HARRY MANX: Mantras for Madmen

Harry Manx

Mantras for Madmen

© 2005 Cat My Dog Publishing (624481139822)

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Harry Manx takes his East-West groove to new heights with his latest studio album. This "Mysticissippi" masterpiece features gospel-tinged vocals and Indian-inspired instrumentation woven into a Blues quilt, custom made to warm the soul.

notes

It's what you'd call an evolution.

A few years back this guy with a crazy looking Indian guitar/sitar hybrid called a Mohan Veena shows up on the music scene, offering eastern-tinged acoustic blues tunes and developing a solid following for his full solo sound.

Dog My Cat, Harry Manx's debut album, received rave reviews, fantastic press and put him solidly in the festival circuit as a much-sought after solo artist. Four albums, numerous international concert tours, sold-out theatre shows and continued critical acclaim later; Harry throws us a curve ball with his independent release West Eats Meet. He'd enhanced that famous one-man sound with Indian tabla, keys and backing vocals that hinted perhaps at what was to come.

Mantras for Madmen, Harry's sixth record in as many years, is blindingly unapologetic when it comes to even greater use of instrumentation. This time there's bass & drums that kick the groove level up a notch, gospel-laden backing vocals with killer harmonies that enrich the ten original tunes, and Indian instruments for the two ragas that are thrown into the mix.

San Diego-Tijuana pulls out all the stops with a full Indian treatment of this JJ Cale cover song with the addition of tamboura, drums and Hang along with Manx's famous Mohan Veena. Single Spark and Your Sweet Name fuse that cultural merging of East and West in true Harry Manx fashion that remain his signature styling.

The heart-wrenching, shiver-inducing It Takes a Tear features singer Emily Braden in a duet with Manx. John Reischman on mandolin is a shining addition to many of the tracks that unify seamlessly with the tried-and-true blues & ballads songs that has put Manx on the international music map.

Songwriting that inspires contemplation along with his rich, world-weary vocals maintain that the inclusion of new instruments act only as a supportive layer to what is clearly Manx's territory.

May the evolution continue.

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  • Loved it!
    author: Elihu Flapdoodle

    Lush, unexpectedly varied and beautiful. Heard about Harry Manx through Whole Wheat Radio and even in this artistically well-populated environment, this CD stood out. San Diego-Tijuana is haunting; a tribute to the J. J. Cale version that builds on a good lyric. Don't Take His Name Away is also very moving. You won't be disappointed.

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