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Title: Masterpiece
Review: This is the kind of masterly do-it-yourself pop album that surfaces once every few years.Like Jellyfish's two studio albums, it's a grand stew of '60s pop influences--echoes of the Move (bits of the kickoff track "The Land of Pure Imagination"), Left Banke ("What You Don't Know About the Girl"), Beach Boys ("Sandman"), Imperial Drag channeling T Rex ("Creeple People"), Billy Joel ("You Were Right") and vintage pop ("Sleep Children" and the closer "Til We Meet Again").And, yes, Jellyfish (especially on "The Loser").But throughout, this CD sounds like nothing so much as Manning--bearing throughout the distinctive imprint of his ever-tuneful writing, sweet voice and solid, unflashy playing.Only one duff track: the would-be Bond theme "Dragonfly," which is brilliant as homage/parody, but ultimately wears less well than the other 10 songs on the Japanese release. Well recommended.
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