THE MANNISH BOYS "LOWDOWN FEELIN" Source: Blues In Britain Date: 05/2008 Writer: Mick Rainsford

“Lowdown Feelin’” is an apt description of The Mannish Boys’ fourth CD for Randy Chortkoff’s DeltaGroove label – something that was not envisioned in 2004 with the release of “That Represent Man”, a “one-off” studio project featuring a plethora of Chortkoff’s favourite musicians.

The Mannish Boys have, however, gone from strength to strength with an ever widening roster of artists and guest artists to form a revue that has wowed audiences on the Blues Festival circuit.

This latest incarnation of the band features regulars Finis Tasby, Johnny Dyer, Frank Goldwasser, Kid Ramos, Kirk Fletcher, Richard Innes, Ronnie James Weber, Tom Leavey and of course Chortkoff himself. Add in new band member Bobby Jones – and guests of the calibre of Little Sammy Davis, Junior Watson, Lynwood Slim, Fred Scribner, Al Blake, Fred Kaplan, Dave Woodford and Scott Steen – and you have a line-up guaranteed to deliver blues of the highest order permeated with that “lowdown feelin’”. And they do!

Chicago veteran Bobby Jones gets the lion’s share of the vocals on this set (7 out of 17) and impresses with a wide range of blues that showcase his prodigious talents. The set opens with “These Kind Of Blues” a shuffle given a Latino intro via Kid Ramos’ acoustic guitar and Scott Steen’s trumpet before Jones segues in with his smooth, but emotive and tremulous vocals underpinned by cascading piano and Carey Bell styled harp. His vocals on Chortkoff’s “Searchin’ Blues” have a harder ChiTown edge that is accentuated by Goldwasser’s slide which melds elements of both Muddy and Johnny Littlejohn. “Chocolate Drop” captures the essence of the Wolf’s work on both vocals and harp (Chortkoff) and is enhanced by bone rattling piano and eccentric Sumlinesque guitar from Jr Watson. Big Walter’s “Need My Baby” is transformed with “down in the alley” vocals and piano, “dirty” baying sax and Papa Lightfoot styled harp (Lynwood Slim) – Billy “The Kid” Emerson’s “Woodchuck” is a wildly infectious “head-banging” romp with machismo vocals – the intensity of Jones’ vocals and Ramos’ guitar give Emerson’s “Figure Head” a strong Lonnie Brooks feel – whilst the brooding intensity of “Dead Letter Blues” with it’s moaning horns (tenor and baritone), pounding piano and muscular guitar brings to mind both Guitar Slim and T-Bone Walker.

Finis Tasby is in his usual fine form, his wistful vocals allied to baying horns and cascading piano, raising the spectre of T-Bone – his ringing vocals and Fletcher’s slide bringing an introspective Littlejohn feel to “If The Washing Don’t Get You, The Rinsing Will” – whilst Deacon Jones’ “Something’s Wrong” is a churning shuffle with pounding piano and tough guitar and vocals.

Johnny Dyer does his usual, but always reflective, take on Muddy with a wistful “The Same Thing” and “Good Times” replete with superb slide (Goldwasser) on the former and wonderful harp on the latter (Al Blake). Goldwasser turns “Reet, Petite and Gone” into an intense shuffle fired by “gutbucket” vocals and guitar – Chortkoff’s “Rude Groove” is exactly that, the harp giving it a “Green Onions/Help Me” feel – whilst Willie Cobb’s “You Don’t Love Me” is given an instrumental treatment based around a funky horn groove with Fletcher bending notes “every which way but loose>

That leaves Little Sammy Davies who delivers a typically hard-hitting “Fine Lookin’ Woman” replete with hard rocking piano, tough slide (Scribner), booming vocals and explosive harp – whilst “When I Leave” delivers the soulfulness of Sam Cooke allied to Davies’ gritty blues stylings, the backing vocals adding a gospel edge whilst his harp veers into C&W territory.

Another winner and, unbelievably, the Mannish Boys’ best to date.

Roll on CD 5! (www.deltagroovemusic.com)

Rating 10