Back in 1980 I discovered a band had released a cover of “Do You Love Me?” and given my then desire to hear all things related to Kiss I promptly bought it and loved it so much that I was first in line for ‘Sheer Greed’ when it was released. That band was Girl, which unfairly has become best known for Phil Collen (Def Leppard) and Phil Lewis (L.A. Guns), yet I thought it was a great debut and was quite surprised they never gained the debut they fully deserved. Fast forward to 2004 and Collen was back in the UK looking after his ailing father and rang his old Girl bandmate bassist Simon Laffy and soon they were writing material together. This was an outlet for Collen to play material which would never be suitable for Leppard and the two of them decided they were going to work as a trio which meant they needed just one more piece of the puzzle which arrived in the form of none other than Paul Cook (Sex Pistols).
I was aware Manraze existed and had released some albums, but I am now only hearing them for the first time in this five-CD boxed set which brings together all their recordings from 2008-2011. This kicks off with the studio albums “Surreal” (2008) and the aptly titled “Punkfunkrootsrock” (2011) (which apparently came from Cook describing the band’s music). Then there is the early single and EP material including their 2005 single “Skin Crawl’ along with live recordings, acoustic performances, instrumentals and rarities. It certainly covers a wide variety of styles as while there are plenty of instances where they come across as a stripped-down version of The Wildhearts, they are also quite happy to jump into dub or techno, while their live version of “Fire” (Hendrix) is superb. There is an extensive booklet with plenty of photos and a fascinating essay from Jerry Ewing, and I must confess I was somewhat surprised how much I enjoyed this 3 ½ hour set. There is plenty of filler, which one does expect when there is an attempt at providing a complete collection of everything they recorded/released as there was a reason plenty of that never saw the light of day, but when they get it right this is quite some outfit which should have gained far more appreciation as opposed to just being referenced as a Girl/Def Leppard/Sex Pistols side project.
Manraze appeared to have died a death just due to time commitments, and having now heard this it does appear to be an opportunity missed, as the live CD demonstrates just how much they had to offer in that environment as well, and the fact they all resisted the urge to cover tracks from their other bands should be applauded. This project was designed to stand up in their own right and they definitely achieved that. While this set will be appreciated by those who are completists of the musicians involved, it should also be looked out for by those who enjoy a very wide spread of styles from guys who really know what they were doing.
Rating: 7/10
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Track list:
1. This Is
2. Turn It Up
3. Runnin’ Me Up
4. Every Second of Every Day
5. Spinning Out
6. Can’t Find My Own Way
7. Skin Crawl
8. Low
9. Connected To You
10. Halo
11. It’s Entertainment
12. Shadow Man
13. Over My Dead Body
14. I C U In Everything
15. All I Wanna Do
16. Closer To Me
17. Lies Lies All Lies
18. Get Action
19. Edge Of the World
20. Dreamland
21. Fire
22. I, Superbiker
23. Bittersweet
24. Dog Bite
25. Turn It Up (Instrumental)
26. I Surrender (Instrumental)
27. Skin Crawl (Instrumental)
28. Original Sin (Instrumental)
29. Can’t Find My Own Way (Instrumental)
30. Low (Instrumental)
31. Runnin’ Me Up (Instrumental)
32. Dreamland (Instrumental)
33. Halo (Instrumental)
34. I C U In Everything (Instrumental)
35. Bittersweet (Instrumental)
36. This Is (Live, Mates Studios Burbank, CA, USA, 19 March 2008)
37. Turn It Up (Live, Mates Studios Burbank, CA, USA, 19 March 2008)
38. Low (Live, Mates Studios Burbank, CA, USA, 19 March 2008)
39. It’s Entertainment (Live, Mates Studios Burbank, CA, USA, 19 March 2008)
40. This Is (Live, The Water Rats, London, 9 December 2008)
41. Connected To You (Live, The Water Rats, London, 9 December 2008)
42. Halo (Live, Spitz Club, London, 27 September 2005)
43. Runnin’ Me Up (Live, Spitz Club, London, 27 September 2005)
44. Fire (Live, Spitz Club, London, 27 September 2005)
45. Every Second of Every Day (Acoustic)
46. Turn It Up (Acoustic)
47. Can’t Find My Own Way (Acoustic)
48. Halo (Acoustic)
49. You’re So Wrong (Acoustic)
50. All I Wanna Do (Acoustic)
51. I Surrender
52. Take On the World (Instrumental)
53. Turn It Up (Deep Dub Instrumental)
54. Halo (SPX Crawlers Mix)
55. Immaculate
56. Skin Crawl (SPX Crawlers Mix)
57. Low (Dance Remix)
58. Get Up (Dance Remix)
59. Original Sin
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/manrazeofficial/
https://www.cherryred.co.uk/