Can't Keep A Good Man Down - CD

Pegged as a sort of Bay Area Stevie Ray Vaughan, guitarist Tommy Castro's got the riffs, but his sound's less raw than that of the Texas guitar slinger. There's a bit of soul in there, as well; if Robert Cray were less blues and more rock & roll, he might sound a bit like this. Castro's obviously positioning himself for crossover success, but with material as solid as what's on Can't Keep a Good Man Down, that's in no way a bad thing. His guitar lines are slick without sounding contrived, and there's real sweetness in songs like "I Want to Show You" that make them more than your standard blues-rock semiballad. While Castro hasn't received the level of attention accorded to, say, Jonny Lang or Kenny Wayne Shepherd, it's certainly not for lack of talent. In his lower-key way, he's just as good. --Genevieve Williams