Manzel, take me away. . . . Like a warm bubble bath, this track just melts my tension and takes the edge off my day. This is mellow, mid-tempo, beat-heavy, piano and synth intertwining goodness right here. The crunchy drum break that opens the song has been sampled too many times to name. A bonafide holy grail for rare breakbeat heads, producers, and music lovers, this extremely rare track was originally cut in 1976 at Cincinnati, Ohio’s Counterpart Creative Studios. The tune was released as a single on Fraternity Records in 1979. The version included here is the extended remix from Kenny Dope, which was released on Dopebrother Records in 2002. Thanks Mr. Dope for tracking Mr. Manzel down and giving this beautiful track the 12″ treatment it deserved as the original three minutes and some change single version would always leave me wanting more.

Manzel Bush was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1952. Music was always a huge part of his life, with his parents insisting on piano lessons from a young age. He was gigging with bands around northern Kentucky and Southern Ohio by the late 60’s, but remained primarily a regional phenomenon until he eventually went into the armed forces. The precious few tracks he recorded in the late 70’s ended up bringing him world-wide exposure through hip hop, sample-based music, and the many producers who ended up drawing from his work. Long live Manzel!