1 Kid's Jump
2 I'm Ready (Tribute to Lester Butler)
3 She Wants to Sell My Monkey
4 Mannish Boy                         play
5 You're Sweet
6 Howling Wolf                        play
7 Goin' Crazy over TV
8 Mystery Train
9 It's Too Bad
10 Strangest Blues
11 As the Years Go Passing By
12 Walkin' and Walkin'

Johnny Dyer, Randy Chortkoff (vocals, harmonica); 
Finis Tasby (vocals); 
Kid Ramos (guitar); 
Richard Innes (drums).

19th Annual Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival, Winthrop, (07/17/2005).

With all of the perils and pitfalls that surround live recordings, Live & In Demand stands out as a rare jewel. The Mannish Boys are a wonderful collection of individual artists that stand out in their own right but who come together to prove that the whole is still greater than the sum of its parts. Their performance at the Winthrop Blues Festival was tight, clean and exudes the professionalism that all of these artists are known for. Kudos go out to whoever was smart enough to hit the “record” button on the sound board. He or she saved for us a gem that will stand on its own merits for a long, long time.

The Mannish Boys are one of the most universally praised new blues bands, both live and on record, since the heyday of the blues genre a half century ago, receiving virtually unanimous rave reviews from both the blues specialty press and general entertainment reviewers. The current edition of The Mannish Boys features a veritable one-band blues festival of talent; most of the members either lead or are integral members of other successful touring and recording bands. They've honed their blues to a brilliant edge through appearances before sold-out crowds and on festival stages in the U.S., Canada, and in Europe. Their new live recording, "Live & In Demand", captures The Mannish Boys at the top of their game at the 2005 Winthrop Blues Festival, rolling out their dynamic, non-stop, old-style 'blues revue' featuring acclaimed veteran bluesmen Finis Tasby, Johnny Dyer, Kid Ramos, Franck Goldwasser, Leon Blue, Randy Chortkoff, Richard Innes and Tom Leavey.

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1. These Kind of Blues	 4:02
2. Searchin' Blues	3:45
3. Low Down Feeling	4:10
4. Chocolate Drop	3:04
5. If the Washing Don't Get You, the Rinsing Will	3:28
6. Need My Baby	3:43
7. The Same Thing	4:37
8. The Woodchuck	4:36
9. Fine Lookin' Woman	4:26
10. You Don't Love Me	5:09
11. Figure Head	4:57
12. Rude Groove	7:51
13. When I Leave	4:35
14. Good Times	4:46
15. Something's Wrong	3:14
16. Reet, Petite and Gone	2:31
17. Dead Letter Blues	3:49

Little Sammy Davis, Randy Chortkoff (vocals, harmonica); 
Finis Tasby, Bobby Lee Jones, Johnny Dyer (vocals); 
Kid Ramos (guitar, acoustic guitar); 
Ronnie James Weber (guitar, upright bass, electric bass); 
Junior Watson (guitar); 
Fred Scribner (slide guitar); 
Lynwood Slim (harmonica);
David Woodford (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); 
Scott Steen (trumpet); 
Fred Kaplan (piano); 
Tom Leavey (electric bass); 
Cynthia Manley (background vocals).

There are no fewer than 20 musicians contributing to the Mannish Boys' fourth release, which makes this album more the product of a collective or revue than an actual band. Despite the players changing on nearly every tune, this is nevertheless a strong and surprisingly cohesive set of Chicago styled blues originals and a few choice covers that click due to the talents of those involved. Producer and label owner Randy Chortkoff emphasizes that there is no digital recording involved and few overdubs, which makes for a rootsy, down-home blues stew that breathes. Veteran singer Finis Tasby only appears on three tracks but one of them, a cover of "If the Washing Don't Get You, the Rinsing Will," (best known from Albert King's version), featuring a stinging guitar solo from Kirk "Eli" Fletcher, is one of this disc's highlights. Old-school harpist/vocalist Little Sammy Davis joins to cover two of his own songs and is a classy addition to the revolving door lineup. Covers of Billy "The Kid" Emerson's "The Woodchuck," Texas Pete Mayes' title track, and Howlin' Wolf's obscure pre-Chess recording "Chocolate Drop" show how deep this group digs for interesting material. Not so much for yet another version of Willie Cobbs' "You Don't Love Me" (as an instrumental with a rugged guitar solo from Fletcher) or Willie Dixon's "The Same Thing," even if both are given spirited readings. Chortkoff takes the lead on his own "Rude Groove," little more than a rewrite of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Help Me" but urged along mightily by tough six-string leads from Frank "Paris Slim" Goldwasser and guest Kid Ramos, along with Fred Kaplan's mighty B-3 and Chortkoff's harp. Another old timer, Johnny Dyer, sings with requisite down and out emotion and a distinct Muddy Waters inflection as Al Blake does the harp duties on the slow blues of "Good Times." There's not a bland or rote moment throughout this long -- 73-minute, 17-track -- but never boring disc. Even though you'll constantly be checking the credits to figure out who is playing and singing, the results are worth the effort. ---Hal Horowitz, AllMusic Review

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1.	Border Town Blues
2.	I Can't Stay Here
3.	I Get So Worried
4.	Mary Jane
5.	Carpet Bagger Blues
6.	Just to Be with You
7.	Gotta Move
8.	Why Do Things Happen to Me
9.	Groan My Blues Away
10.	Mine All Mine
11.	Young & Tender
12.	My Baby's a Good 'Un
13.	Broken Hearted Blues
14.	Walkin' Down Fillmore
15.	California Blues

Mannish Boys: 
Kirk Fletcher, Frank "Paris Slim" Goldwasser (guitar); 
Kid Ramos (baritone guitar); 
Leon Blue (piano); 
Richard 'Big Foot' Innes (drums); 
Tom Leavey, Finis Tasby, Johnny Dyer, Randy Chortkoff.
+
Jody Williams (vocals, guitar); 
Johnny Dyer, Randy Chortkoff (vocals, harmonica); 
Rob Rio, Leon Blue (vocals, piano); 
Finis Tasby, Bobby Lee Jones (vocals); 
Kid Ramos (guitar, slide guitar); 
Mitch Kashmar (harmonica); 
Jeff Big Dad Turmes (alto saxophone, upright bass); 
David Woodford (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); 
Larry Taylor (upright bass); 
Tom Leavey (electric bass).

The second studio album by contemporary electric blues supergroup the Mannish Boys delivers straightforward Chicago-style blues in an unfussy setting. The list of special guests is as long as the nine-piece band, including guest singers Jody Williams and Bobby Lee Jones, guitarist Rick Holmstrom, pianist Rob Rio, bassists Jeff Big Dad Turmes and Larry "The Mole" Taylor, harmonica player Mitch Kashmar and saxophonist David Woodford. As a result, no one singer or instrumentalist predominates, giving Big Plans a sort of R&B revue feel. The songs are mostly originals by members of the band including bandleader Randy Chortkoff and slide guitarist Frank Goldwasser; while the band get points for largely avoiding the temptation to simply bash out the usual electric blues suspects, none of the album's original material sounds likely to join the blues canon. A fairly low-key, genial album, Big Plans is considerably less than its title suggests, but it's likely enough for fans of contemporary electric blues. ---Stewart Mason, AllMusic Review

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1. Going Crazy Over T.V	 3:04
2. Come On Rock Little Girl	3:32
3. Partin' Time	3:48
4. You Been Goofin'	2:43
5. Easier Said Than Done	4:02
6. I'm A Lover Not A Fighter	2:51
7. Temperature	2:10
8. Lost Your Good Thing Now	7:15
9. I Feel So Bad	3:47
10. I Had A Dream Last Night	2:33
11. It's Too Bad	4:53
12. Call My Job	4:08	
13. You're Sweet	2:51
14. Lonesome Bedroom Blues	2:32
15. The Eagle Is Back	3:51
16. Blues & Trouble	4:5
17. Strangest Blues	2:52	

Mannish Boys: 
Leon Blue (vocals, piano); 
Ronnie James Weber (double bass, bass guitar); 
Finis Tasby, June Core, Kirk Fletcher, 
Frank "Paris Slim" Goldwasser.
+
Roy Gaines (vocals, guitar); 
Johnny Dyer, Randy Chortkoff (vocals, harmonica); 
Finis Tasby, Mickey Champion (vocals); 
Kirk Fletcher, Frank "Paris Slim" Goldwasser (guitar); 
Paul Oscher (slide guitar); 
David Woodford (saxophone); 
Ronnie James Weber (upright bass); 
June Core (drums).

"That Represent Man" is simply one of the best blues recordings I have ever heard! This is the blues as it's ment to be heard, The Mannish Boys have poured their heart and soul into this recording and it is an experience that should not be missed!

The Mannish Boys is an "All-Star" cast of mastered bluesmen who have each mastered his own craft, and I have heard others describe this CD as "West Coast Blues" I beg to differ this is a mix of the best the Delta and Chicago blues have to offer. This band may be assembled from the best of the West Coast crop but I believe these guys are the best blues band in Americia today.

Some of the material on this disc includes Jimmy Anderson's "Going Crazy Over T.V.", Lazy Lester's "I'm A Lover Not A Fighter" both which featuring some fine harp playing by Randy Chortkoff, other covers of Smokey Smothers' "Come On Rock Little Girl", Freddie King's lesser known classic "It's Too Bad" and a couple of B.B. King covers, one in "Partin' Time'" which guitaris Kirk Fletcher really nails, and Johnny Watson's "The Eagle Is Back" is da bomb! There are seventeen tracks on this disc and not one will let you down. I have to be honest and let you know that I kept this CD in my player for two weeks straight, what a joy this is to listen too. ---Rude, amazon.com

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1. Too Tired (03:39) 
2. Mona - Willie And The Hand Jiv (04:25) 
3. Reconsider Baby (03:09) 
4. Educated Ways (04:02) 
5. Half Ain't Been Told (05:02) 
6. Number Nine Train (03:18) 
7. Last Night (05:05) 
8. Hey Now (03:18) 
9. You Can't Be Beat (04:28) 
10. Black Nights (03:29) 
11. The Bullet (04:46) 
12. Those Worries (07:02) 
13. Raunchy (05:33) 
14. Champagne & Reefer (04:26) 
15. You've Got Bad Intentions (02:48) 
16. Way Down South (05:05)

Arthur Adams - Guitar, Vocals
Jimi Bott - Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Willie Campbell  - Bass (Electric), Bass (Upright), Vocals (Background)
Lou Castro - Bass (Electric)
Randy Chortkoff - Harmonica
Nick Curran - Guitar
Johnny Dyer - Vocals
Kirk Fletcher - Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm)
Franck Goldwasser - Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm), Slide Guitar, Vocals
Jeff Fleenor - Vocals (Background)
Bobby Jones - Vocals
Fred Kaplan - Organ, Piano
Mitch Kashmar 	- Harmonica
Andy Kaulkin - Piano
Warren Mitchell - Drums
Rod Piazza - Harmonica
Kid Ramos - Guitar
Rob Rio - Piano
Lynwood Slim - 	Chromatic Harmonica
Finis Tasby - Vocals
Lee Thornburg 	- Trombone, Trumpet
Pete Van Der Pluijm - Harmonica, Vocals
David "Woody" Woodford - Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
Mike Zito - Guitar, Vocals

Through five years, and over as may CDs, the rotating personnel of the Mannish Boys constituted an impressive array of rhythm-section member and special guest all-stars. Shake for Me displays this potpourri of blues musicians on some classic tunes and those written by select bandmembers, each one with a special, customized feeling. With personnel ranging from duets up to horn-fired big-band charts, this quintessential backup band takes center stage on their way to deserved recognition as a premier blues group in their own right. Among the classics they cover are "Mona" welded onto the Johnny Otis evergreen "Willie & the Hand Jive" in bompity-bomp fashion à la Bo Diddley, with Bobby Jones singing; the slow jazz shuffle penned by Ray Charles, "Hey Now," again with the irrepressible Jones (check out his CD with the Mannish Boys as his backup band, Comin Back Hard); "You Can't Be Beat," a quintessential Chi-Town/Howlin' Wolf blues; Little Walter's "Last Night" with mighty harmonica man Rod Piazza; the get-down Muddy Waters number "Champagne & Reefer"; and "Number Nine Train" in a loose Hound Dog Taylor style also make the cut. Randy Chortkoff's "Educated Ways" is an original that stands out with a Bill Doggett sound, as does the lengthy jam "Those Worries" featuring Lynwood Slim on the harp. Other guests and past standout Mannish Boys include vocalists Jones, Finis Tasby or Kirk Fletcher, the legendary Arthur Adams, and harmonica specialists Mitch Kashmar, Johnny Dyer, Big Pete Van Der Pluijrn, Chortkoff, pianist Rob Rio, and guitarist Kid Ramos. The core band of guitarists Nick Curran and Franck Goldwasser, keyboardist Fred Kaplan, and drummer Jimi Bott have surrounded themselves with so many dynamic and distinctive performers for this set, making for a mind-blowing program of diverse blues that cannot help but be a top blues CD for 2010 and beyond. --- Michael G. Nastos, allmusic.com

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