2025 – Alligator Records
Release Date : Feb. 7,
2025
By Phillip Smith; Jan. 11, 2025
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com
There’s a deep sense of authentic
blues with the latest album from Tommy Castro and The Painkillers’ Closer
to the Bone, and I absolutely love it. As Castro stated, "I have always
wanted to do what I would call a real blues record, and I felt like the right
time was now. There is nothing contemporary about this album. It’s a blues
record the way they might have made blues records back in the day.” With Castro
on guitars and vocals, he is joined by his band The Painkillers : Mike
Emerson on keys, Randy McDonald on bass, and Bowen Brown on
drums. His star-studded guestlist includes Christoffer “Kid” Andersen, Deanna
Bogart, Billy Branch, Chris Cain, June Core, Rick
Estrin, Scott Jensen, Jim Pugh, Mike Rinta, Jack
Sanford, Sons of Soul Revivers, Endre Tarczy, and Lisa
Leuschner Andersen.
Castro lures me quickly in with his masterful guitar-play on Jimmy Nolen’s “The Way You Do”. His twangy surf guitar is brilliantly paired with Rick Estrin on harmonica, and Kid Anderson’s infectious bassline. Johnny Nitro’s “One More Night” is fabulous to the core and filled with scorching guitar licks riding on top of an unescapable Texas blues groove. The tribute is so good, I was forced to acquaint myself with Nitro’s work. With guests Branch on harp, and Core on drums, Castro serves up a lively cocktail of Latin-infused blues with “Ain’t Worth the Heartache” for a fun, freewheeling original about moving on. Everything about “Freight Train (Let Me Ride)” is red hot. This cover originally from Ron Thompson and the Resisters features Pugh on piano and sounds amazing. Estrin appears again on a smokin’ recording of Eddie Taylor’s “Stroll Out West”. Castro sings this with a voice seemingly baptized in the Mississippi. This is what the blues is all about.
I think a lot of listeners will declare Closer to the Bone a favorite of 2025. I sure have.
For more information about Tommy Castro, visit the website @
For other PhillyCheeze reviews featuring Tommy Castro, follow this link: https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Tommy+Castro
