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Bobby Jones Briefly fronted the legendary Chicago R'n'B act The Aces in the early sixties, and hung around with all the now pseudo-mythical names of the golden era.

Following years of blues obscurity, Jones' authentic vocal style has been rediscovered by Delta Groove's Randy Chortkoff - singing with Chortkoff's band The Mannish Boys - and now with a solo release 'Comin' Back Hard', backed by a coterie of Delta Groove regulars.

Kicking off with Henry Ballard's 'She's The One', the funk is instantly established a la Albert King Stax era, and it slices as easy as homemade pumpkin pie. Particularly good is the sinuous guitar from Kirk 'Eli' Fletcher. Up to bat next is Willie Dixon's 'Two Headed Woman', and the all star cast show their versatility in recreating the spectrum of classic blues recording genres. The addition of Ronnie James Weber on string bass is a nice nod to Dixon. 'I Must Be Crazy' shows Jones in Joe Turner mode, and he carries his big, soulful, rich voice with great aplomb.

'Come In Out Of The Rain' is a tidy shuffle, more Mannish Boys than classic, but notable for the first of several outings for be-quiffed, retro, West Coast rocker Kid Ramos on guitar. There are a couple of Ike Turner songs. The toe tapper 'Get It Over Baby' with a standout Junior Watson guitar solo, and the mournful 'How Long Will It Last' with Jones tearing out the pain and Kid Ramos putting the Bigsby tremolo into overdrive. Fred Kaplan adds effective bordello piano and Al Blake lyrical harp on George Allen's blues 'I Don't Know'. Kaplan wheels out the B-3 on 'Tired Of Your Jive' and again, Ramos makes his gear sound like it's from 1955 - which I'm sure it is!

'Cry For Me Baby' and 'Mystery Train' both carry the whiff of the honky tonk. Jones shares the vocals on 'Mystery Train' with fellow Mannish Boy Finis Tasby's more fragile timbre, Chortkoff himself taking lonesome railway harmonica duty. 'Three Handed Woman' sees the entourage pushing a Ray Charles-esque riff squarely, and Jones sprinkles his vocal with the right note of humour. Many people can play this style of music, few are simpatico enough to put the soul in - these guys are right on it and the production is immaculate. Even so, what is all too frequently lacking is a vocalist with the technique, flare and gravitas to pull it together.

Bobby Jones is the real deal.

JBBlue