Harry Manx/Kevin Breit - In Good We Trust (Can) (CD)

All Music Guide

The followup to this pair's Jubilee album finds them basically starting where they left off. And fans should be thankful for that. The instrumentation is top notch and the selections seem to suit the record perfectly. A great example of this is the haunting but folksy reworking of Bruce Springsteen's Fire that is still dark but has a certain hint of brightness to it thanks to the use of bazouki and tamboura. However, the original material definitely measures up to the covers, especially on the smooth and tender Sometimes that glides along effortlessly. Meanwhile Manx and Breit weave more magic with the strolling, ambling Bottom Of The Hill that is quite catchy. Think of a song by Kieran Kane and Kevin Welch and it's a fair comparison. This is definitely truer during the rootsy and looser Steal 6 as Manx and Breit mixing roots, folk and blues impressively. The album is offset though by pretty instrumentals, the first being Better Man's Waltz which has an airy yet dark quality running th...rough it, resembling a piece of a soundtrack score which Mark Knopfler hasn't gotten around to yet. However, a rather heady, psychedelic era tune called Death Have Mercy brings to mind Jeff Beck's work circa Frankie's House. Meanwhile, the title track is the Delta blues personified, even if there are flourishes of guitar strumming over the standard, slow creeping blues chords. For the homestretch, Manx and Breit create a gorgeous and cozy Hang On that sounds like it was recorded in one take as the sun was coming up. The album, as it states on its cover, is indeed supreme quality. - Jason MacNeil, All Music Guide Read more Less