THE MANNISH BOYS "LOWDOWN FEELIN" Source: Blues In London Date: 06/2008 Writer: Billy Hutchinson

The mercurial changing outfit that is The Mannish Boys have come up with a mostly covers recording. Not only is the outfit bedecked in top quality musicians, but the guests are also impressive too. David Z has been brought in to record and engineer the project, and Scott Dirks, Randy Chortkoff and Jeff Scott Fleenor trip out superlatives in the CD liner. There are no less than six main vocalists, with Chicago veteran Bobby Jones getting the lion’s share of seven showcases.

Jones’ voice shows the West Side of Chicago’s influence of B.B. King upon it, but he is more than that, and one of the best Blues voices around regardless of what Blues awards might want to put forward. Another veteran classy singer, Finis Tasby who is excellent when in T Bone Walker mode, while yet another fine singer Johnny Dyer is in Muddy Waters’ style. Label boss Randy Chortkoff comes over with a hip accented vocal on, ‘Rude Groove’ that tips hat to ‘Help Me/Green Onions’. Little Sammy Davis’ voice has lost its quality it once was. That leaves the one vocal outing by Frank ‘Paris Slim’ Goldwasser that isn’t bad, but being on the same disc as Jones, Tasby and Dyer sounds minor league I comparison.

On guitar Kirk Fletcher has that piercing Iceman tone; Kid Ramos is also drenched in a rich tone while Junior Watson epitomises what the disc is all about the right sound at the right time in the right measure. Paris Slim has a lovely Earl Hooker-esque slide solo that is worthy of repeated listening. There are super harp performances from Al Blake, Randy Chortkoff and Lynwood Slim. This review has to draw up sometime as there is just so much to tell, great albums infuse so much as they inspire. The whole project gels tremendously, with an air of solidness and class throughout. This has to be included in 2008 best of Blues lists, irrespective of what is released from here on in.