Mannish Boys
Lowdown Feelin'
Delta
Groove
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I try to travel to a couple of new
Blues festivals each year in order to see artists in
festival settings. It helps me to advise our Blues
Society on acts we should bring in for our annual
festival. By far the best performance I saw all
summer was the Mannish Boys at Bruce
Wheeler’s Heritage Music Festival in Wheeling, WV.
It was my first opportunity to see the group in a
festival setting and they were electric. It was also
my first opportunity to see their latest vocal
addition, Bobby Jones, and proper decorum keeps me
from describing some of Bobby’s stage antics that
evening. So it’s no surprise that their latest
record, Lowdown Feelin’ (Delta Groove),
is equally amazing. It’s a strong candidate for the
Blues Music Award for record of the year. And
rightfully so.
Flamenco guitar and mariachi horns
lend a southwest flair to our first cut, “These Kind
of Blues,” and Bobby’s got the lead vocal. He makes
a valid point, “she wouldn’t be leaving you…if you
would treat her right.” You wouldn’t have “these
kind of blues” if you’d been a better man to her.
Paris Slim’s slide guitar leads Bobby into our next
tune, “Searchin Blues.” Bobby’s just out trying to
find a good woman, one who will “lead to some
satisfaction…in my life.” That’s why he continues to
search for a baby who will treat him right.
Finis Tasby takes the microphone for
our next song, the title cut, “Lowdown Feeling.”
Finis has the blues because his baby’s left him for
another man. “It’s a lowdown feeling…seeing the
woman you love…with another man…I wonder…how long
will I suffer….how much can I stand?” Kid Ramos has
the lead guitar duties on this tune and he
accentuates the anguish you know Finis is feeling
now.
Randy Chortkoff’s harp introduces us
next to a Howlin’ Wolf cut, “Chocolate Drop,” with
Bobby telling us about his woman. “I got a brown
skinned woman…they call her…the chocolate drop…the
way that she love me…Oh Lord…it won’t stop.” Bobby’s
planning on keeping this one and he’s not looking
anywhere else…no one else will do.
The heavy bass notes from Ronnie
James Weber’s electric bass provide the foundation
for Finis’ vocals on our next cut, “If the Washing
Don’t Get You, The Rinsing Will.” Sparks are flying
from Kirk Fletcher’s guitar as Finis lets his woman
know, “you know you got me hooked…you treat me any
way you choose…but I got new for you…your day will
come…if the washing don’t get you…the rinsing will!”
Bobby’s back with a Big Walter
Horton tune, “Need My Baby.” Lynwood Slim’s harp
provides our back drop as Bobby tells us just how
bad he needs the woman in his life, “need my baby…to
hold me in her arms…in the summer to cool me…in the
winter…to keep me warm…if she can’t be my
sweetheart…let her be my blushing bride!” Bobby is
definitely in love with this girl.
More slide guitar from Paris Slim
brings us to our first tune with Johnny Dyer at the
microphone, “The Same Thing.” A classic tale of
man’s pursuit of women, “why do men go crazy…when a
woman wears her dress so tight…must be the same old
thing…that makes a tomcat fight at night!” Johnny’s
vocals are like smooth velvet and it doesn’t get any
better than that. The Mannish boys tackle any and
everything as evidenced by our next cut, “The
Woodchuck.“ “How much wood…could a woodchuck chuck?”
Besides the rhyme we learned as kids…it’s evolved
into a witty repartee between Bobby and his woman.
One of the very special guests on
this record is Little Sammy Davis, and he takes the
microphone on our next song, “Fine Lookin’ Woman.”
‘I love my woman…I’m going to tell the world I do…so
fine…so fine…I want to make her mine!” Sammy plays
harp on this cut and he’s joined by long-time band
partner, Fred Scribner, on the slide guitar.
The inclusion of an instrument, “You
Don’t Love Me,” gives my ear a break and a chance to
kick back to enjoy the guitar leads of Kirk
Fletcher. The Mannish Boys collectively are all
world class musicians and it’s nice to hear them let
loose on an instrumental that focuses on their
talents exclusively. Definitely a nice break on what
is a very long recording at just over 72 minutes.
The liner notes for Lowdown Feelin’ mentions
the fact that one of the goals the Mannish Boys have
in their work is to keep in the forefront some of
the great songs that much of their listening
audience has never been exposed to.
Bobby Jones does an excellent
rendition of a song I’ve not heard, “Figure Head,”
written by Billy “The Kid” Emerson, a writer from
Florida that I’ve never been exposed to. It’s a
great tune and I appreciate the band’s devotion to
their craft. “My girl…the biggest figure head in
town…well…she spends all of my money…but she can lay
that good loving down!” Like I said, it’s a great
tune. Delta Groove founder, Randy Chortkoff, puts
his harp to work and takes the microphone next for
his original tune, “Rude Groove.” Fred Kaplan’s on
the B3 and I love the musical layers Randy built
into this song, “Now my blues…is falling down like
rain…play me that sweet sound…before I go insane.”
“Rude Groove” is one of two original songs Randy
contributes to this project.
Little Sammy Davis is back up with a
really beautiful song, “When I Leave.” “When I leave
Chicago…going down to LA…going down to…the House of
Blues…and this is what I’m going to say…we going to
ball till midnight…going to open shop at
daylight…when I leave…oh yeah.” Sammy appeared years
ago at one of Randy’s Little Walter tribute shows
and “When I Leave” is a song Sammy wrote about his
California experience. “Good times….good times…that
old good times…I can’t forget…I’ve been looking for
a job…I ain’t found no job…yet,” sings Johnny on our
next song, “Good Times.” Johnny’s got irrepressible
warmth to his voice that I would have liked to heard
more of on this record. Now we go from “Good Times”
to “Something’s Wrong” with Finis back in front of
the band. “Now I may look stupid…that’s plain to
see…loving a woman who don’t love me…something’s
wrong!” This relationship sounds like it was off
from the get go and at least Finis can tell that
“something’s wrong!”
It’s rare that anyone else takes the
microphone for the Mannish Boys so I find it’s
interesting that Paris Slim is up with the cut,
“Reet, Petite and Gone.” Reet is slang for the word
right, meaning something good and apropos for this
tune. Paris is definitely in love with girl and he’s
got it figured out, “when I do things…I do them
right…I won’t ever let my baby out of sight…we’ll
tie the knot and tie it tight…cause she’s reet,
petite and gone!” Bobby’s back at the mic with “Dead
Letter Blues,” the final cut on Lowdown Feelin’.
The mail has brought Bobby some very bad news, “I
got a letter…and this is what the letter said…hurry
back to Florida…cause the little girl you loved is
dead!” It’s tough news and Bobby is taking the loss
of his woman hard, especially knowing that he didn’t
always treat her right.
Lowdown Feelin’ has
definitely earned its stripes as one of the great
recordings of 2008. It made my top ten list for the
year and is one of the nominees for Blues Music
Award Record of the Year. I’m looking forward to the
BMA’s in May to see what everyone else thinks. Their
talent is undeniable and their song choices
impeccable. In this day and age we’re lucky that a
band like the Mannish Boys exists and that they have
the opportunity to display the collective wisdom of
their ages like they do.
If you get a chance to see them
live…go, there’s nothing else quite like seeing this
group strut their stuff in front of an appreciative
group of festival goers like those at the Heritage
Music Festival. The festival finale with John Black
and Ana Popovic on stage with the Mannish Boys will
keep me warm through the winter and anxious for
summer to come.
--- Kyle Deibler