BURNSIDE - THE SAMPLER

MANNING is a very interesting band from England run by GUY MANNING. He is also involved in THE TANGENT and that's how I learnt about MANNING. I then was and probably still is a fan of THE TANGENT. Hence, I bought his albums from various sources. I believe I have got all his ten albums, although both my maths and the no-mans land chaos in both my living room and my office means that the CDs is scattered all over the place.

I have so far only had time to listen to his debut album and his two last albums. His last album Number Ten is brilliant. The two others are also very good. In my view, MANNING is an interesting act which operates somewhere in the landscape between symphonic epic prog and folk rock (like STRAWBS). Add a dosage of THE BEATLES too and you will get MANNING.

The epic opening track Last Psalm is alone worth the free download. The rest of the songs are very good too. I do not like everything here. But there is nothing here I find dull or meaningless. GUY MANNING's music always engage his listeners in a conversation. Somehow, somewhere.

The compilation also include a couple of unreleased tracks. I am not a fan of compilations or best-off albums. But this is a good download. Nevermind my rather meaningless three stars rating. Download this album from his homepage and make up your own mind.

3 stars