneck rockers like “God Bless the Ramones” and “John the Baptist Was A Real Humdinger” are pure vintage Jason. Longtime fans will love songs like the Civil War tale “I’m Walking Home” or “John Muir Stood Here,” a tribute to the naturalist’s contributions to the American landscape, and the singer’s cover of Dylan’s “Farewell Angelina” is spot-on with its wistful delivery. The raucous, Celtic-tinged instrumental title track may set the stage for Stand Tall, but it’s Jason’s whip-smart, erudite storytelling and rowdy country-rock soundtrack that drives the sound of the album. Grade: A BUY!
Various Artists – 3x4 (Yep Roc Records)
The concept is simple but brilliant – the cream of the 1980s-era L.A. “Paisley Underground” bands (The Bangles, The Three O’Clock, The Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade) – each record 3 songs by their counterparts (3x4, geddit?). The results are every bit as good as you might have hoped…the Bangles bring fierce gravitas to Steve Wynn’s moody “That’s What You Always Say” and Dream Syndicate return the favor with an otherworldly take of the Bangles’ “Hero Takes A Fall.” Rain Parade shines with their shimmering, psych-drenched reading of Michael Quercio’s “As Real As Real” and the Three O’Clock knocks it out of the park with their harmonic caress of Rain Parade’s “What She’s Done To Your Mind.” There’s really not a fumble in the bunch, proving just how talented and creative these bands were in the first place (and remain). Some 30+ years down the road, these bands are still making heavenly music. Grade: A BUY!
Hey now, this is more like it! The floodgates open in March and no matter your taste in music, there's something here to satisfy, pacify, and tickle the fancy of even the most hidebound hater. Blues fans will dig new albums by Tommy Castro, Nick Schnebelen, Robin Trower, and the first solo effort by the great Reese Wynans while metalheads will be bangin' their craniums to jacked-up new music by In Flame, Demon Hunter, Queensrÿche, and Devin Townsend.
Indie-rock fans will groove to LPs by Weezer, Meat Puppets, Stephen Malkmus, Ty Segall, and Lambchop, among many others. Americana aficionados aren't left out, either, with new albums by Steve Earle, Todd Snider, Son Volt, and a cool reissue of the long-ago debut by Uncle Walt's Band. Speaking of archive release, wrap your brains around long-lost tunes by Robin Lane & the Chartbusters, guitar maestro Dennis Coffey, Americana legend Townes Van Zandt, and the one-and-only Frank Zappa!
If you’re interesting in buying an album, just hit the ‘Buy!’ link to get it from
Amazon.com...it’s just that damn easy! Your purchase puts valuable ‘store credit’ in the
Reverend’s pocket that he’ll use to buy more music to write about in a
never-ending loop of rock ‘n’ roll ecstasy!
MARCH 1
Ian Brown - Ripples BUY!
Tommy Castro & the Painkillers - Killin' It Live BUY!
Kid Creole & the Coconuts - Live In Paris 1985 BUY!
Dennis Coffey - Live at Baker's BUY!
Demon Hunter - Peace BUY!
Demon Hunter - War BUY!
In Flames - I, The Mask BUY!
Robin Lane & the Chartbusters - Many Years Ago [box set] BUY!
Pond - Tasmania BUY!
Queensrÿche - The Verdict BUY!
Royal Trux - White Stuff BUY!
Nick Schnebelen - Crazy All By Myself BUY!
Weezer - Weezer (The Black Album) BUY!
Reese Wynans - Sweet Release BUY!
MARCH 8
Flight of the Conchords - Live In London BUY!
Patty Griffin - Patty Griffin BUY!
Amanda Palmer - There Will Be No Intermission BUY!
Meat Puppets - Dusty Notes BUY!
Townes Van Zandt - Sky Blue BUY!
Leo "Bud" Welch - The Angels in Heaven Have Done Signed My Name [produced by Dan Auerbach] BUY!
MARCH 15
Dennis Brennan & the White Owls - Live at Electric Andyland BUY!
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - The Brian Jonestown Massacre [vinyl] BUY!
The Faint - Egowerk BUY!
Stephen Malkmus - Groove Denied BUY!
Karen O & Danger Mouse - Lux Prima BUY!
Todd Snider - Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3 BUY!
MARCH 22
Matt Andersen - Halfway Home By Morning BUY!
Andrew Bird - My Finest Work BUY!
Lambchop - This (is what I wanted to tell you) BUY!
Jenny Lewis - On the Line BUY!
Megadeth - Warheads On Foreheads [anthology] BUY!
Leroy Jodie Pierson - Rusty Nail BUY!
Mighty Mike Schermer - Bad Tattoo BUY!
Strand of Oaks - Eraserland BUY!
Henry Townsend & Roosevelt Sykes - Blues Piano and Guitar BUY!
Robin Trower - Coming Closer To the Day BUY!
MARCH 29
Steve Earle - Guy BUY!
L.A. Guns - The Devil You Know BUY!
Yngwie Malmsteen - Blue Lightning BUY!
Mekons - Deserted BUY!
Ty Segall - Deforming Lobes BUY!
Son Volt - Union BUY!
Devin Townsend - Empath BUY!
Uncle Walt's Band - Uncle Walt's Band BUY!
Whitechapel - The Valley BUY!
Frank Zappa - Zappa In New York [deluxe vinyl reissue] BUY!
Album of the Month: Tommy Castro & the Painkillers' Killin' It Live. Yeah, I know that I listed this one for February, but I goofed up...the album release actually kicks off March, with multiple Blues Music Award winner Tommy Castro and his band delivering a spanking live set of red-hot blues that showcase Castro's underrated, soulful vocals and scorched-earth fretwork. There's a reason why Castro is probably the most "in-demand" live artist on the blues scene today, and it's shown quite nicely in the grooves of Killin' It Live. Got it? Get it!
It may be cold as the dickens outside your window, but the spring thaw could come up quickly in the wake of February’s red-hot slate of new releases guaranteed to tickle your eardrums. Aside from new tunes from talents like Tommy Castro, R. Stevie Moore, Bob Mould, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, and the Long Ryders your auditory canals can feast on archive music from Alex Chilton (two of ‘em!) and U2 among much, much more!
If you’re interesting in buying an album, just hit the ‘Buy!’ link to get it from
Amazon.com...it’s just that damn easy! Your purchase puts valuable ‘store credit’ in the
Reverend’s pocket that he’ll use to buy more music to write about in a
never-ending loop of rock ‘n’ roll ecstasy!
FEBRUARY 1
Beirut - Gallipoli BUY!
Tommy Castro & the Painkillers - Killin’ It Live BUY!
Girlpool - What Chaos Is Imaginary BUY!
Van Duren - Waiting: The Van Duren Story Original Documentary Soundtrack BUY!
The Specials - Encore BUY!
FEBRUARY 8
Alex Chilton - From Memphis to New Orleans BUY!
Alex Chilton - Songs From Robin Hood Land BUY!
Charlie Faye & the Fayettes - The Whole Shebang BUY!
Humble Pie - Joint Effort BUY!
Colin Linden & Luther Dickinson - Amour BUY!
Marley’s Ghost - Travelin’ Shoes BUY!
Gurf Morlix - Impossible Blue BUY!
Bob Mould - Sunshine Rock BUY!
The Lemonheads - Varshons 2 BUY!
Mercury Rev - Bobby Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited BUY!
Panda Bear - Buoys BUY!
FEBRUARY 15
Hayes Carll - What It Is BUY!
Jon Fratelli - Bright Night Flowers BUY!
The Long Ryders - Psychedelic Country Soul BUY!
Millencolin - SOS BUY!
Tedeschi Trucks Band - Signs BUY!
FEBRUARY 22
Claypool Lennon Delerium - South of Reality BUY!
Dream Theater - Distance Over Time BUY!
R. Stevie Moore - Afterlife BUY!
Overkill - The Wings of War BUY!
Rockin’ Johnny & Quiqué Gomez - Dos Hombres Wanted? BUY!
Luther Russell - Medium Cool BUY!
U2 - No Line On the Horizon [vinyl reissue] BUY!
Various Artists - 3x4 (The Bangles, Rain Parade, Dream Syndicate, etc) BUY!
FEBRUARY 29
Kinetic Element - The Face of Life BUY!
Album of the Month: The Long Ryders’ Psychedelic Country Soul (Omnivore Recordings), the reunited legendary band’s first studio LP in 32 years. Produced by noted board-wrangler Ed Stasium, who has worked with the Ramones and the Smithereens, among many others, Psychedelic Country Soul is a collection of eleven brand spankin’ new original slabs o’ rockin’ Americana along with an inspired cover of the Tom Petty song “Walls.”
Says Long Ryders’ singer, guitarist, and songwriter Sid Griffin in a press release for the new LP, Psychedelic Country Soul is “the album we were always
trying to make… each flavor which made the band unique is there be it
C&W, rock ’n’ roll, troubadour folk music, raw R&B, or out-there
psychedelia.” The new album comes in the wake of deluxe three-disc reissue versions of the band’s classic 1980s-era albums State of Our Union and Two-Fisted Tales by the U.K. archival label Cherry Red.
Tommy Castro & the Painkillers – Stompin’ Ground (Alligator Records)
Blues veteran Tommy Castro made his bones with Bay Area roots-rockers the Dynatones before going solo in the early ‘90s. Castro has since become one of our most popular contemporary blue performers, his association with Alligator Records beneficial for artist and label alike. Stompin’ Ground is Castro’s fourth Alligator release, a joyful collection of fierce blues-rock originals and inspired covers wrapped in velvety R&B tones. Castro has always been more than another Strat-toting pretender to Stevie Ray’s crown and, as a vocalist, he’s found inspiration in the soul giants of the ‘60s. Tunes like the quietly raucous “Blues All Around Me,” the grits ‘n’ gravy boogie-rock of “Enough Is Enough,” or a funky, rollicking cover of Buddy Miles’ “Them Changes” (with guest Dave Hidalgo of Los Lobos) display a reverent throwback vibe honed to a razor edge by uplifting instrumentation, blasts of horn, and Castro’s electrifying fretwork and dynamic vox. Grade: A BUY IT!
NRBQ – Happy Talk EP (Omnivore Recordings)
It’s too bad that pop music isn’t more like the stock market, where a band’s fortunes could rise or fall on the basis of their most recent product. Sure, bloato-hype would still move units, but artists would have to deliver the real goods to grab sales and chart position. Recently celebrating 50 years in the trenches, rock ‘n’ roll stalwarts NRBQ have seen their stock rise in the wake of their High Noon career retrospective as a fresh generation of investors…er, fans…discovered the band’s immense charms. The five-song Happy Talk is a stopgap between the box and a full-length album, but you won’t find a more entertaining way to spend seventeen minutes. Tunes like “Yes, I Have A Banana,” “Blues Blues Blues,” and a cover of Roy Orbison’s classic “Only The Lonely” display what the band does better than anybody – mix rock, pop, country, and blues into a heady brew. Grade: A BUY IT!
Radio Moscow – New Beginnings (Century Media)
I’ve been following these guys for a couple albums now, but they’ve been knockin’ around since the mid-2000s with a half-dozen releases to their name. Radio Moscow’s latest, New Beginnings, follows the same sort of electro blues-drenched classic hard rock jams as their recent work, albeit with less psychedelic drapery and more street-walkin’ cheetah ferocity. Singer/guitarist Parker Griggs fronts a classic power trio, and New Beginnings displays the man’s uncompromising six-string skills that, while deeply-rooted in the ‘60s, offer up hi-watt tonnage more akin to Leslie West’s Mountain than Eric Clapton’s Cream (two obvious reference points). If you’ve wondered where loud ‘n’ proud old-school rock ‘n’ roll disappeared, look no further than Radio Moscow. Songs like the shimmering instrumental “Woodrose Morning” or the flamethrower dino-rocker “Last To Know” will singe your eardrums, kick yer ass, and trigger Jimi flashbacks like no other band rockin’ the scene today. Grade: A BUY IT!
The Replacements – For Sale: Live at Maxwell’s 1986 (Rhino Records)
The Replacements have a long-standing reputation – depending on which night you saw them perform – as either the best or the worst band in rock ‘n’ roll. The rabid fanboy mythology that has grown up around the ‘Mats is a large part of the band’s reputation as well, and well-deserved. Which begs the questions…why has it taken 30 years to release For Sale: Live at Maxwell’s 1986? The first legit Replacements live album, this double-disc set captures the band firing on all cylinders and cranking out 29 red-hot slabs of joyful noise. From favored originals like “I Will Dare,” “Left of the Dial,” “Answering Machine,” and “Unsatisfied” as well as their raucous reading of the Kiss gem “Black Diamond” and unexpected covers of Sweet’s “Fox On the Run” and the Beatles’ “Nowhere Man,” each performance here shines with reckless abandon and the ramshackle charm that was the Replacements’ trademark and legacy. Grade: ABUY IT!
Talk about a wealth of choices, the month of September has it all – blues-rock (Walter Trout, Tommy Castro), indie rock (Mogwai, Ted Leo), hard rock (Living Colour, Foo Fighters), and classic reissues (Bash & Pop, Chris Bell, Frank Zappa & the Mothers) – as well as a fitting goodbye to an old friend with Gregg Allman's final album, and much, more more! There are five Fridays in September, meaning more new releases, so no matter your taste in music, there's something for you here. If we wrote about it, there'll be a link to it in the album title, if you want an album, hit the 'Buy!' link to get it from Amazon.com...it's just that damn easy! Your purchase puts money in the Reverend's pocket that he'll use to buy more music to write about in a never-ending loop of rock 'n' roll ecstasy!
SEPTEMBER 22 Black Country Communion - BCCIVBUY! Michael Bloomfield - Live at McCabe's Guitar WorkshopBUY! Flamin' Groovies - Fantastic PlasticBUY! The Killers - Wonderful WonderfulBUY! Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Subatomic Sound System - Super Ape Returns to ConquerBUY! Roadcase Royale - First Things First (w/Nancy Wilson of Heart) BUY! Leon Russell - On A Distant ShoreBUY! Brian Wilson - Playback: The Brian Wilson AnthologyBUY!
Album of the Month: Gregg Allman's Southern Blood, the final album from the rock 'n' blues legend. Produced by Don Was in historic Muscle Shoals, Alabama this is Allman's first studio album since 2011's award-winning Low Country Blues. The acclaimed vocalist chose to record some of his favorite songs for Southern Blood, including material by blues giant Willie Dixon, Lowell George (Little Feat), Jackson Browne, Jerry Garcia & Robert Hunter (Grateful Dead), and the legendary songwriting team of Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn. We hate to see him go, but Allman left us a great gift in the form of one more album to cap off almost 50 years of great music!
Tommy Castro is one of the most popular bluesmen on the scene today – a six-time Blues Music Award winner, Castro has twice been honored with the coveted “B.B. King Entertainer of the Year” award. Since releasing his debut album for Blind Pig Records in 1996 – by which time Castro had already had better than a decade of experience under his belt, including a stint with Warner Brothers Records band the Dynatones – Castro has recorded frequently and toured non-stop, building a loyal worldwide audience.
Castro signed with the esteemed Alligator Records label in 2009, releasing the BMA winning Hard Believer album. In 2012, Castro scaled back his band to the lean, mean four-piece outfit known today as the Painkillers, which released the acclaimed 2014 album The Devil You Know. In-between these two band releases, Castro oversaw 2011’s Tommy Castro Presents the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue – Live!, a collection of raucous live performances from the perpetually sold-out ‘blues cruise’ that features Castro and his band, who also back up stars like Rick Estrin, Michael “Iron Man” Burks, and Joe Louis Walker, among other artists.
On October 23rd, 2015 Alligator Records will release Castro’s latest world-beating album for the label, titled Method To My Madness. A twelve-track collection that features ten new Castro originals or co-writes (including songs penned with pals Rick Estrin and Joe Louis Walker), the album also features covers of the Clarence Carter hit “I’m Qualified” and B.B. King’s “Bad Luck.” Castro is backed by the Painkillers – bassist Randy McDonald, keyboardist Michael Emerson, and drummer Bowen Brown – on an electrifying blend of blues, rock, and soul music that is guaranteed to add extra octane to your tank!
“My main objective when making a new album,” says Castro in a press release for Method To My Madness, “is to do something different from before. I’ve always been a blues guy; it’s what I’m meant to do. But I’m always listening and reacting to what’s going on in the outside world, experimenting with my guitar tone and my songwriting approach to constantly keep my music fresh. In the end, though, my brand is on every song.” The album was recorded at Laughing Tiger Studio in San Rafael, California, with Castro producing for the very first time. The band was recorded without studio gimmicks – just the raw sound of talented musicians cranking out the tunes with passion and energy.
“With the new album,” says Castro, “I was trying to get back to my basic ingredients: blues and soul. I went for the energy of connecting with my band. We kept everything raw, capturing the feeling of playing live. I’m not about being perfect,” he concludes, “I’m about being real.” Having heard this electrifying and entertaining album, I’d say that Castro accomplished what he set out to do with Method To My Madness.
