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Manning - Songs From The Bilston House CD (album) cover

SONGS FROM THE BILSTON HOUSE

Manning

Eclectic Prog


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5 stars Guy did it again!

Actually Guy exceeded it again. The new album, Songs from the Bilston House is stunning. Guy has developed his style keeping the playful songwriting attitude and yet creating a symphonic masterpiece. The music is beautiful, intrestingly complex and harmonically coherent. Strong without being metallic. Oh how I love the atmospheric moments with acoustic guitar and flute that then grow with bass and keyboards anmd other instruments into an exciting climax. This is the best manning record so far and that is a great effort knowing that the preceeding albums are mainly 5 stars music. They should let Guy sing more in the :Tangent, he has a great voice.

An masterpiece of melodic symphonic modern prog.

Report this review (#149264)
Posted Tuesday, November 6, 2007 | Review Permalink
5 stars How does Guy keep up to the standards set so highly by the previous release? Year after year he does it again & again. A lot to ask when you consider it's only about twelve months from start to finish of an album. I'm sure a lot of artists would find this pace impossible to keep up. Guy not only manages this heady pace but stuffs it full of wonderful & inventive music. This new album is no exception.

If you are familiar with any of his albums you'll already know that Guy doesn't rehash old idea's & serve up reheated déjà vu like some bigger name artists. Oh no, what you get with a Manning release is a lot of thought, skill & imagination all carefully woven together with great care & attention by the man himself. You have probably guessed by now that I've been a fan of Manning's work for a while now.

Enough background, what about this new album. Well everything I've said above still stands, another step forward has been made in all departments. The concept is loose enough that if you want to get involved with the overall storyline you can. Personally I like to get familiar with the music, the lyrics usually become more apparent on further subsequent plays. Guy's concept is found through the lyrics rather than recurring musical themes. Away from the concept each song also stands up very well on it's own, so as an album of separate 'songs' this also works very well. Two albums for the price of one!!!

From the opener 'Songs from the bilston house' to the final 'Inner moment' we are taken through a wide range of musical styles that keeps your interest all the way through. This is about the only commonality Manning albums share & I assume the basis of which they are originally conceived. Favourite tracks for me are difficult to isolate as there are so many highlights, but 'Understudy' is a real belter & 'Lost in play' has some lovely guitar work.

Production is usually high with Manning albums, however this time Guy has pulled out even more stops & drafted in friend & Tangent colleague Andy Tillison who has added further polish & shine to this release. The artwork is also worth mentioning as it dresses the album in the style it deserves. This is just as carefully considered as the music & follows the themes to each song within the booklet.

Curiosity to buy this (or any) Manning album would not go unrewarded, once you have fed it to your CD player. Once you've dipped your toe I'm sure you'll be back for more & like me eagerly anticipate his next release. His back catalogue is well worth exploring & for anyone unsure whether to take the risk & purchase a shiny disc to try, there is a free sampler available to download on Manning's website. How risk free can you get!!!

I would recommend this album to anyone who reads these reviews. Without any hesitation!!! Indeed anyone looking for a new musical discovery. Manning still seems to be a hidden treasure that more people should investigate.

Report this review (#160048)
Posted Monday, January 28, 2008 | Review Permalink
5 stars This album has been in my player a hell of alot since it arrived! It is an exciting listen! From the moment you see the cover with its 'Psycho' like abandoned house and dramatic coastal waves you know this is going to be an interesting experience.

The packaging is quite excellent but the music and lyrics hold you in a their grip right through the 60+ minutes.

The songs are quite varied and although held together by the loose idea of rooms in house where tales have unfolded, this is not a full blow concept album, more a collection of wonderfully crafted songs which are organised together under one roof (no pun intended).

Songs From the Bilston House is chocked full of great tunes. fluid and thoughful performances by all involved which includes Flute, Saxes, Fiddles, keyboards and all sorts of acoustic instruments, mandolins, bouzoukis etc. plus some classy electric guitar work. The arrangements are great, the moods changing and atmospheric and above all, behind each piece there is simply a great song there with an intelligent lyric to match.

'The Tangent' buddy Andy Tillison not only puts in the drums and some keys here, but also helped out in the production too, which is first class.

I am now working my way through the back catalogue for Guy Manning and each album is a revelation. Sure, I have my favourite pieces on favourite albums, but, this 'guy' consistently delivers and with alarming regularity!

I noticed that one 'reviewer' has only given this album one star. I feel this is a real shame because anyone hearing the album will quickly release that the artwork alone gets it 2 stars! and so one can only assume that this person either did not bother to listen or had some other motive in mind for the low score. There is no way on Earth that this album could be classed as poor and as many of the other reviews about have shown, this is far from being so.

Indeed Highly recommended!!

Report this review (#160054)
Posted Monday, January 28, 2008 | Review Permalink
4 stars Nine songs from a quirky house.

16 months ago, I got the last THE TANGENT album and I got hooked. Some months later, I spotted the cover of this album on ProgArchives and that intrigued me. I just got to have this album. I got it together with the other MANNING albums, but put it in the back of the long que while I was exploring Folk Prog and Fusion.

This is the ninth MANNING album and he got the inspiration from the house mentioned on the artwork. A run down, unhabitated house. The previous owner was dead and it gave Guy Manning the whole idea for this album. Well, nobody should label Guy Manning as Mr. Average. I had already learned this from his last album Number Ten and the follow up album to this album. I liked that album and I expected much of the same here. I was right.

The first song, the title song, is a bouncy song with some references to THE TANGENT. It is a very playful song and a good song. The second song The Calm Absurd starts with almost a spoken vocals like the new R&B scene queens from USA before a symphonic prog, jazz and folk rock part kicks in with full force. The music is absurd and it works. A very good song indeed. The third song Lost In Play starts with some texan accoustic guitars before the keys kicks in and some good vocals. This song also leans heavily on Irish folk music. It is playful and light. It is good and it works. Some hints of STRAWBS is detectable here. Thumbs up. The fourth song Understudy is a pretty bouncy and heavy song with some good rhythms and playful keys. This is a pretty standard progressive rock song and a fairly decent one too. The final three minutes of it is good with some good harmonies and breaks. More of this, please. Skimming Stones is another interesting, but untraditional song. It sits somewhere between Folk Rock, Fusion and Symphonic Prog. Untraditional means a traditional MANNING song. A very quirky song which works pretty well. Antares is a ballad, but not a sugar sweet ballad. It is another quirky Guy Manning composition with some violins and keys. It is a good song. Icarus & Me follows the same pattern. A quirky opening leads into a good mid-tempo song with some good saxophone in the VDGG tradition. Pillars Of Salt is a bit of a THE BEATLES worship in both lyrics and music. Some nods towards STRWBS and CARAVAN can also be detected here. A good ballad with an enchanting flute in the middle of it. The ballad Inner Moment closes the album with it's Celtic theme. It does not work as well as the other songs on this album, I am afraid.

"Songs From The Bilston House" is more a seventy minutes long collection of songs than one piece of coherent progressive rock. Yes, the songs are still progressive, but not in the symphonic prog meaning of the word "progressive". I would still put MANNING and this album somewhere between THE BEATLES, STRAWBS, the Canterbury Scene and THE TANGENT. Or rather; MANNING is MANNING. It is an unique band with it's own style. The vocals is also special and a big factor in MANNING's unique style. "Songs From The Bilston House" is a well worked album and one to saviour. I know I do. My only gripe is that it is not my type of music. In other words, it is neither symphonic enough or jazzy enough. It is perhaps too much rock'n'roll for me. But even I can see that this album is good value for money. That is why I like it.

4 stars

Report this review (#213741)
Posted Monday, May 4, 2009 | Review Permalink
Tarcisio Moura
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars I´ve got to say I was never really a fan of Guy Manning´s solo career. Ok, I only knew two CDs of his prolific discography before tackling this one (One Small Step... and The View From My Window), and even then, I just did so because a good friend praised the CD a lot in the internet. I first heard of Manning through his work with The Tangent, a group I happen to like a lot. I bought One Small Step... because I wanted to know his work outside The Tangent and I was not moved. I tried again with The View... and I was not impressed either. It seemed that this singer/songwriter/multi instrumentalist was doing better being a part of a symphonic group than on his own. Of course my opinion changed radically when I started listening to Songs From the Bilston House.

From the fisrt notes of the title track I knew this was something to pay atention: great keys, fine melody line and very convincing perfomance by all involved. Was it a fluke? I asked myself. The second song was equally good, although totally different is style (it reminds me a lot of The Tangent´s Lost In London). Third track: one of those few songs that is worth the price of the album alone . Lost In Play has everything you wish in a classic: an unforgetable riff, a beautiful melody line, inspired lyrics, breathtaking arrangements and a powerful delivering that makes you press the repeat button again and again. This is, needless to say, the CD´s Highlight. Of course the remaining songs aren´t as good as this one, but still they are equally inspired, varied and very well done.

After some repeated listenings I can say this is a fine piece of prog music. Manning combines classic rock, celtic folk and symphonic prog (plus some jazzy and bossa nova overtones here and there) into a very distinctive style that sounds both original and familiar. His vocals are not really outstanding, but work very well within the context of his songs. The playing is awesome, all musicians are very skilled (including some help form The Tangent´s fellow member Andy Tillson and Molly Blum´s flutist Steve Dundon ). The arrangements are very tasteful and precise, with all the instruments falling nicely into place. The production is top notch. But most of all the songwriting is the key: Guy Manning is in great form here, inspired and passionate all the way through the CD.

I guess I´ll have to hear his other CDs with a new perspective. Songs From The Bilston Houser, however, is an excellent prog record on its own and a fine addtition to any prog lover collection. final rating: something between 4 and 4,5 stars.

Report this review (#229886)
Posted Tuesday, August 4, 2009 | Review Permalink
BrufordFreak
COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Anyone who likes the 1970s music of VAN MORRISON, JETHRO TULL, MARSHALL TUCKER BAND, DAVE MASON or even the ALLMAN BROTHERS will like the music of Guy Manning. My question is: Is this prog? To me, this sounds like straightforward bluesy rock'n'roll; there are no challenges or experimentations with form or structures, just solid lyric-driven song-writing. My other problem with Manning and the above mentioned artists is that, while I do like and appreciate their music and artistry, I do not love this kind of music--and I rarely seek it out. Is Songs from the Bilston House masterful? Perhaps. For its genre. Do I consider it an "excellent addition to any prog lovers music collection"? Perhaps. Of the Manning catalog, this is the one I would most recommend trying. Especially if you like(d) any of the above-named artists music from the 70s. Is it good music? Yes, it is good music--very well crafted--"bard"-like--music. Just not my cup of tea.
Report this review (#308371)
Posted Friday, November 5, 2010 | Review Permalink

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