Mighty Blue Kings - Come One, Come All (1997)

The Mighty Blue Kings turn out retro-swing like the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and Royal Crown Revue, but there's a crucial difference -- the group concentrates on jump blues, not swing, unlike so many of their contemporaries. They also tend to be more musically skilled than many of their peers, which gives them more blues credibility. Come One, Come All, the group's second album, still sounds a little stiff compared to classic jump blues, but it's still an entertaining record. Lead vocalist/songwriter Ross Bon has a fairly good melodic sense, and the group has a lot of fun just playing music. Fortunately, that translates to a good time on record as well, and even if the Mighty Blue Kings aren't quite authentic, they have a good time and make sure their audience does too. And that's about all you need from a retro-swing, retro-jump blues record.~Stephen Thomas Erlewine