Diamond Head

I've never knelt at the altar of the rock guitarist (unlike many men of my age). Hendrix was histrionic, Clapton was laid back and bluesy (ugh) and Santana was just too spiritual for me to handle. (And, yes, I do know that these are exactly some of the things that draw people to them). I can listen to their music and enjoy quite a lot of it but the whole guitar hero thing has always struck me as slightly ridiculous - as if hitting some strings with a plectrum is going to change the world or something.

But there was a small time frame in the mid 70s when I bought just about everything that Phil Manzanera played on and that was due in no small part to some kind of mystical transportation I received when listening to the sounds he (and Eno) were able to produce.

So please forgive me my little bit of 6 string worship - I was just a young thing after all.

mp3: Roxy Music - Amazona

This track always epitomised "Stranded" for me. The slightly funky verse section and the denser 'chorus' and break always seemed to perfectly encapsulate the mood of the cover (the red-haired model cast-away in the middle of the jungle - shouldn't she be on a beach?). There's at least 6 guitar overdubs that I can hear: from compact rhythm to dubby one-note counterpoint via synth-embelished washes and a longish solo that shows just how close Santana was to his own heart.

mp3: John Cale - Fear (ps - 8mg)

After Eno departed Roxy, Manzanera continued to be friends and they played on many of each other's projects. The most obvious of these is the guitar stuff on this track from Cale's 1st album for Island. It's completely over the top in all respects but fits the clasutrophobia of the song perfectly. Manzanera is everywhere again - the simple riff that slowly mutates into weird half tones, the heavy power chords on the chorus and then the two lengthy solos where all those years of Enosification on the road and in the studio result in something that sounded completely foreign.

mp3: Phil Manzanera - Frontera

This is one of the standout tracks from his 1st solo album "Diamond Head", co-written and sung by Robert Wyatt. There's a bell-like quality to a lot of the rhythm guitar that I hadn't noticed before and the chords are just lovely. Lots of overdubs again but, as always, they have a specific place and don't clutter up the mix one little bit. Nonsense lyrics, apparently.

mp3: Eno - The True Wheel

Most of this track from "Taking Tiger Mountain" is just Eno by himself (all those gorgeous modulated resonances). But Manzanera makes himself most obvious on the tripled riff in the middle section - a riff that none of my guitar playing friends could seem to replicate despite it's simplicity, damn them. His contribution to the whole of this album is extensive if settled into the background.

I lost interest in his playing after Eno went in other directions and left Manzanera standing there with just that damned guitar for company and with Ferry breathing down his neck to tone down his style for the new, MOR Roxy Music. He's released many solo albums since then, most of which are fairly dull, including his latest "6PM" even if this is a slight return to some sort of form (but, it must be said, he really shouldn't sing).

All of these albums are available at your local record store or via the internet - go get 'em.