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THE
MANNISH BOYS "THAT REPRESENT MAN"
Source: Living Blues Magazine
Date: 01/2004
Writer: David
Whiteis |
The
Mannish Boys include guitarists Kirk
Fletcher and Franck Goldwasser , vocalist Finis Tasby
, pianist Leon Blue, bassist Ronnie James Weber and
percussionist June Core, along with guest appearances
by the likes of Roy Gaines, Johnny Dyer, Mickey Champion,
and Paul Oscher (on guitar, not harp). Everything about
this project, in other words, screams retro, and that’s
what we get: lots of Chicago lump-de-lump and West Coast
Jump, all delivered with spot on “authenticity”
by a crew of stalwarts who live and breathe the postwar
blues tradition.
The project is redeemed from cliché largely by
the abundance of “found” material: gems
like the late Otis “Big Smokey” Smothers
“Come On Rock Little Girl”, Johnny Guitar
Watson’s “The Eagle Is Back” (featuring
a delightfully over-the-top vocal by Champion), and
Freddy King’s “It’s Too Bad”
(originally the b-side of King’s 1961 hit “Lonesome
Whistle Blues”), share the set list alongside
well-cooked chestnuts like “Call My Job”,
Little Walter’s “You’re Sweet”,
and Eddie Taylor’s “I Feel So Bad”.
Throughout, the band rocks and shuffles with abandon
and impeccable taste; they’ve mastered the art
of being both musically on-target and emotionally uninhibited,
so the danger of “museum piece” fustiness
is mostly avoided. A song-by-song or soloist-by-soloist
breakdown is unnecessary; aficionados are well-acquainted
with this type of ensemble and this kind of set. “Keeping
the blues alive” may be a cliche but in the hands
of artists like this, the music itself will never be.
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