On of the most ardent characters within the contemporary British prog community is Guy Manning, known from band projects such as Parallel Or 90 Degrees and The Tangent. The productive gentleman is here with his fifth solo album and he plays keyboards, guitar, mandolin, bass and drums. On this record he shows himself from a somewhat schizophrenic angle through a bunch of anonymous and unnaturally long naivistic pop-rock tunes with a certain celtic touch - to the magnificent sympho-rock escapade of "Suite: Dreams". This track contains many well-executed instrumental passages as well as floating carpets of Mellotron, and Manning's characteristic vocals at last shows to advantage. How about reducing the pop phrases next time and instead focus on more thoroughly composed material?

©2004 Tarkus Magazine

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