THE MANNISH BOYS "LIVE & IN DEMAND" Source: Blues Revue Date: 01/2006 Writer: Tom Hyslop

Exciting new bands are rare. Excellent new albums are rarer still, and, because the production schedule of the 1960s is history, getting more than one record from an artist in a calendar year is almost unheard of. Rejoice, then, for L.A. supergroup the Mannish Boys, whose Live & In Demand, recorded at Winthrop, Washington_s 19th annual Rhythm & Blues Festival in July 2005, follows last winter's studio release That Represent Man.

Appropriately for an act featuring multiple frontmen, the band is introduced as the Mannish Boys Delta Groove Revue. First to the fore, Kid Ramos tears up "Kid's Jump," a guitar-bass-drums instrumental spotlighting his reverb-drenched, hard-swinging style, splitting the difference between Albert Collins and Lafayette Thomas, then turns up the tremolo as Randy Chortkoff steps to the microphone for a swampy reading of Muddy Waters' standard "I'm Ready." Piano man Leon Blue handles vocals on a rollicking take on Tampa Red's "She Wants To Sell My Monkey" before Johnny Dyer steps forward to sing three deep Chicago blues numbers ‹ one by Little Walter and two from Muddy Waters, including a "Mannish Boy" that remains exciting despite its many cover versions.

The balance of the set features Finis Tasby, a singer with some of the best timbre and phrasing in contemporary blues. He performs a fiery "Mystery Train," midtempo near-obscurities "Strangest Blues" and "Goin' Crazy Over T.V." and two serious slow blues ‹ Albert King's "As the Years Go Passing By" and Freddie King's "It's Too Bad," featuring immaculate, intense guitar work by Ramos and the great Paris Slim (Franck Goldwasser), respectively. "Tom Leavey, a veteran bass player, and Richard Innes, one of the best drummers in the business, round out the Boys. Apart from the present-day Fabulous Thunderbirds, no finer collection of blues talent exists today in one band. The Mannish Boys deliver a set that's energetic, exciting, and authentic on every level.