Customer Reviews

Can't Keep a Good Man Down

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For those who had never heard of Tommy Castro, he is one of those younger bluesman who is keeping blues music wholesome because he did not choose to play blues as an alternative prior to the demise of guitar shredding heavy metal nor did he try to fill the void Stevie Ray Vaughan had left behind. Hence his playing and singing style is still very much his own with a strong anchor to the masters of electric blues of Freddie King to Buddy Guy. He also borrows a lot singing licks from the Stax/Volt stable of Otis Redding to Joe Tex. The end results ? White boy blues with a tinge of Blue-eyed soul. His slightly overdriven Strat guitar tone compliments perfectly with his slightly raspy singing voice and with the addition of some horns on a couple of tracks, you can almost figure out how this album will sound like. Buy it if you think Kenny Wayne Shepard is playing too many notes for a blues player and that Jonny Lang is a tad too young to actually interpret the blues.

THIS CD KICKS FROM THE FIRST SONG ON.THE SONG MY TIME AFTER AWHILE REALLY SHOWS HOW GOOD TOMMY CAN PLAY WHEN HE IS PLAYING BLUESROCK HE IS AT HIS BEST.THIS IS BY FAR HIS BEST CD,I OWN ALL OF HIS OTHER CD`S AS WELL.IF YOU WANT A GOOD BLUES ROCK CD THIS IS FOR YOU.

They are "You Only Go Around Once" and "Nobody Loves Me Like My Baby" these are two of the best songs on the CD. I saw Tommy Castro and his band at the Cabooze in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They were fantastic.

In recent years, Tommy Castro has strayed from the booze drentched, bar-room blues that he lauched his career on back in his ealry days of San Fran club circuit. A tireless touring band, Castro has pleased crowds with his raucous live shows. Some have argued that the charming guitarist, Castro is more sizzle than steak but on this earlier CD there is no mistaking his moxey and ability to ring solid blues out of most every note with this vintage offering. The lead track, "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" is one of Tommy Castro absoulte classics and one of my personal favortes. Vocally Castro has been compared to heavy company such as Wilson Pickett and James Brown. Rich comparisons to be sure, but Castro does pocess a gritty clean voice that, when he stays away from Southside Johnny styled mid-tempo R&B ballads, lends itself best to blues standards and Castro Band orignals. I've seen Castro live and I've got most of his LPs and this one is at the tip of the heap. Other stellar tracks would be the standard spin on "My Time After a While", a tip of the brim to Chuck Berry on "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" or the philosophical everyman on the road credo 'You Only Go Around Once'. Like the Frisco landmark Candlestick, Castro hits one out of the park with this disc.

One of the best Rockin' n' Rollin' singer I've heard in a long time. To be honest I had never heard of Tommy Castro, but when I heard one of his songs on a various artists, Alligator Records CD, I had researched his work and found it to be awesome. He sounds a little like Delbert McClinton, in some songs. I can only describle his music as good Rock n' Roll. I have purchased several of his CD's. ALL GOOD!!

Another strong album from Castro and his band. Once again most of the songs on the album are originals with a couple of tasty covers thrown in. Tommy tackles Steve Schuffert's "Suitcase Full Of Blues", Albert King's "Can't You See What You Are Doing To Me", and one of the album highlights "My Time After Awhile". This song has become a staple of his live show as well. The original stuff is mostly good too with "Can't Keep A Good Man Down", "You Knew The Job Was Dangerous", "Nobody Loves Me Like My Baby", and the instrumental "Hycodan" all being highlights. This is another great rockin blues album from Castro.

Tommy Castro is amazing, the next best thing to SRV. This cd doesn't have one single track that isn't star quality. From the first tune, Can't Keep A Good Man Down to the last, being Can't You See What You're Doing To Me, I can't believe how good this music is. The sleeper, You Knew The Job Was Dangerous, will have you playing it over and over again. Get this cd today and then buy every one in the Castro collection. You will be hooked. Guaranteed.

CANT KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN is a great blues-rock album for every music fan to enjoy. Tommy Castro is a young blues slinger with alot of talent and shows on this album that he is ready to carry the blues banner into the new century. Every song on this album is great, no weak or filler material here. His music is straight forward with no frills or gimmicks, the music does the talking. If you want to hear some great songs, then listen to I WANT TO SHOW YOU, SUITCASE FULL OF BLUES, YOU KNEW THE JOB WAS DANGEROUS CANT KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN, and NOBODY LOVES ME LIKE MY BABY. Tommy Castro might not be a household name yet, but I will bet alot of money that he will be mentioned with all the greats as BB King, Robert Cray, and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

I have seen Tommy in person and he is great! I frequent Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz and I am in love with this guy and his band. He has a great drummer and bassist. listeningheart_c