A MATTER OF LIFE & DEATH (THE JOURNAL OF ABEL MANN)

His previous album The View From My Window was a pretty coherent output. And so is A Matter Of Life & Death (The Journal of Abel Mann). But he has taken a slightly different route this time. This album is his darkest album so far. It is full of sadness. It is also full of excellent melodies. All of them different from each other. Some of the songs are joyful on the surface, but with a dark undertone. The saxophone and the guitars drags the tunes down to a somber place. His use of keyboards and accoustic instruments is superb. The songs excellent.

Guy Manning has again failed to come up with a truly outstanding song. That is again my only gripe with a Guy Manning album. Hence, no five stars. But the album is still full of excellent tunes. This time; without a single bad track. It takes time to get into this album. That is again one of Guy Manning's trademarks. This album would had been loved by fans of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen too. On this album, there is clearly some parallels to the music of The Boss. It is a great shame that Guy Manning is unknown to the fans of The Boss. Guy Manning is unfortunate England's best kept secret.

This is again a superb album from Guy Manning and it has left me both satisfied and enriched.

4 stars

Share this MANNING review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to toroddfuglesteg
• Report this review (#242509)
• Buy MANNING music online with PA partners
• Show all MANNING MP3/Stream
• Go to MANNING page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to A Matter Of Life & Death (The Journal Of Abel Mann) page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for MANNING related discussions