With Highs and Lows, Manders has bridged those peaks and valleys and offers a truly transitional CD that gives you a glimpse of life’s ‘Highs and Lows’, as seen through his eyes. He is successful in the migration of the feel-good, let’s get drunk and party, good time Charlie collection to the more mature and discriminating genre that extends beyond the dance-and-sing-along music to that with deeper meaning and longevity.  Not to imply that Manders would disappoint us by leaving those kinds of songs in the dust.  After all, they got him where he is, and they made us love his music.  But he’s proved he’s here to stay and there is much more to the artist and his life than that right of passage.  He’s now officially on that short list of artists about which both young and old can agree.

"Sam Houston" is the selection that, for me, proves that point.  It is so like the Manders style we have learned to love.  The title leads you to expect a great western ballad like "Jim Murphy" (Chili Pepper Sunset), then takes you on a very contemporary autobiographical journey.  Manders, with expert sophistication, leads us straight from our western heritage into a modern twist, sharing his introspection and blending the past and the present in a seamless stream.

"Drive" and "Follow Me" are unmistakably Manders Texas music.  If anyone ever tried a cover of these, they would still sound like his.  In "Drive", he describes unique Texas conditions and mind sets that define us Texans for all the world to envy.  This is definitely one of the ‘Highs’ and is a must for those road trips or thinking ‘drives’ that are typically Texan.  With phrases like "it’s 50 miles to the next town," and "there’s horses underneath my hood and I think I just might let ‘em run", Manders describes Texas and its folks like nobody else can.  In "Follow Me", he describes a February holiday, "It’s 75 degrees and I’m sitting in short sleeves".  Not in many places but Texas would that fit.

Manders gives us a peek through "Fat Tuesday" and "Just Me" of real life ‘Lows’.  In "Fat Tuesday", Manders sings of detox and IRS woes, where things can get pretty bleak, and he wonders,

"What kind of life have we been given,

When your own life prevents you from living."

In Just Me, he reflects,

"I started drinking much too early and it led me astray

It doesn’t matter if I was 13 or it was 10 o’clock today.

It’s just the same old song. Man is there something wrong?

Or is it just me?

Those lows in folks’ lives are precisely when they make life changing decisions that affect the rest of their lives.  Some choose a rewarding path, others choose the path of least resistance and place the blame somewhere else.  Manders speaks from experience here and it rings true.

Mark didn’t let our western ballad expectations go unanswered.  Although just teasing us with the "Sam Houston" title, he comes through with "Hell’s Half Acre". There is an incredible spine chilling intro by Billy Joe Shaver, reciting Jeremiah 17:4, then the saga begins in fine western campfire story-telling fashion.  Of course, there is a moral to this tale of hard western life; the vengeance and killing will finally weigh down the conscience of a moral man and he finds himself a way to still the demons.

Through all these ‘Highs and Lows’, and as insightful as they are, it’s comforting to find that Manders hasn’t lost his sense of humor.  "Suicidal Pigeon" is a whimsical look at life through the eyes of the lowly pigeon.  Several other selections on this CD refer to eagles and how they soar.  Here is a look at how the ordinary pigeon copes.  Manders delivers his life influencing message, but with a much lighter hand.  Mr. Pigeon abandons his suicide plans when faced with the ‘Lows’ of a musician’s life.

The music weaves its spell, in and out of each of the selections.  It is no surprise if you detect the fine production genius of Lloyd Maines in every note.  Yes, the diamond is Manders, but the polish that really makes it sparkle and catch the light is Maines.  Manders authored or co-authored all the selections and each has his unique stamp.  The main body of the music comes from: Lance Smith on acoustic guitar and harmony; Jeromy Yager on drums; Steve Cargill on bass; Heather Woodruff on fiddle; John Inmon electric rhythm and lead guitar; Lloyd Maines on steel, lap steel, mandolin, guitars, and harmony.  It all becomes more than the sum of its parts with all the able contributions. Catch yourself a copy at LoneStarMusic.com, and check out his web site MarkDavidManders.com.

                                                                                                              Cheryl Arthur
 

Written by Cheryl Arthur, February, 2003