Perp Manning

I was at a show one day to interview a band for an article I was writing which, sadly, never saw the light of day. It was a bluegrass band and I thought it would it would be nice to write about something different for a change. I saw the band perform live once and, even though it wasn't really my style of music, I thought they were pretty good.

Anyway, it was at this show that I recieved a copy of Perp Manning's current release, "My Back Porch." This mostly instrumental release is rather unique in the sense that each song gives the listener something different. Let's take a quick look at some of the tracks on here, shall we? Yeah, well, we start off with "Misty Morning," which is an upbeat little number. "Out West" has, of course, a western feel to it. "Back Porch Blues" is a blues number with an edge. "Wayward Child" is a vocal tune. "Ironhorse" seems to lean towards being a rock song. I normally shy away from instrumental music because I just can't seem to get into it no matter how good it may or may not be. I've got well over two thousand albums in my collection and my selection of instrumental releases, well, I can count 'em all one hand...and that includes this one. Yeah, I'm keeping this one in my collection because it's a pretty cool release. It's got a good sound, a nice package and I'll listen to it from time to time.

I gave it a focused listen once in order to get a feel for it so I knew what I was listening to and to give me an idea as to what I would write in my review. After that, I found myself listening to it, usually in the evening while I was online reading the news or whatever. It's a very positive, relaxing album. Well worth looking into if you have a real appreciation for music.

I should also point out that Perp Manning performs pretty much everything on this release. Six and twelve string acoustic guitars, four and five string bass and electric guitar. So, it's a solo album in every sense of the word.

For booking and/or more information: artsyria@yahoo.com