THE VIEW FROM MY WINDOW

Again, as before, this is different in tone and arrangement, feel and atmostphere to its predessors. This recurring 'change direction again' format works for me with these albums and makes of any new Manning album purchase a welcome surprise!

The album opener from the car sample racing up a hill to its end is a rocky up tempo number telling of a couple running away from some danger? It is done in a narrative observational way encooperating their conversations into the lyrics in order to make it a more intimate, eavesdropping and sinister vibe.

The world influnced sampled let titoe,mtrack is a thumping African-esque drum beat with a melody that hangs over the verses until the catchy and 'singalong' chorus arrives. The middle eight with its whistles and wind chimes fully exploit the multi-cultural aspects of the song lyrics. It provides a sort of 'view' of how West & East collide, seen I think, from a 3rd World perpective. A great song!

The Rut is a beat led track with an expansive 'orchestra led' middle section. A pulsing rhyhm is driven through the heart of this piece in a sort of 'Kashmir' type of way.

The next track appears to be a sequel to the 'Tears In The Rain' track on the now hard to find 'Cascade' album (or at last the title leads me to this conclusion). A more sobering acoustic led piece after the bombast of View an Rut. A lovely yet disturbing melodic piece

The first 'half' of this album is rounded off with a jazzy 'Blue Girl'. A mesmersing rhythmic track, it seems to deal with the girl (of the title) and her solitude after having gone through a number of relationships? Guy is able to sing this track in a softer and more personal way.

So to the big piece of the album Suite:Dreams (pun intended I think). A sprawling and magnificent journey through the world of Sleep, dreams and subconciousness. This features just about all the trick and tool in the Manning arsenal!

Soft passges with beautiful melodies, rocky riff driven sections, until instrumental solos galore! It is a 20 minute symphonic prog tour-de-force!! It encaspulates all that I love about this artist It is so varied and has so much to offer the listener. I think you'll be both surprised and thrilled by this one!

This is yet another highly recommended album.

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