The Manfreds, Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh

Golden oldies.  The stars, the songs and pretty much the entire audience fitted the epithet, which was to be expected.  This is very much a nostalgia gig.

The show was tagged "hits, jazz and blues", and the six man line up included a couple of musicians from the original 60s band Manfred Mann.  Pete Riley on drums, Marcus Cliffe on bass, keyboards from Mike Gorman, and sax and flute courtesy of Simon Currie.  Plus the two veterans that most people had really come to see.  Tom McGuiness on guitar and mandolin, and vocalist, harmonicist and radio celebrity Paul Jones.  

Plenty of 60s hits, with three number one's, including Pretty Flamingo and 5-4-3-2-1, and the forgotten classic When I'm Dead and Gone from McGuiness, from his band McGuiness Flint.  A solo number from Cliffe, and a gorgeous instrumental from Currie and Gorman.  Blues numbers, including a stunning Howlin' Wolf song, some jazz, even a long jazz-funk number that showed off everyone's solo abilities.  They're a solid pro band, with no weak links and plenty of talent.  Currie's sax and flute work stood out for it's excellence.

But the front man can make or break a show like this, and Jones is still very much a star.  The vocals are starting to sound a little strained at times, but the tone is as distinctive as every and he can bring forth an impressive falsetto.  He is still a superb blues harmonica player though, that talent still undimmed.  The boyish good looks are still evident, even at 80, and he clearly keeps himself trim and fit.  But his biggest asset is the charisma that oozes from him the moment he steps on stage.  Jones knows exactly how to win over and control his audience, and had everyone joining in on the weel kent choruses.

So much for the show itself.  What should have been an enjoyable evening of nostalgic entertainment was marred by the inadequacies of the Brunton's sound system in the bass ranges.  I've been having a few hearing problems of late, and thought that might be the reason things didn't sound quite right.  But Cliffe's solo confirmed that the real issues weren't with me.  As he layered bass line upon bass line, via his pedal board, the sound distorted more and more.  Yet the superb sax and keyboard number came across much more clearly.  To be fair things were better in the second set than the first, so something must have been done, but it's a shame whatever it was hadn't been picked up at sound check.  

But otherwise this was a bit of fun, and confirms that the old men have still got it in them!