CD Review
Mama's Boys
Chicken & Waffles
(Self-produced (2002))
13 tracks, 58 minutes
by Craig Ruskey
Review date: March 2003
|
|
"Keeping the Blues Alive Award" Achievement for Blues on the Internet Presented by The Blues Foundation
| |
From Long Beach, CA, Mama's Boys are a dangerously potent four-piece outfit with enough
power to level any juke-joint or nightclub to splinters. Comprised of frontman/vocalist Johnny Mastro,
Dave Melton's gritty guitar, and a rhythm section of Jeff Henry and Jim Goodall on bass and drums
respectively, the baker's dozen here exhibit both intense drive and healthy originality on their own
items as well as the strong covers. Ricky Allen's You'd Better Be Sure and an Elmore James
slide showstopper, Coming Home, bristle with electricity. Mastro proves himself a workhorse as
a singer and harp player as his tone ranges from somewhat light and airy on Too Tight to thick
and deliberate on a heads-up version of the standard Shake 'Em On Down, while his chromatic
efforts on the title track recall Carey Bell. Little Walter's Come Back Baby and Guitar Slim's
Something To Remember You By might well lean towards the 1960s approach of Paul
Butterfield or Charlie Musselwhite, but there's no question that this band is steeped in the 1950s
Chicago style. Certainly one of the finer self-produced efforts from 2002 and if the lowdown nature of
Blues For Late Summer, a sizzling nine-and-a-half minute drag (with a violent Kirk Fletcher
guitar solo) doesn't cure you of your ills, check for a pulse - you might be dead.
www.themamasboys.com
Your purchase through this Amazon.com link helps to support this website.
Simply click on the cover at left or the Amazon buy button (if there is one) to order this CD NOW!
"This review is copyright © 2003 by Craig Ruskey, and Blues On Stage at: www.mnblues.com, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited without permission."
Copyright reuse notice: If you would like to reprint or use this review please include the above copyright notice, contained within the quotation marks, PLUS this statement: "Used with permission." Then send an email to Ray at: mnblues@aol.com indicating how you are using the review or the website page address it will be appearing on. Thanks!
You can help support this blues website by making a contribution (click on the banner below for details).
Or mail a donation to: Ray Stiles % Blues On Stage, PO Box 582983, Mpls, MN 55458. Thanks!
Web Design SPECIAL, get your own website for just $50.
Web Hosting & Design:
Web Hosting & Design.
Most affordable web hosting and design services available.
Find out how you can host your current site at Blues On Stage, or how I can help you design your own website!
If you would like your CD reviewed, please send TWO (2) copies, along with promotional material to:
Blues On Stage
PO Box 582983
Minneapolis, MN 55458-2983
E-mail Ray Stiles @ mnblues@aol.com with any questions.
|
Ray Stiles at: mnblues@aol.com
Copyright © 2003 Ray M. Stiles All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. Blues On Stage is a ® Trademark of Ray Stiles.
|
|