Track Listing

1. Land of Pure Imagination
2. Too Late for Us Now
3. Wish It Would Rain
4. Loser
5. Sandman
6. What You Don't Know About the Girl
7. Dragonfly
8. Creeple People
9. Sleep Children
10. You Were Right
11. 'Til We Meet Again

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #226422 in Music
• Released on: 2006-03-06
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Import
• Dimensions: .15 pounds

Album Description
Japanese pressing includes a bonus track tba. Canyon. 2006.

Customer Reviews

Masterpiece
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.

No Small Thing
It started when I was ten. Christmas time... under the tree sat an odd 12" by 12" flat package with my name on it. Unwrapped it became the LP Leftoverture by Kansas. "Carry on My Wayward Son." My first album ever. I loved the packaging, the artwork, the lyrics and photos. I loved the music. And, soon, to my parents' dismay, I began buying more and more LP's: Styx, Elton John, Yes, Rush, Foreigner, Genesis, The Cars, Costello, Queen, Journey, Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac.

Soon, I developed a taste for things less accessible on FM radio. Glaringly ahead of the curve of others in my high school, I was drawn to relatively unknown bands by the names of U2, The Police, REM, Thomas Dolby, Culture Club, Prince, Talk Talk and King Crimson long before my classmates would snap up a latest release. I bought hundreds of albums. I loved music. The substantial feeling of plastic wrap torn off a new cover, the crispness of the vinyl inside. The crackle and pop of an LP as I switch it from side to side. The music, the music, the music.

Somewhere in there, between punk and new wave, dance and funk, country and alt-country, folk, classic rock and the tinges of emo, hip-hop and rap, I noticed something strange. Again and again I was drawn back to the same handful of bands... the Beatles, for sure. But then, Squeeze, XTC, Split Enz, Prefab Sprout and Sam Phillips. Give me a hook, a melody, some harmonies, a chorus to belt out... tightly bound rhythms, bridge-chorus-bridge lyrics, smart wordplay and signature time changes... all wrapped up within the wonderment of a three-minute "pop" song. It may have taken me a decade, but somewhere around the time I headed off for college I understood I was addicted. Ever in search of treasured pop nuggets, my pop horizon expanded for the next few years to include Tommy Keene, Matthew Sweet, Aimee Mann, The Posies, Crowded House, The Plimsouls, Microdisney, The Smiths, Marshall Crenshaw and a host of other pop-enthusiastic bands.

Oh, and a quirky little piece of psychedelic music called Bellybutton was released by a bunch of goofy looking, costumed guys superimposed against the image of the torso of a goo-splattered naked woman on the front cover of their 1990 compact disc. The band was called Jellyfish. Three years later, they made one other album, 1993's Spilt Milk. Somewhere in between, I realized what they were able to accomplish with less than two dozen songs most artists couldn't dream of doing in a lifetime.

In retrospect, to fathom how influential Jellyfish became to me is seriously... humorous. Understand here and now, I cannot be objective in writing a review of Roger Joseph Manning Jr.'s new CD, Solid State Warrior. Since 1990, I have spent far more money than I'd care to acknowledge simply in an effort to catch even the thinnest sliver of "Jellyfish-ness" in other bands. Some came close... the Tories, Wondermints, Silver Sun, Tales Untold, Cherry Twister, PFR, Sugarbomb, the Sun Sawed in ½, while others like the Grass Show, Zuckerbaby, Lollipop Factory, Baby Lemonade, Sparkwood and the Spent Poets managed to catch only a glimpse of Jellyfish magic.

The story of Jellyfish is placed somewhere other than this review. Other than to say, the band originated in one form as Beatnik Beatch, and concluded, most mysteriously by way of splintering into many tangential band efforts, including Imperial Drag, the Moog Cookbook, The Grays, Hollyfaith and Jason Falkner's solo career. As I sit, listening to Solid State Warrior for what must be the 1,000th time in the past two months (I bought it digitally on Weed, and again once it was "officially" released on Pony Canyon), I wonder whether Roger Manning is slyly smiling from the accolades and comparisons this CD will no doubt receive when held up to his former band and, more significantly, musical writing partner (Andy Sturmer), or if he will simply bristle from such fan-base assessment, likenesses or association. Either way, it's the listener who stands to gain from any and all permutated thought in between.

My musical tastes have most definitely broadened over the years, but I'm still a sucker for the one-two punch of a perfect pop song. These days, rarely does anything come close as I stare stupidly at American Idol on my television screen or with jaw-to-the-floor of my car while "listening" to the music sputtering from my radio as I drive in rush hour traffic each morning.

Solid State Warrior takes me back to a time where harmonies and melodies were a given in music... where you could listen to a song just a few times before finding yourself singing along to a catchy chorus... it soothed the soul, it rocked the house, it glimmered and shined and burst forth from your stereo like it was something that mattered. Something that you anticipated, longed for, shared with your friends. And, decidedly, something that you discovered as your own. You identified with. Music you felt, lived and breathed.

I would encourage anyone with even the slightest interest in music that matters to plunk down the purchase price of this CD, import or not. If you've ever tapped your finger or leg in time to a song, hummed through a chorus, played a single riff of air guitar or drums or bass, if you have ever been in awe of someone capable of playing not one, not two, not three instruments... but someone who could play ALL of the parts on an album, envision it, hear it, write it, produce it, record it and then share it with others, then step up, dear reader, and buy Solid State Warrior. If you purchased the last prefabricated record by Kelly Clarkson, then run, run, run away. This is not your scene.

For the rest of you, stick around.

Roger Manning has put together one of the most thoroughly accomplished CD's to hit the market in a very long time. A pastiche of perfect pop, sublimely melding the likes of so many influential bands like the Raspberries, Queen, the Beatles, the best elements of AOR radio-friendly 60's/70's/80's music, Pilot, Badfinger, KC & the Sunshine Band, Squeeze, Beach Boys... I couldn't count the number of familiar sounds Roger manages to blend together here. And, as conspicuous as some of those influences are, there are so many more subversive nods to other obscure or forgotten bands that Solid State Warrior simply envelopes you with an air of familiarity and freshness (a trick nearly no one else pulls off these days), that at times it may knock you over with its subtle beauty. With each successive listen, you may find yourself choosing your new "favorite" track, only to discover a newer favorites replacing that song three hours or three days later. The point is, you will be listening to this disc again and again. This is not the flavor of the month or song of the year. Solid State Warrior is as comforting as an old friend's voice, the scent of your lover's perfume, or your cat falling asleep in your arms.

From the psychedelic "Land of Pure Imagination" and "Dragonfly" to the rollicking circus piano pop of "Too Late for Us Now," to the multi-layered orchestration of "Wish It Would Rain" and "Sandman," to the zany Austin Powers "What You Don't Know About the Girl," crunchy rock of "Creeple People" and the lilting ballads "Sleep Children" and "Til We Meet Again," Roger Manning scores. And if the seemingly simplistic charm of the 5:45 song "You Were Right" doesn't have your toes tapping and vocal chords straining to hit those falsetto notes right along with Roger, frankly, you must be dead.

The music, the music... the music.

Roger, it was a really dry 12 years. If you have any other tricks up your sleeve or in your bag, please, please, please pull them out more quickly this time. Life's too short. Cheers to you. And that's no small thing.

Simply heaven
It realy has been a long wait after Jellyfish. This Roger Joseph Manning solo effort is as beautiful as music can get, giving wagonloads of goosebumps all the way. If you have a craving for the ultimate in sophisticate popmusic you should get this rare jewel.
And don't wait for the US release: it lacks one song from a perfect 11 like the Japanese has. I sure wouldn't want to miss any of these tracks. Very higly recommended!!