It’s all good in The Manor’s house with 15 track album release.
I saw The Manor in The Dublin Castle, Camden over a year ago now and they have clearly been busy since!
With their latest album release, they serve up 15 tracks of ska and reggae that is both chilled and upbeat at the same time.
Kicking off with title track ‘Crazy’, a gentle reggae styled number just to get you in the mood, the album continues with ‘Ask Her Name’, Jamaican ska vibed cracker of a tune.
‘Reap What You Sow’ serves up some great harmonies accompanied by great summer reggae sounds and if summer sounds is what you like to accompany this long awaited summer we’re now having in the UK, then the reworking of the 1993 Apache Indian hit ‘Boom Shak-a-lak’ (reworked as ‘Boom Ska-a-lak’) will be the track for you (and features the man himself!).
And the album continues in this fashion. Traditional ska reggae with a modern twist.
‘I Want You’, ‘A Girl Like You’ and ‘I’ll Treat You Right’ serve you up a healthy dose of reggae love song which is then countered by the age-old story of one-sided love in the form of ‘Conscious Man’.
From here on in, the pace goes up and down with an upbeat ‘What a Woman Wants’ followed by the slower ‘You Can’t Hurt Me’, then up again for the excellent upbeat reworking of the Bob Marley/Lee Scratch Perry Track ‘Mr Brown’. It’s the albums jewel in the crown for me.
The upbeat ska is continued into the next track ‘Ska on the Dancefloor’, with the album returning to chilled out ska for ‘Revelation Times’.
‘This Sound’ is a veritably Alphabetti Spaghetti of bands and artists involved in the ska, reggae and rocksteady scene over the years – another top tune from the album!
‘You’re Not Alone’ rounds off what is a great collection of tunes that are well worth adding to your playlist this summer (and beyond!).
Go and give it a listen now!