Mighty Blue Kings: Come One, Come All

The seven-piece Chicago band Mighty Blue Kings is often lumped in with Royal Crown Revue, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and other horn-fueled, old-school jazz/swing bands that are currently purported to be sweeping the nation. Live, that reputation makes sense: The group mixes celebratory jazz and swing with old-school jump blues, succumbing to neither the tongue-in-cheekiness of the former nor the monotonous interchangeability of the latter. Unfortunately, Mighty Blue Kings' second album, Come One, Come All, sticks to a relatively rigid Chicago-blues template. The midtempo "Don't Let Go" benefits from a bouncy, fluid bassline, a shout-out chorus and nice horn flourishes, but too much of Come One, Come All gets bogged down in mundane, gently shuffling ballads like "Put Your Hand In Mine" and "Long Distance Lover." It's not a bad Chicago-blues record, by any means, but lots and lots and lots of bands play Chicago blues. Mighty Blue Kings always trafficked in something a bit different, and that's what made the group special. Not so anymore. (R-Jay Records, P.O. Box 577670, Chicago, IL 60657)