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Geoff Mann - In One Era

Artist:	Geoff Mann
Title:	In One Era
Label:	Cyclops CYCL 004
Length(s):	74 minutes
Year(s) of release:	1994
Month of review:	08/1994

Line up

Geoff Mann - voice, acoustic and electric guitars, percussion, bits and pieces
Keith Gould - bass, chapman stick, voice, zither
The Still Owl - acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, keyboards, flute
Dave Mortimer - guitar, acoustic guitar
Howard Jones - drums, percussion (no keyboards!)
Andy Mason - percussion
Steve Millie - engineering and acoustic guitar

Tracks

1)	Piccadilly Square	4.48
2)	I Wouldn't Lie To You	4.44
3)	Kingdom Come	3.46
4)	Afterwards	5.33
5)	For God's Sake	4.32
6)	Green Paper Show	6.13
7)	My Soul	5.47
8)	Slow One	4.59
9)	Creation	3.51
10)	Dance	6.26
11)	Gethesemane	4.15
12)	Waves	8.01
13)	Flowers	11.37

Summary

A compilation of I May Sing Grace and Psalm Enchanted Evening of Geoff Mann.

The music

A surprising one this album. Not because it has been released, but because the albums seem to sound a lot like one of my favourite SI albums, Second Chants (2nd). An important difference is that the albums now under consideration are a lot more religous. The recording quality of these albums is also a lot less than 2nd, which might for some be a reason to try that one first. Against all prejudice this is a CD well worth your attention, because it captures one of the more original minds in later progeessive rock in his own element.

Going through all of the songs I find the first to be quite up-tempo with a heavy beat but it's no simple rocker, especially the repeated It's Cold Out There In Piccadilly Square is kind of well, alienating. Still, it works. I Wouldn't Lie To You is acoustic with flutes and all. The vocals on this song remind of me of vocal melodies of 12th Night. Kingdom Come is a song I do not really like. It's up-tempo and a bit funky and the vocal melody is quite uninteresting as well as the refrain. Afterwards is somewhat better, though a little too subdued maybe, but it has some nice more inaccessible parts, that remind me of MKII(see other reviews) and 2nd. For God's Sake is a strange one. It sounds a bit distant (also because of the recording quality) and emotionless at the start. The melody doesn't really get through to me and the guitarsolo doesn't help. Green Paper Snow_is the same all over, the song moves along slowly and with softly searing guitars on the background Geoff recites his problems with the material world. Slow One is a lament, build on a repetitive piece of guitar over which Geoff lays his vocals.

The songs from Psalm Enchanted Evening start with Creation. This song is very percussive and up-tempo. The contents are quite uplifting, which is a difference from the former songs. The song has a spacey instrumental part with guitars and keyboards flying 'round. Moving into Dance is quite quick and unexpected (maybe this is where the song that has been left out used to be). Dance is more emotional than most of the songs already heard on this album. For once he uses his voice, so well-known from 12th Night. The melodies on this song are also more pronounced and it seems that Psalm Enchanted Evenings is going to be more melodic than I May sing Grace. The song is actually somewhat like 12 Nigth (less keyboards though and not that all too familiar bass sound, the drums have been programmed). Gethsemane seems like a normal song, but it turns out to be an instrumental and the text accompanying it is just an excerpt from St. Luke. It's a good instrumental though. The last songs on this album are also quite good. Waves is a very slow song with distorted singing by Geoff. The last and longest song on the album Flowers. This song is also kind of slow but majectic as well. I do have to admit I like the songs on Psalm a lot better because of they are more melodic.

Conclusion

What I find on this album is a document, telling me of Geoff Mann and what he was and I find lyrics that show what Geoff is capable off. I also find his very expressive vocals, the wobbly guitar and some 12th Night reminders. What I do not find on this album is humour and the melodies. The album is a lot less melodic than 12th Night or 2nd. This is less so for the songs on Psalm than on Grace, but still there it is. Psalm is less rocky and more melodic and thus more interesting. This album is more for the Mann/12 Night adept (who isn't?) than for the average prog listener. If you're interested to hear the music sometime, you might as well buy it, because the originals might be very hard to find in the US (or anywhere for that matter) though tapes of the album are still sold if I remember correctly.