Customer Reviews

Singing Sands

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There is no going wrong purchasing a Tony McManus album. This is his latest. I picked up a copy when he swung by on tour, earlier this year.

Although I prefer when it is just Tony McManus and his guitar, Alain Genty adds a fine touch on the fretless bass (my kids say: "fretless bass rules!") and he is every bit as proficient as Tony.

Long may Tony McManus execute perfect right-hand 3-finger triplets!

Initially, on first listen, I had the same quick reaction of the poster who indicated that perhaps the bass was too much part of the mix. But like that poster, on the second listen, I changed my tune so to speak. I just got the CD today and am now listening to it for the 5th time.

This CD has great depth and complexity to it on focused listening. This I love. But it also has a sense of peace that just seeps into the listening space and into the listener's inner space with mere background listening.

This is both serious & beautiful music. Yet sonically it is accessible for any music lover. You will not be disappointed by this CD. And again as the earlier poster indicated, the dance and interplay of the guitar and bass is wonderful.

Fretless bass, Scottish guitar? In Pourquois Quebec, McManus' 2nd album, Genty played a tasteful, supporting role that provided a rich fabric for Tony to embroider with his incredible guitar playing. So when I first listened to Singing Sands (while doing the dishes, mind you) I thought, 'much as I love the fretless bass, it's a bit overpowering...' I've listened to it a lot lately, and a bit more attentively. To discount it that way is to completely overlook the real treasure here. This isn't a steel string guitar album with bass backup -- it's a collaboration between two extraordinary musicians who together weave musical textures with moods that for me range from the melancholy to sheer exuberance. Genty's Ton Ma Var/Melen Aour leaves me wondering whether to laugh or cry. The album is beautiful; and it's exciting and fun to listen to. All of Tony's albums are treasures.