Vic Manuel – Bury Me Deep

The CD album is a collector’s piece, featuring not only original music and performances, but stunning original art work, some created especially for the album and local artists.

The front cover image, wolves howling at the moon, was hand drawn by Vic’s daughter, Heidi Manuel, and relates to the title track, no. 7. Bury Me Deep. The inside cover image and the background art in the lyrics booklet are from oil paintings by local artist Tanja Karl and relate to track number 9, Nothing is Nothing.

Also in the lyrics booklet for Bury Me Deep the guitar pick hand etched by Vic’s son-in-law Daniel Robertson in keeping with the track’s theme suggests a headstone.

All photography is by local photographer Jayanthi Black including the back cover photo of Vic at the video shoot for Love is a terrible thing.

Tony Allison from Ecodigitography pulled all of this together into a fabulous, sensitive layout, and Mad CDs completed the package with perfect presentation and duplication.

CD Review Chris Spencer

This is a very laid back, cruisey album. Never rushed.

Think of JJ Cale. Voice sounds a bit like Hans Poulsen or Willie Nelson (yes I’m showing my age!) Vic Manuel has been involved in the music industry for many years playing with a variety of groups.

However this is his debut solo album.

He has gathered a bevy of musicians to assist with the recording: instruments used to embellish the tracks include fiddle (played by Kym Pitman, John Woolhouse and Justin Smedley), hammond organ, ukulele (Chris Judd and Manuel), double bass, Hawaiian guitar (Paul Bulanyi), mandolin, banjo, trumpet and clarinet.

This might suggest an over-produced album, but Scott Collins has allowed each instrument to shine at different times during the recording.

An exception to this is the treatment given to “Love is a Terrible Thing” which has a choir of backing singers on this album, Vic’s tunes range from folky, country, bluesey, rootsy and bluegrass.

The album opens up with the ballad “Willow Tree” featuring the banjo playing of Anton Halim relating a story of local town misplaced vengeance and retribution.

“Boogie Man” is a rag led by the trumpet (sounding a lot like a tuba!), not a boogie! The title track is a little folky ditty telling his family how to distribute his assetts after his death.

“Eileen” has the most memorable melody, and tells of a lost love – to the gambler.

Other themes covered on the album include impact of progress and change, love (“Love is a Terrible Thing”, “Lights on the Harbour”- a waltz featuring ukuleles and Hawaiian guitar, “Going to Minnesota”, “Nothing is Nothing” and “How Many Years”), anti-war (“Walking Back Home”) and an abandoned child (“Oh Mother”).

The album ends with the seemingly throwaway “Penitentiary Blues” bluegrass romp – although not that fast!

This album is a grower, that upon each repeated listen, one hears new nuances within each song.

Recommended for those who like your oldtimey, laidback rootsy acoustic music.