Reviewed by Marc on 29 Jan 2004
I discovered Guy Manning with his previous CD "The Ragged Curtain", an album I really got into (see my review). Even though both these CDs are separated by less the 12 months, they are somewhat different. "The Ragged Curtain" was, in my opinion, very much a traditional progressive rock album. The first three songs on this CD, Phase, The View From My Window and The Rut, hit me has being pretty much Neo in sound. IQ comes to mind even though Manning's voice in no way reminds me of Nichols'. I like these songs a lot. The fourth track, After The (Tears In The) Rain, is a nice ballad featuring acoustic guitar and is followed by a FM radio softrock piece, Blue Girl, that somewhat reminds of Tony Banks' solo work of the late eighties and nineties. This Banks fealing remains with the last epic track but, in honesty, the music is far more interesting than on any Banks solo output of the last 25 years.
All in all this album is pretty good but, for me, it does represent a relative let down when compared to "The Ragged Curtain". There are some music samples on Guy Manning's website, check them out and make an idea for yourself.
