The Mannish Boys – Shake for Me – Delta Groove

by | Apr 19, 2010 | Jazz CD Reviews | 0 comments

The Mannish Boys – Shake for Me – Delta Groove DGPCD137, 69:29 ***1/2:

(Finis Tasby, Bobby Jones, Johnny Dyer – vocals; Arthur Adams – vocals (track 13); “Big” Pete van der Plujin – vocals, harmonica (track 16); Mike Zito – vocals, guitar (track 2); Nick Curran, Kirk Fletcher – guitar; Fred Kaplan – piano; Willie J. Campbell – upright & electric bass; Jimi Bott – drums, percussion; David “Woody” Woodford – tenor & baritone saxophones; Lee Thornburg – trumpet, trombone; Frank Goldwasser – guitar, vocals; Rob Rio – piano (track 5); Rod Piazza – harmonica (track 7); Randy Chortkoff – harmonica (tracks 9, 12, 13); Lynwood Slim – chromatic harmonica (track 12); Lou Castro – electric bass (track 13); Mitch Kashmar – harmonica (track 14); Warren Mitchell – drums (track 14); Kid Ramos – guitar (track 16); Andy Kaulkin – piano (track 16))

On their fifth outing, Shake for Me, Los Angeles-based blues ensemble The Mannish Boys, named after the Muddy Waters classic, continue their mission of bringing electric blues, rhythm and blues and a hint or two of early rock and roll to the masses.

The 70-minute, 16-track collection mines both familiar and obscure in a stew of grooving songs that moves from Bo Diddley shuffles to urban West Coast blues and from horn-etched soul to postwar Chicago blues. There are also likeminded group-penned cuts sprinkled throughout. The basic idea is uncomplicated: to capture the essence and to celebrate timeless blues and reintroduce it to an unschooled generation. Those who already appreciate and have discovered the myriad blues guises and styles may just see this as replication: if so, please continue listening to the original blues masters.

One of the great features of The Mannish Boys is the group’s multiple vocal attack: the band boasts not one but three regulars: tough-and-tender-toned Bobby Jones, soulfully sonorous Finis Tasby and deeply bluesy Johnny Dyer. No matter the kind of feeling needed, there is a singer who can handle the proceedings, which gives The Mannish Boys a leg up in the expansive blues genre. Another winning aspect is the raft of guests who populate live shows and studio recordings. On Shake for Me, the list includes harmonica champion Rod Piazza, who contributes outstanding work on Little Walter’s “Last Night,” and pianist Rob Rio, who duets with Jones on a ruminative reading of Otis Spann’s wounded-psyche tale “Half Ain’t Been Told.”  

There’s plenty here to enjoy and hopefully lead the uninitiated to seek out the real thing. There are several Mannish Boys gems. Mannish Boys’ harmonica player Randy Chortkoff’s resonant “Educated Ways” has an archetypal lyric about a woman who knows more than she lets on. The arrangement is led by Frank Goldwasser’s stinging slide guitar and is underpinned by David “Woody” Woodford’s low baritone sax. Another strong band composition is hip-shaking instrumental “The Bullet,” which swings with Fred Kaplan’s Memphis Slim-esque piano solo and Kirk Fletcher and Nick Curran’s piercing guitar slingshots.

The bulk of the material, however, is conspicuous covers. Bobby Jones is superb on a horn-laced rendition of Ray Charles’ “Hey Now.” Guest vocalist/guitarist Arthur Adams – who sounds like a more soulful John Mayall – generates some steam on his “Raunchy,” excellently abetted by Fred Kaplan on organ and piano and Chortkoff on harmonica. Dyer resurrects Muddy Waters on “Champagne & Reefer,” Waters’ celebration of getting red-eyed and relaxed. Guest Mitch Kashmar’s harmonica reproduces Little Walter with panache and two drummers furnish the rhythm an incisive bottom end.

For the most part, the production and engineering maintains the sound and tone of postwar blues from the 1950s and 1960s and never tries to be au currant but rather echoes traditional blues recordings. Sometimes the guitars are dirty and distorted and occasionally horns ride a bit low, but otherwise the audio suits the music .The songs and even the packaging – which uses sepia-marked graphics – helps pay homage to the blues forefathers The Mannish Boys obviously respect.

TrackList:

1. Too Tired
2. Mona/Willie and the Hand Jive
3. Reconsider Baby
4. Educated Ways
5. Half Ain’t Been Told
6. Number 9 Train
7. Last Night
8. Hey Now
9. You Can’t Be Beat
10. Black Nights
11. The Bullet
12. Those Worries
13. Raunchy
14. Champagne & Reefer
15. You’ve Got Bad Intentions
16. Way Down South

— Doug Simpson

Related Reviews
Logo Pure Pleasure
Logo Crystal Records Sidebar 300 ms
Logo Jazz Detective Deep Digs Animated 01