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What an absolute belter of an album this is. Mandy Mercier is a veteran of the Texas blues and country scene as a violinist and vocalist working with, among others, Lucinda Williams, Billy Joe Shaver, Steve Forbert, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Joe Ely, Townes Van Zandt, Blaze Foley and Ray Wylie Hubbard. For this recording Mandy has put aside her violin and concentrated on producing a straight-up blues record. The band she has put together consists of Ben Cocke (guitar and vocal), Marvin Dykhuis (guitar, slide and vocals), Andy Salmon (bass and vocals), Tommy Taylor (drums and vocals), Chris Dolan (organ), Dan Earhart (piano) and James Fenner (percussion). This is about as perfect a blues lineup as you could wish with the twin guitarists echoing the bold sound of early Fleetwood Mac and Dolan’s swirling Hammond organ sound giving it the fantastic feel of the 1960s blues greats. For material, Mandy has mixed some old blues favourites such as the Willie Dixon classic Spoonful, the perennial Sportin’ Life and Ball & Chain with some originals penned mostly by Mercier herself or other band members. These fit in right alongside the greats. The album kicks of with Spoonful and from and from the first drum beat you know what you are going to get— clean, clear blues played to perfection by a set of musicians who are really cooking. It is truly brilliant to hear the kind of blues lick that starts off the third track Call it Love. Dana Cooper adds superb harmonica on Special Delivery just to add icing just to add icing onto a very rich blues mix. The title track Run Out of Darkness is a Ray Wylie Hubbard song and Hubbard himself duets with Mercier on this track so I guess he must approve of her interpretation. As for Mandy herself, apart from adding rhythm guitar she has a strong muscular voice. It is not a typical blues voice being slightly sweeter and more country than say Janis Joplin or Maggie Bell but she holds her own with the best of them. My only quibble, and it’s a slight one, is that on Ball & Chain she maybe tries slightly too hard to sound soulful when I think a more straight-forward rendering of the song would have been just as successful. All in all though a great blues record of the kind I didn’t think they made anymore. KM - Maverick Country, July 2007
"Run Out of Darkness" "Texas blues and country veteran Mercier finds her focus and hits a Joplinesque sweet-spot of raw power on this primarily bluesy set that finds her wailing on classics including Willie Dixon's 'Spoonful' and Big Mama Thornton's 'Ball & Chain.' She also gives Ray Wylie Hubbard's title tune a nice country-blues workout (with Hubbard himself as a guest singer)."
Mandy Mercier Some dream of doing it, some try it, but Mandy can really do it: make a beautiful cd that bares her soul, from the first song to the last. Few artists have this passion and soulfulness. Blues fans should love this cd (her fourth) that offers a mixture of her own work and covers. The titlesong "Run Out of Darkness" is from Ray Wylie Hubbard, who sings harmony. Big Mama Thorton's "Ball and Chain" gets a Janis Joplin treatment which is quite daring, but Mandy pulls it off. Over Mandy's voice: it's 80% Tracy Nelson (from the forgotten and underestimated band Mother Earth) and 20% Janis Joplin. The list of well known artists with whom she's shared the stage is endless but here are a few : Lucinda Williams, Joe Ely, Townes van Zandt, Doug Sahm, Angela Strehli, Lyle Lovett, and I could name a whole lot more, all buddies with whom she's performed fiddle or back up vocals on stage or in studio. On her previous release "Wild Dreams of the Shy Boy" (2001) which was a rootsy folk-rock cd, she played once in a while the violin, but on this record she was destined to chose for the blues and thus there is no fiddle present. A top blues recording with strong covers such as Toussaint's "Hello My Lover' and "Spoonful" (W. Dixon), but also some of her own work that fits right in with the rest. It wouldn't surprise me to hear more of the name Mandy Mercier here in the Netherlands and rightfully so! (RON) translation by D.R.
Mandy Mercier Some dream of it, and some attempt it. Mandy Mercier jumps up on top of it and beats it into submission. From the opening cut, Mercier attacks each song as if it will be her last. Few singers possess this type of passion for performing. Blues fans will enjoy the song selection on this 2006 release as Mercier blends covers, originals, and innovative arrangements of traditional tunes to produce a masterful album. Organ player: Chip Dolan, yes that Chip Dolan. (I once told Chip I was going to make him famous. I'm doing the best I can) Dolan's performance is neo-retro and perfect for Mercier's style. The title cut is a Ray Wylie Hubbard composition and Hubbard duets on the cut. Mercier's performance on "Ball and Chain" is worth the price of the disc. Not typical in her delivery, Mercier has developed a unique sound that makes her one of the best in Texas. Good friends and fellow MTM members Shake Russell and Dana Cooper both appear on the album as do Champ Hood and Paul Skelton. Excellent project top to bottom.
Mandy got a nice writeup on Duggan's blog for her gig at Guero's and new CD... Merci, Mercier! Tuesday, November 21, 2006 (excerpt) Mandy Mercier - the one true heiress to Janis Joplin, another bluesy woman whose voice just broke your heart. Mandy's voice did just that to me the very first time I heard her sing – back at the Imperial Golden Crown Harmonizers’ gospel brunch at the long-defunct (and much missed) Empanada Parlour. Mandy had only recently started singing again after nearly succumbing to a killer disease – several months later, she released "Wild Dreams of the Shy Boys" - one of my favorite recordings of this decade. I was sure that Miss Mercier just had to be a Louisiana Cajun – after all, she is a longtime close pal of Lucinda Williams – but the truth is she grew up in Connecticut, honed her musical skills in New York and San Francisco (and eventually New Orleans), and did not arrive in Austin until 1980. And found her home at the Armadillo and Threadgill’s – becoming a regular on Champ Hood’s Wednesday Sittin’ and Singin’ for Supper Sessions (which also featured Christine Gage, Jimmy Dale Gilmour, and Marvin Dykhius – and many others). Mandy once told me she was the one who stayed up all night playing music and having fun, but unlike most of her guy friends got up the next morning and went to work. As either girlfriend or just good buddy, she probably kept bunches of our heroes alive and able to make the music we still revere (while nearly killing herself in the process). Blaze Foley was one of her buds, as was Ray Wylie Hubbard, whose "Run Out of Darkness" is the title track on her brand-new CD -- and, yes, the song is a great duet! "Shy Boys" showcased Mandy’s songwriting and even her fiddling skills, but there is not a fiddle in sight on this serious blues album and only one of the songs is Mandy’s own. That song - "Get There" - Mandy wrote on her way to Nashville to Walter Hyatt’s funeral. Tying strings together, this version features Uncle Walt’s bandmate and Austin legend Champ Hood on guitar – just one more memory for those who loved him to share. For good measure, we also get Dana Cooper and Shake Russell singing backing vocals on the track. Austin insiders will be pleased to know that the band for this recording is Tommy Taylor on drums, Andy Salmon on bass, Chip Dolan on organ, Marvin Dykhuis and Ben Cocke on guitars, plus Dan Earhart on piano and James Fenner on percussion – and Paul Skelton plays guitar on "You’ve Got to Move," the old standard (but as arranged by Mandy and Blaze) which closes out the CD. There is also Willie Dixon’s "Spoonful," Sippy Wallace’s "Special Delivery Blues," John Sebastian’s "Sportin’ Life," and Tom Pacheco’s "Wild Heart" – which is killer! But the show stopper – and as a veteran of Mandy and band on Janis’ birthday – we get the Mandy Mercier version of Big Mama Thornton’s "Ball & Chain." No - Mandy does not sound "like Janis" – she just makes you feel the same way Janis did when she sings. It’s in her phrasing, it’s in her vocal power – but what makes all the difference is that Mandy is maybe the ONLY woman who has walked in Janis-like shoes and paid her dues – and survived [which is an amazing thing in itself given that our gal will admit herself that she has not always been her own body’s best friend]. And among living white woman blues singers, Mandy to me ranks right up there with my all-time favorite Tracy Nelson (Mother Earth) and maybe ahead of Mandy’s own girlhood idol - Maria Muldaur. Several members of the Hood family drove over from Lake Charles to celebrate the release of Mandy's new CD at her two-set show at Guero's beautiful garden -- and her very hot band included Taylor, Salmon, and Dolan -- plus the left-handed Mark Viator on lead guitar and Mandy herself on acoustic and electric guitar -- and fiddle in the second set. http://flanfire.blogspot.com - Austinite Duggan Flanakin tells of his travels and observations on life in central Texas and things in general.
No Depression: Mandy Mercier's third album rocks harder than anything she's done before, but it doesn't forget to roll, either; it's as close as she's come to sounding "commercial," if such a term can apply to a DIY effort. As co-produced by the Austin singer-songwriter with John Harvey, "Wild Dreams of the Shy Boys" is an exemplary disc of rootsy folk-rock that also bears the unmistakable stamp of guitarist-and-more Gurf Morlix. Mercier's husky voice and her boundless energy and emotion propel the mini-dramas in these songs; it's an instrument fit for the blues (such as her reading of John Lee Hooker's "Worry My Life") as much as for country. Her clipped phrasing gives rockers such as the opening "Already Fallin'" real urgency, while ballads such as the bottom-heavy "Anything Less" and "See It Now" simmer with anxiety, sorrow and resolve. Morlix provides an appropriately spacey solo on "Make It Back to Midnight," while Ian McLagan's burbling, swirling Hammond organ and Mercier's own fiddle color the set. The guitars on "No Foolin' the Cards" alternately ring and rumble, while the moral outrage on topical songs such as "Homeless" is palpable. Except for the Hooker tune and her version of Lowell George's "Willin'", reprised from a 1998 compilation album, the songs are all Mercier originals. The title track, with its traditional/contemporary imagery, is a fitting closer to an album that is confident and even a little reckless, tuneful and deeply felt. Mercier often gets lost in the shuffle of Austin singer-songwriters, but few of them can match her evocative songwriting and gutsy performances.  Read the Austin Chronicle interview with Mandy Mercier by clicking the icon below:
CD Review
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She had me at hello. Or in this case the title, “Wild Dreams Of The Shy Boys” by Austin, TX chanteuse Mandy Mercier. How could you not love and be intrigued by that title with it’s delicious hint of mystery and eroticism. With a touch of Americana and a whole lot of Texas twang, Mercier has made an amazing record. 