Bread and Buddha [Single, Import]

Harry Manx (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 15, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Single, Import
• Label: Dog My Cat Records
• ASIN: B002M81UK2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,785 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The ever-restless Manx, a world traveler now based on British Columbia's Salt Spring Island (an artistic haven of sorts), blends blues and folk with exotic strains of Indian classical music to stunning effect. In addition to guitars (both acoustic and national steel) and piano, Manx plays the mohan veena, a 20-stringed hybrid somewhere between guitar and sitar. He also arranged strings on this, his ninth recording, adding additional depth to a strong collection of wise originals and well-chosen covers. Manx is a deeply spiritual artist, and the material reflects his quest for deeper meaning. His lyrics can be a bit cryptic at times, but he's dealing with big stuff - life, love, and our place in the world. Covers include a stunning reading of Long Black Veil and the hushed reverence of Kevin Breit's Humble Me, best known for Norah Jones' version. Manx seems to be moving away from the blues a bit with this outing. Charlie Patton's Moon Going Down is given a gently simmering reading powered by subtle but soulful organ. But harmonica is absent altogether, and despite its title, the almost-apocalyptic Walking Ghost Blues isn't a typical twelve-bar. Eastern influences (Manx studied for several years in India with the inventor of the Mohan Veena) are most prominent in the haunting True To Yourself and The Unspoken Quest, both featuring classical Indian vocals from Samidha Joglekar, and Manx's own compositions lean to minor-key folk-y foundations. Somewhat out of place among the primarily gentle and contemplative fare is the rocky Love Is the Fire, one of only two tracks to feature Simon Godin's electric guitar. With each recording, Manx seems to be marking a point in an ongoing quest for deeper meaning. Bread And Buddha (the man loves his puns, as other titles in his discography attest) is a fascinating, often lovely, and genuinely moving glimpse into a soul more concerned with spiritual health than with amassing wealth. Recommended! --John Taylor, blogcritics.org

Product Description

New studio album - the first in 3 years - from this unique modern blues/folk artist. Multi-instrumentalist and composer harry manx has been described as an essential link between the music of the east and the music of the west. He fuses traditional blues with classic indian ragas to create a distinctive sound. Manx, primarily a guitarist, who also plays harmonica and banjo, was born on the isle of mann and moved with his family to canada. He left home in his teens to live in europe, japan, india and brazil, carefully perfecting his compelling live show on streets and in cafes and bars before later breaking out to music festivals. Blues music capture his attention when he was still in his teens and he did some roadie work for willie dixon, john hammond and others. He hit the road hard in europe, booking himself wherever and whenever he could, as a solo act playing banjo, harmonica and guitar. He moved to japan and spent the latter half of the 1980's performing there. In japan, he discovered the music of vishwa mohan bhatt and left japan for india. In 1992, he introduced himself to bhatt and then spent the next five years under his tutelage, learning to play bhatt's creation, the 20-string mohan veena. The apex of his time as bhatt's apprentice came about with a concert for several thousand people at the taj mahal. At that time, bhatt was well known in india, but several years later, he'd be discovered by some american audiences with his 1994 grammy award winning recording with ry cooder, 'meeting by the river.'

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My first Manx, January 21, 2010

By 

Paula E. Oneal (Shreveport, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bread and Buddha (Audio CD)

I'm new to Harry Manx and received this CD as a gift. I really like it. Two cuts in particular stand out for me. "True to Yourself" has a great world music feel with Indian vocals (male and female) and a bit of sitar and tabla thrown in. I'm also a sucker for a vocalist "singing" the tabla part. "Long Black Veil" was a very different cover and I wasn't sure I liked it at first (not sad enough for such a sad song), but I decided I enjoyed the unique take on that song. The rest of the CD is pleasant enough and I'll pay more attention to Manx's work from now on....

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Manx once again brings us..., October 5, 2009

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Bread and Buddha (Audio CD)

Mr. Manx once again brings us an extremely well thought out and excellently preformed collection of songs. This is a must for his fans and for those uninitiated....

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bread and Buddah, March 19, 2010

By 

Kim Murray "YuDanJa" (Hunter Valley, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bread and Buddha (Audio CD)

Love it
and have played several times again and again
I am off to see Harry (Manx that is) at his Sydney appearances. He is more than welcome back in the Hunter Valley NSW Aust. He would get a big turnout at The Vineyards (eg Hope Estate)
Kim