Harvey Mandel

The travelled guitar spellcaster talks blues, magic and the Stones.

- Andrew Male

A sking an interviewee how they are is, for the most part, simple journalistic politeness. With Harvey Mandel, it’s more pressing. The 71-year-old Michigan-born guitar god has just completed his penultimate prolonged treatment in a three-year battle with nasal cancer. “I’m doing better,” says Mandel, simultaneously tough and tired. “I’m hoping I’ll need only one more operation and be back in business.” That means touring Snake Pit, his first full studio album since 1974. Recorded at Creedence’s Fantasy Studios with Ryley Walker’s Chicago band, Snake Pit is a storming return to the sinuous, supercharged, heavy sustain guitar jazz-blues-rock-funk gumbo old heads and young crate diggers revere him for, a sound that draws on 50 years of playing with Muddy Waters, Magic Sam, Canned Heat, and John Mayall, plus a very brief period in The Rolling Stones, "I didn't really get giant recognition from that,” says Mandel.

The new album sounds like you haven’t been away, which of course you have. How did it come about?

My manager in Chicago got approached by [fan and Tompkins Square label proprietor] Josh Rosenthal. We set it up together and Josh brought in these young Chicago musicians. They were all Grade A guys. What you’re hearing is live cuts, set up in the studio. I’d vocally run down my ideas and we did it in one or two takes. It worked out great.

You’ve been seriously ill. Were you able to keep playing in that time?