TONY McMANUS
Mysterious Boundaries
Compass 7-4612-2
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If you’ve ever heard Tony McManus add a delicate bridge to a
fiery Alaisdair Fraser reel, lay it down double time with Quebeçois musicians,
or marvel over his jazzy interpretations of Charles Mingus compositions, you
already know that there’s not much he can’t do on the guitar. If you need any
further proof, check out the artistry on Mysterious
Boundaries. This time he puts his stamp on longhair stuff–the classics, not
the hippies. This project that grew out of mandolin artist Mike Marshall’s
challenge to McManus to learn Bach’s E major “Prelude.” That one’s on the new
album, along with two others by Bach for good measure (“Allemande” and
“Chaconne”). Among other things, you’ll also hear two from Baroque composer
François Couperine, Claudio Monteverdi’s “Nigra Sum,” and “Gnossienne # 1” from
avant-garde classical composer Erik Satie. As you can probably anticipate,
McManus is technically flawless–his precise fingering of crisp melody notes in
perfect resonance with resonating bass. I’d rank Mysterious Boundaries among the year’s top classical releases.
So why three stars instead of five? Call it purely a matter
of preference–although I appreciate its complexity, I really don’t like
classical music very much. What’s missing from McManus’s new album is what I
find lacking in a lot classical music: passion and fire. Or, to be more
precise, the way we define passion and fire in our age rather than the Baroque or some other past period. John
Renbourn once called Tony McManus the “greatest Celtic guitarist in the world.”
I agree, and I’d rather hear McManus raking barred chords up and down the neck,
or adding crystalline contrast to pipes, fiddles, and accordions. McManus, of
course, has more than earned the right to play whatever pleases him, just as we
choose what makes its way into our listening rotations. If you’re a fan of
classical music, Mysterious Boundaries
will no doubt startle you, but I look forward to a future McManus release with
more spit and less polish. --Rob Weir
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3 comments:
I read a review of this saying McManus is the foremost guitarist of the Traditional/ Contemporary/ Celtic/ Americana music scenes. Now that's 4 brackets - any advance on 4?
I think we all agree that McManus is a brilliant guitarist, no matter what the genre. I also said that my comments on his foray into classical reflected a personal preference, not an assessment of his ability. Don't know how I can be more fair than that? Bottom line--if you like classical, you'll like this; if not, you might wish to buy one of TM's other albums. RW
I didn't disagree with you - I just yet again smile at these relentless categories that, it appears, few can live without. I am championing Morris dancing reggae with a mambo twist played on a ram's elbow. It'll catch on, mark my words.
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