It's very comforting to know that, in 2025, there are still those who play the Blues by respecting the original standards, just as the American guitarist and singer-songwriter Tommy Castro and his The Painkillers compadre-in-arms so brilliantly do, any given time.
Truth to be told, Castro is someone that for over 30-plus years had already gained the respect and admiration of Blues and R&B aficionados and fellow equally esteemed colleagues everywhere, by chiseling strong studio albums and highly memorable live performances, reaching huge popularity and fame not only in his native United States but also in many other countries in the world.
Now, at the age of 69, Castro & his trusted The Painkillers are due to release a brand new album called Closer To The Bone, their 8th album under Alligator Records and a record that reinstates, once again, the huge talent of a Guitar Maestro like Castro, in constant and unstoppable artistic growth in all aspects of his remarkable musicianship.
Closer To The Bone is a record with an intentional Blues imprint, according to the Artist Himself but, while this is clearly palpable on many moments of Castro’s new record, it is also fair to say that, from time to time, Castro & The Painkillers love to carry said musical imprint also into irresistible sonic hybrids so close to Castro’s heart, where, from time to time, Blues meets R&B, or sometimes Boogie, pushing the genre even into more Swing musical territories, always with effortless approach song execution and electrifying dynamism.
One of the most interesting points of this album, it is the fact that Castro seemed to wanting to create a sort of sonic bridge, between his impressive craft in creating catchy songs and tunes of those fellow artists who might have provided that inspiration that brought Castro to be one of the most loved American Heroes of Blues and R&B in the current music scene.
For this very reason, Castro might have chosen to incorporate, within the Closer To The Bone album, some of his own originals together with cover versions of songs belonging to artists such as Magic Slim (Hole In The Wall) or Johnny Nitro (One More Night), songs well known in the huge worldwide Blues Community, plus more obscure gems of the past, from artists like Jimmy Nolen (The Way You Do), Johnny "Guitar" Watson (She Moves Me) or Wynonie Harris (Bloodshot Eyes), among others.
Castro's star shines really strong, on Closer To The Bone; whilst the covers are all excellently delivered by Castro & The Painkillers (it's a necessary duty to mention all of The Painkillers' band members, Mike Emerson on keyboards, Randy McDonald on bass and Bowen Brown on drums, because of their superb musicianship), the handful of originals present on the album really pack an impressive punch, through foot-stomping, uptempo Blues numbers like Woke Up And Smelled The Coffee and Everywhere I Go or exceptionally well delivered slower ones like Crazy Woman Blues or A Fool For You, among others.
Tommy Castro & The Painkillers keep on delivering consistently records of great artistic depth and Closer To The Bone is no exception. Until there will be artists like Castro and his Band Of Brothers around, the future of Blues and R&B will be always in very safe hands.
Closer To The Bone is due to be released on 7th February and is available to be purchased via Alligator Records.
