Just got a copy of the new Mannish Boys double disc entitled Double Dynamite and it's a killer!
The first of the two discs called Atomic Blues has 13 tracks. This disc starts out with Sugaray Rayford singing an updated version of Son House's Death Letter with some great slide work from Frank Goldwasser. Finis Tasby takes over vocals on Walter Jacobs' Mean Old Water featuring my man Elvin Bishop on slide and Rod Piazza on harp. Instrumentals on this track are great! Jackie Payne does a great job on vocals on Muddy Waters' She's 19 Years Old/ Streamline Woman and Golwasser and Piazza are back with really cool guitar and harp riffs. The underlying guitar riffs are really over the top. Mud Morganfield takes the lead vocals on Sonny Boy Williamsons Elevate Me Mama and I think that it may be his best recorded work. Bob Corritore contributes a great solo and backing with harp on this track as well. Randy Chortkoff takes vocals and harp on his own penned track, Please Forgive Me with Fletcher on Lead guitars. Great song and nice solos throughout. Tasby is back on vocals on Walter Jacobs' Everybody Needs Somebody featuring Jason Ricci on harp. James Harmon takes lead vocal and harp on his own Bad Detective with Kirk Fletcher on lead guitars. Goldwasser takes vocal and lead guitar on Willie Dixon's Bloody Tears which is a really strong Elmore James style rendition. Sugaray takes the vocal lead on The Hard Way with strong piano contributions from Rob Rio. Goldwasser contributes some beautiful T-Bone Walker style guitar riffs on guitar to really punch to track up. Mud Morganfield and Corritore take the lead on Melvin London's Mannish Boy. Special backing vocals by Cynthia Manley, Adrianna Marie and Jessica Williams add authenticity.
The second disc, Rhythm and Blues Explosion, takes on a totally different feel. It opens with Booker T's Born Under a Bad Sign with Tasby on vocals and Elvin Bishop screamin' it out. Great track! Dave Woodford and Lee Thornburg add a well needed horn section to get that Stax sound. That Dood It, A McCoy/Toombs track gets the place jumpin' with Rayford on vocals and with Fletcher smokin' the strings for a rompin' great track. You've Got The Power, a James Brown track has a smooth soul duet between Rayford and Cynthia Manley with Nathan James popping in some really smart lead guitar. Rayford leads the way on Jones/Gregory's Drowning On Dry Land. This is a really funky take on this track with with Fletcher getting a great opportunity to show his stuff. Horns play an important part on this track as well with Woodford and Thornburg providing the necessary backing. Chortkoff takes a nice harp solo in the track keeping it grounded in bluesland. Ray Charles' Mr. Charles Blues, gets a a cool swing going lead by Mike Finnigan and great guitar lead by Fletcher. Aah...Cold Sweat... one of my favorite JB tracks. Kirk Fletcher steps it up like he's been playing with the JB's all his life. Nice take and of course gotta have the horns! Nathan James steps things up with hot guitar riffs on soul ballad Later On (Jimmy Mc Cracklin). Kid Ramos steps in and leads off with T-Bone Walker's You Don't Love Me. This is really hot! Tasby holds down the vocals and Fred Kaplan is very present on piano with horns bringing up the strong bottom. With Rayford on vocals and Ramos on lead guitar, James Brown's Why Does Everything Happen To Me is just a terrific setup for great things. Tear a hole in it! Junior Watson steps in and leads the way on Willie Headen's I Woke Up Screaming. Tasby takes the vocal lead and the band is solid but Watson does a stellar job! Possibly Rayford's best vocals on the recording are on West Helena Blues with Chortkoff on harp. James Harmon takes it home with Hittin' The Groove featuring Ramos on lead guitar. There are so many players on this set I'm certain that I haven't mentioned everyone but I will say that this is an exceptional set and one that I'm highly recommending!
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This is not a track from the cd but a good representation of the music.
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