2020 – Presence Records
By Phillip Smith; Oct. 31, 2020
It has been almost three years since former Wishbone Ash guitarist Muddy Manninen released his debut solo album, Long Player. That was an outstanding recording. His follow-up album River Flows is another quite impressive piece of work. Self-produced, this ten-track album features Melanie Denard, Gregg Sutton, Kev Moore, Richard Johnson, and special guest Simon Kirke (Free/Bad Company) on drums.
“Make Believe” ushers the album in with a fabulous dose of rock and roll. Denard’s melodic lead vocals, and Manninen’s infectious riffs, pull me in for the long-haul. The cherry on top, is listening to Muddy’s solo. He’s such a skilled guitarist, and it’s a joy to hear him play. Waking a fine line between blues and southern rock, Muddy breaks out a tasty dose of greasy lap-steel slide on “Hey You”, with Kev Moore singing. Moore also appears on “Daytona Beach”, which has a jazzy Steely Dan vibe. And that’s a very good thing. I love the funky instrumental “The Wedge”. The synths accompaniment from Tomi Malm gives it a warm texture. Preceding the beautiful instrumental close on title track “River Flows”, Muddy poignantly brings us a poetic ode to time, with “The River”, with Denard on vocals. Her voice is absolutely divine.
River Flows captures the essence of Seventies album-rock, and it sounds so great.
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For more information about the artist, visit this website : muddymanninen.com
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