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Tall Stories For Small Children ('99):
Listen to just to the first track 'The last Psalm', 13 minutes of great music, singer song-writer-songs with a very proggy underlayment.
The Cure ('00, his second album):
A concept album, with references to David Bowie's Major Tom, Roger Waters, a good touch of David Gilmours guitar combined with violins, sound samples and nice changes.
Cascade ('01, his third album):
Guy Manning - vocals, keyboards, acoustic &
electric guitars, bass, mandolin,
drums, percussion, cover-design,
The Ragged Curtain, the cover reminds me of the old Genesis's covers from Whitebread. Go to Cyclops, buy,
listen and be amazed!
Neil Harris: Keyboards,
In the meantime Neil Harris and Jonathan MacDonald Binns quit the band.
I asked him if he knew Gabriel and Karnataka (summer 2002):
Guy:I know of GABRIEL and KARNATAKA through their association with MOSTLY AUTUMN only.
KARNATAKA Are OK but sound a lot like like MA and they do alot of gigs together as well which adds to the comparisons.
Is Cascade selling well?
Guy:CASCADE is selling OK (but in small numbers as no one really knows it exists!).
What can you tell about the style of the first two albums?
Guy:Tall Stories and The Cure are very different. The Cure is a concept album that tells one story (like The Lamb lies down.,.) and is brooding and melancholy. Tall Stories is more Song based.
Any new plans?
Guy: The band and I are preparing to go into the studio at the end of MARCH to record the new album
THE RAGGED CURTAIN which I think is the best one yet!
 "Tall Stories For Small Children " 1999 |
 "The Cure" 2000 |
 "Cascade" 2001 |
 "The Ragged Curtain" 2002 |
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Wich music did you buy lately (November 2002)?
Guy:
Unfold the Future - The Flower Kings (brilliant)
Ladies Of the Road - King Crimson (very good)
Ripe Tomatoes - Little Feat (good rarities)
FZ-OZ - The impeccable Frank Zappa!
Have you seen the Gilmour DVD and are there any gigs planned?
Guy:
Not seen the Gilmour DVD yet, too busy writing new MANNING Album "The View From My Window" for 2003.
No gigs - no keyboard player (Neil left to join a BLONDIE tribute band!)
And a few weeks
later: "Jonathan MacDonald Binns quits MANNING"
After much soul searching it became obvious that Jon had not enough time
to devote to the band, his job and his family and so regretfully has had to go.
The View From My Window released end October:
Laura Fowles: Saxophones & Vocals,
The View From My Window
New Album "A Matter Of Life & Death - The Journal Of Abel Mann" a concept
album based around the character Guy created in TALL STORIES.
So there're some flashbacks to Small Stories and that's nicely done.The album contains no great epics and that's a pitty because Guy did some great ones on his previous albums. The story-line is very important on this one. It al became very accesible. The production is from a very high standard and the art-work done by
Ed Unitsky is sublime (he did also the Tangent and Flower Kings albums). If there're people who are buying this ceedee because of the artwork alone, i could understand.
I like Laura with her sax, she's giving a few nice solo's on this one too and Garet on lead guitar is rockin'a few times. Also they used some fidles and a cello.
The songs flow into one another, there is light, shade, dark moody,
jazzy, folky, rocky everything is in there. And that is also in line with the lyrics and the feelings and thoughts of our Abel Mann. But maybe that is also the bobytrap of this album; it swings, it rocks it has a great theme, but you can't place it in a box and people like to do that. Think Guy can make a few
albums so good as Ragged Curtain and Views from my Windows easily. But no he made another brave step with this concept album.
So open your mind and have a closer look:
The ceedee opens with The Dream, a very good way to kick off the concept album. A typical Manning sound. A strong song which will set down the lyrical themes that will be sound throughout the whole theme arround of Abel Mann thoughts when he starts to makes his final journey and re-birth. A nice guitar in the middle section, cello, whistle and the moog played by Andy makes that this song works out well.
Nobody's Fool is a ballad with Guy and his Spanish guitar.
The third song “Omens” kicks in with the typical Guy Manning style, then the
guitar is getting loose; great. The lyrics are not the most happy ones. Nice
melodic tune carried by the guitar.
Finally Laura get's more attention, but not her sax but her voice, singing, muttering. It fits perfectly with the mood the song is breathing.
Very nice piano bridge in the middle section.
Finally a bit more cheerfull music in Silent Man. The cello is the main instrument
in this song.
The cello was used like it was the solo- guitar. One of my favourite tracks.
The most proggy (and jazzy) song is Falling Down? Rising up! Again great lines, Mannings voice
is here impressive, certainly the first two verses. Sometimes I'm in doubt with his voice, he has a good range, he plays with his voice; it's never boring, he plays with the intonation, but sometimes his voice isn't so of high quality as his songs are. The song has some nice tempo changes, keyboard solo's,
sax solo, piano parts all what a good song needs.
Another ballad with Life Disguise, followed by the proggy Out of my Life.
Very strong intro, you know this song will work out well. Flasbacks to Tall Stories;
"The tide is turning and we cling to the shore, starfish on the ocean floor. In
my life... was there nothing more?"
Midnight Sail is a song that will become on stage a succes i think, nice chorus,
nice rockin' rythm.
If you like Guy Manning for what he has acieved in the past, you certainly must buy this one and you'll enjoy it! If you'ven't got an album of Guy, this one will make you buy his older, more proggy, ones, because this album let you (again) hear that he's a good composer, he knows how songs must go, he knows how to fascinate you, makes turning points and keeps it accesible. And his song writings skills are from a heigh level.
New Guy Manning track on collectors item.  |
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The existence of the annual Labor Day progressive rock festival in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is threatened due to lack of funding. In order to prevent this unique event from closing up shop, Lew Fisher of The Progressive Music Society has single-handedly enlisted a number of bands for their help in keeping ProgDay alive. Nine prestigious progressive bands have donated tracks, six which are previously unreleased, for a compilation disc to raise money for the festival.
The tracklisting is: 2. Djam Karet - Pentimento (6:50)(Previously Unreleased) 3. Nathan Mahl - The Place We Call Home (6:27) (Previously Unreleased) 4. Trettioariga Kriget - Lang Historia (7:45) 5. Wobbler - Leprechaun Behind The Door (13:21) (Demo) 6. Sonus Umbra - Self Erosion (6:03) 7. Gert Emmens - The Warlock Returns (9:25) (Previously Unreleased) 8. The Muffins - They Come On Unknown Nights (4:22) (Previously Unreleased) 9. Guy Manning - Top Of The Mountain (17:58) (Previously Unreleased Demo) The original artwork was donated by Ed Unitsky of The Tangent and The Flower Kings fame. For details on how to order this unique album (limited to 1000 copies) go to Lew Fisher's web site. The CD is $12.00 with all profits going to support the continuation of ProgDay.
More on ProgDay at http://www.progday.com |
"ONE SMALL STEP..." ('05).
Track Info:
1. In Swingtime
Original version was recorded as part of the "Tall Stories.." sessions with Andy Tillison The new version* is a re-working and is more like the way that the live band has been performing it.
A song about getting older and not being able to do the things we used to do..even though we still think we can..these things are now just out of reach.
2. Night Voices
A song which documents a dream in which a man encounters his recently deceased wife and is able to ask her all the questions he needs to know in order to move on. Set on a bridge in the middle of a magical glade at midnight...
3. No Hiding Place
This was partly inspired by the events in which the Beslan children were held hostage in a school gym in Sept. 2004. We watched on our TVs, helpless as these kids went through it, in fear of their lives..it was a horrible spectacle. “I began to wonder whether this was the end of innocence for these children? Had that time/'state of being' now been stolen, never to return or were they able to hang on to it somehow, burying it away inside them until it was over? I also realised that this was the same for all children that have suffered some type of abuse...physical, sexual etc.
So this is a song for all the children going through torment..hold on to your innocence (if you can) and hide it deep inside”
4. The Mexico Line
The main character writes a 'Goodbye' letter to his partner from inside a Mexican Hotel room 'across the border'.
5. One Small Step... (Parts I-VIII)
Easily the most ambitious piece Guy has ever done....
It's length is over 30 minutes and it is mainly an extended Acoustic guitar piece; a suite of songs which follows on from the writings of Roy Harper, Al Stewart and Peter Hammill.
Its' main theme is about the ambition of Man to go off in to space to explore and visit new worlds .. ..even to go on holiday into the galaxy (..people are paying out money now to visit the Moon!)
We do all this without a thought for who we are and what makes us what we are. Are we fit to go off and encounter other races? Had we not better get our own act together before we set off?
Guys' take on this...
"If we are to go off on holiday into space, then as well as packing our swimming trunks....we'd better leave the rest of our baggage behind!"
The artwork is again being provided by Ed Unitsky (Ed has previously provided artwork for The Flower Kings, The Tangent and the last Guy Manning album "A Matter Of Life and Death").
The set of images are wonderful and the conceptual imagination in the accompanying booklet artwork is superb. Ed has again pulled out all the stops!
More information will follow...
So make a date in your diary and be prepared to take that one small step...
Highly Recommended!
His best album to date! Absolutely great.
Line-Up:
1. Songs From The Bilston House 2. The Calm Absurd 3. Lost In Play 4. Understudy 5. Skimming Stones 6. Antares 7. Icarus & Me 8. Pillars Of Salt 9. Inner Moment |
Number 10 ('08).
All tracks composed & assembled by Guy Manning
Produced By Andy Tillison & Guy Manning
Artwork by Guy Manning & Phil Wilkes.
Line-Up:
Guy Manning updated his website on March 8th keeping us up to date with progress on the new album Charlestown. The track listing for the new Manning album Charlestown (in no particular running order for now) is as follows:
1. T.I.C.CHARLESTOWN - Autumn 2010.
2. Caliban & Ariel
3. The Man in the Mirror
4. Clocks
5. Charlestown
6. Finale
* Chris Catling: Electric Guitars and Backing Vocals
SESSION:
The Tangent +
interview about The Tangent ('03 & '04)
Guy did some session for Pav Chana ('03).
He joined Mark Trueack at his "Hope" project
('10). Mark is one of the leading forces in Unitopia.
Guy is involved with a review of
On an Island, see
this page.
With members from Mostly Autumn, Magenta, Pendragon, The Reasoning and others....
Symfo-Index.
Festival Music will release Manning's latest CD 'Songs From The Bilston House' on 08/10/2007. With this new release, the quality has really surpassed itself. Nine tracks of great melodic prog, tinged with folk / Tull like elements. The keyboards really shine on this CD, as they interplay with guitar, flute and violin, and the vocals are stronger than ever. Songs From The Bilston House is a powerful recording with excellent production and artwork. An absolute must for fans of intelligent, powerful, melodic progressive rock!
You can PRE-ORDER this CD now for just GBP 9.99 at www.progrock.co.uk, and receive an exclusive limited edition signed poster for FREE! The poster is 36cm x 24cm, folded down to the size of a CD booklet and signed by Guy Manning. Order now to make sure you get this limited item!
To receive a full FREE download of one of the tracks from the new Manning CD, please click HERE, add the free track to your basket, go to the checkout, fill your name, address and email address and you will receive the link required to download the track.