THE MANNISH BOYS "LIVE & IN DEMAND" Source: Blues Wax Date: 11/17/2005 Writer: Art Tipaldi

Now I'm really wishin' I coulda been there. Too often, the best festival moments are never preserved. It's only after the show that someone regrets losing the moment. Not so here. After their festival-stopping performance at the Winthrop Rhythm And Blues Festival in July 2005, Delta Groove founder and harp player Randy Chortkoff was given the recording of their performance by festival organizers. By keeping the organic nature of the music captured, Chortkoff is giving every Blues fan a chance to experience the Mannish Boys naturally. The band is a collection of some of the finest Blues players living on the West Coast. Led by the double-barreled vocals of Finis Tasby and Johnny Dyer, and the guitar work of Kid Ramos and Frank Goldwasser, the band centers its invigorating set list on the traditional Blues songs written by the likes of Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Junior Parker, Muddy Waters, Freddie King, and others. By adding Blues and R&B veterans like Leon Blue on piano, Tom Leavy on bass, and the West Coast's finest drummer, Richard Innes, along with Chortkoff's skilled harp, the Mannish Boys wowed the Winthrop crowd with a 12-song set that captured the joy of guitars, harmonicas, and piano ensemble Blues.

The show begins tough as nails with "Kid's Jump," a high-powered double shuffle pitting Ramos' guitar against the rhythm section of Leavy and Innes. First time through the song, I was diggin' Kid's cocky guitar work; second time through, it was me and Innes' stalwart stick work. Either way, I knew I had the best seat in the house for this show.

Chortkoff and Goldwasser dedicate the second song, Muddy's swaggerin' "I'm Ready," to Lester Butler. Ramos' shivery guitar and Chortkoff's high-end acoustic blows give the song more of a Slim Harpo "Scratch My Back" feel than Muddy's familiar Viagra version. After that, it's the Dyer and Tasby show. From Dyer's tongue-in-cheek delivery of Tampa Red's "She Want's To Sell My Monkey," crowd and sing-a-long and all, to his recreation of Little Walter's "You're Sweet," Dyer toughens every style of Blues he sings. On "Howlin' Wolf," Ramos' piercing slide is perfectly dialed into the Muddy Waters' guitar book. Delivered sleek and slow, "Howlin' Wolf" shows why we traditional Blues lovers feel deeply about the music of Muddy. Tasby holds up his end of the show with "Mystery Train," "Strangest Blues," and the traditional "Walkin' and Walkin'." In between, Tasby delivers two slow Blues masterpieces, "It's Too Bad" and Albert King's "As The Years Go Passing By." On both, Tasby's intense pleading and Ramos' muscular guitar jabs build to one musical climax after another.

One highlight of the record is when Dyer and the boys deliver the song they are named for, Muddy's famous "Mannish Boy." Complete with the same raucous crowd hollers a la the Chess record and strong, classic hook, its five-minute length gives Chortkoff and Goldwasser ample room to add textural effects. Their debut record showcased a compatibility and talent in the studio; this live romp shows that this will become next summer's in-demand festival act.