Maybe it was inevitable that Harry Manx and Steve Marriner (Monkey Junk) Canadians would team up but thankfully they have for an exquisite set of roots-blues-gospel tunes on Hell Bound for Heaven. This is their debut collaboration on record after years of sharing many stages and impromptu jams together. They have known each other for 16 years or more. Each is a multi-instrumentalist, a soulful vocalist, and deeply ingrained in the history of blues and gospel music. Everything they lay down her is as real as it gets. Purists will love it as they blend acoustic and electric at the intersection of blues and gospel.
The ten tunes consist of originals from each as well as a combination of well-known and seldom heard covers, ranging from Charlie Patton (“Rattlesnake Blues”) and Reverend Gary Davis (“Death Don’t Have No Mercy”), to “Pops” staples (“Wish I Has Answered”) and the traditional (“This Little Light of Mine”). The sequencing is interesting, opposite of what one might expect at a live show with five originals coming first, followed by the four covers, and closing with the spare “Rise and Fall in Love.”
Marriner is the front man for his band Monkey Junk and is known as one of Canada’s best harmonica players who plays that instrument only half of these tunes but shows a dazzling mastery of guitar, slide guitar, baritone and 12-string guitar, bass, Hammond B3 and drums. Manx, who has collaborated on some terrific albums with guitarist Kevin Breit, also displays his versatility on slide, banjo, and trademark Mohan Veena, a modified slide guitar based on an Indian instrument and traditionally held like a Hawaiian guitar. Both democratically share lead vocals. They are joined by Clayton Doley on B# and Moe Duella on drums, with background vocals from three different groups, dubbed “The Gamblers,” The Marrinaires,” and “The Sahaja Singers.”
Here is Harry on Steve,” “I knew from the beginning that Steve was going to become a one-man blues storm, a legend in the blues scene. And he had. He’s probably won every award that you can win in Canada; and not just once, but time and time again. ….We decided then for the recording it would be gospel and blues,…Moving from dark to light in the light of the blues, that’s our ongoing journey.”
And Steve weighs in, ‘’Harry encouraged me to dig out some old ideas that had never been fully realized, so I did. I had one pretty cool progression that turned into “Hell Bound for Heaven,” the title track. It’s been very satisfying to watch a half-baked song with dust on it get some lovin’ and come out all shiny and new.” And on “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” – “…I first heard form the man who taught me to paly harmonica. I’ve been listening to it almost as long as I’ve been playing music. I love what Harry added to our version – his iconic “Mysticssippi” slide playing.
These guys have this stuff down cold, even to “Pops” Staples’ tremolo guitar sound rendered by Marriner on “Wish I Had Answered.” There are no weak tracks here but for those who seek highlights, suggest you don’t miss these: “Nothing,” “Everybody Knows,” the title track, “My Only One” and “Death Don’t Have No Mercy In This Land.” This is roots music delivered by two masters. It’s pure, passionate, musically precise and soul-stirring.
