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Phil Manzanera: Rare One (CD, 61:08); Expression Records, EXPCD21, 2000 E-mail: info@manzanera.com Cyberhome: http://www.manzanera.com

10 words or less: Collects demo, radio, and previously unreleased classic recordings Elaboration: Phil Manzanera is the mastermind behind the 70s bands Quiet Sun and 801 but he is perhaps best known as the Guitarist of 70s Art Rock band Roxy Music. Rare One includes 4 previously unreleased Quiet Sun recordings, 3 801 radio show recordings, an unreleased tune from the 2nd incarnation of 801, a demo from ’86 and from ’91 a live recording and a contribution to an apparently unreleased ‘various artists’ album. Alone worth the price of the disc are the Quiet Sun recordings. These are long pieces with just a smattering of vocals and they showcase the excellent improvisational skills of the Quiet Sun band. As one familiar with Manzanera’s work would expect, the 801, 80s and 90s tracks are much more straightforward Rock songs. The standouts of those tracks are the Floydian "That Falling Feeling" radio show recording by the 801 band and the spacey reworking of a classical Albinoni piece recorded in ’91 entitled "Tre Amore". This collection is a must for any fan of Phil Manzanera’s work. ~ L Perez
 

Phil Manzanera: Interview (CD, 61:08); Expression Records, EXPCD22, 2000 E-mail: info@manzanera.com Cyberhome: http://www.manzanera.com

13 words or less: Bill MacCormick and Phil speaking on the history of the recently re-released albums. Elaboration: Phil Manzanera has recently re-released his entire catalog of albums under his own label, Expression Records. These include the classics Diamond Head, Quiet Sun, 801 live, Listen Now, K-Scope, Primitive Guitars, another 801 live recording, a collection of previously unreleased recordings entitled Rare One and a sampler which includes tracks from all of the above plus 2 more unreleased recordings. In this interview Bill and Phil get into the history of these recordings and details about relationships with Soft Machine, Matching Mole and the various musicians they worked with over the past 3 decades. No music here, just talking but quite interesting for fans of English progressive Rock. ~ L Perez

Phil Manzanera: Sampler (CD, 74:08); Expression Records, EXPCD20, 2000 E-mail: info@manzanera.com Cyberhome: http://www.manzanera.com

10 words or less: Sampler of Phil’s career including 2 songs unavailable elsewhere. Elaboration: Phil Manzanera has recently re-released his entire catalog of albums under his own label, Expression Records. These include the classics Diamond Head, Quiet Sun, 801 live, Listen Now, K-Scope, Primitive Guitars, another 801 live recording and a collection of previously unreleased recordings entitled Rare One. This sampler includes tracks from all of the above plus 2 more unreleased recordings. The first of the 2 tracks exclusive to this sampler is the b-side of the single "The Beat Goes On", recorded live at the San Remo festival in 1991. This b-side is a Spanish vocal version of that song. The other unreleased song is a “Punk” version of the 801 song "Remote Control" rendering this disc ‘for completists only’. ~ L Perez

10 words or less: Hip, world groove songs in the vein of Peter Gabriel Elaboration: Vozero is Phil Manzanera’s first album in over a decade and finds him collaborating once again with old friend Robert Wyatt. The title cut opens the album with 50 seconds of strained Trumpet played by Wyatt and wordless vocal by both he and Manzanera. This segues into "Mystic Moon" which is quite reminiscent of some of Peter Gabriel’s work on his album Us though Phil doesn’t stay in that Pop, world groove mode throughout Vozero. There’s much more of a pushing of that envelope involved here than one finds on any recent Gabriel album exemplified by the spacey, Flamenco inflected instrumental piece "Vida". Another surprise here are Spanish lyrics competently sung by Phil, as are all vocals on the album. Of course, the finest feature of this album is Phil’s tasty fretwork and there’s a good amount of that with nearly every song containing a healthy solo part. Overall, this is a richly interesting comeback album living up to the reputation established by this fine musician. ~ L Perez

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