Blind Pig closes out their four-album
Tommy Castro association with this adequate collection of his recorded highlights for the San Francisco-based label. Not the best guitar slinger in town,
Castro compensates by writing tunes that mix good-time soul, R&B, funk, and roots rock together with blues to produce a swampy, wholly satisfying mix that goes down easy. Songs like "Right as Rain," "Can't Keep a Good Man Down," and "Lucky in Love" crackle with
Chuck Berry by way of the
Stones' basic rock & roll simplicity. However, this compilation seemed to be rushed out in 2001 in order to compete with
Castro's Guilty of Love album of new material for another label, and it shows. There is no indication of which release the songs originate from in the skimpy notes, and
Castro had no say in choosing the tracks. The 50-minute playing time is too brief for an artist with a four-CD catalog, and even though the enhanced concert CD-ROM video for "Nobody Loves Me Like My Baby" is a welcome addition and gives a visceral demonstration of how tough the band rocks live, it's also duplicated as an audio only selection on the disc. Regardless, the music holds up as rugged, bluesy rock with strong connections to Memphis soul with the Stax-styled ballad "Just a Man" and
James Brown funk in "Nasty Habits" tempering the
Stevie Ray Vaughn-isms of
Castro's meat-and-potatoes playing. He also boasts a distinctly gritty voice that works perfectly with his original material and the previously unavailable version of
Little Richard's "The Girl Can't Help It," added here as one of two unreleased tracks. As it is, The Essential is a satisfactory collection for those who want a taste of the
Castro experience, but one that could -- and should -- have been a lot better. ~ Hal Horowitz