Big Plans

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.