Manraze - Lock, Stock & Barrel

Manraze got its start in 2004 when Def Leppard’s Phil Collen had some song ideas that didn’t fit that band, and contacted his former Girl bandmate Simon Laffy.  They started writing some songs together, and since Phil liked the dynamic of a three-piece, they decided to contact Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook to round out the band.  Several years later, in 2008, they released their debut album Surreal, which was followed by album number two, PunkFunkRootsRock in 2011.  Now, with the release of the five CD box set Lock, Stock and Barrel, those two albums have been compiled along with three discs of bonus tracks consisting of live and acoustic cuts, instrumentals and rarities.  

Surreal explodes right out the gate with the angsty, fast-paced punk of “This Is,” followed by the high energy rocker “Turn It Up.”  They then switch things up on “Runnin’ Me Up,” a more laid-back rock song with a hypnotic reggae groove.  “Every Second of Every Day” is up next and is rock with a hooky pop edge that’s not so unlike Def Leppard, as is “Low,” which has come really great guitar work from Collen.  With a taut, swirling groove, “Spinning Out” finds them changing things up once again, with a dirty, almost grungy, sound.  Mixing hard rock with a reggae groove, “Can’t Find My Own Way,” is often strongly reminiscent of The Police’s “Can’t Stand Losing You,” while “Skin Crawl” is a hook heavy, hard rock cut, but with a darker, gritty groove.  The upbeat rock of “Connected To You” has a very infectious, bouncy and upbeat groove and “Halo” has a similar vibe, but with a hint of glam.  Although the high energy rock with a punk edge of “It’s Entertainment” shows some promise, it’s quite repetitive and falls short of the album’s remaining tracks.  Thankfully they turn that around quickly on the closing cut, “Shadow Man,” a dark and moody rocker that is an album highlight.  Quite an impressive release that draws on the influences of their bands, but has a sound all its own.  

The somewhat aptly titled second album PunkFunkRootsRock opens with “Over My Dead Body,” which starts off sounding like old school Alice Cooper or KISS with Collen doing his best Gene Simmons on vocals, before shifting into more of a punky, glam rocker complete with singalong choruses and handclaps.  Continuing in a more experimental direction, including Collen’s effects-laden vocals, “I C U In Everything” sticks to the darker sounding side of things, but gives it an interesting modern rock twist.  They slow things down on “All I Wanna Do,” a poppier track with a laid-back bluesy groove and a sexy, slinky shuffle, while the reggae beat of “Closer To Me” once again brings to mind The Police.  The influence of Collen’s other band can definitely be heard on several tracks including “Lie Lies All Lies”, a rawer tune with a hint of punk attitude, “Dreamland,” a fun rocker with the tighter sound of a three-piece, and “Get Action,” which is Def Leppard through and through all the way down to the title.  They slow things down again on “Edge Of The World,” a slower, dreamy track with a hint of psychedelia, and also throw in a cover of Hendrix’s “Fire,” which is a good version, but doesn’t really add anything to the song to make it stand out.  With its high-octane drive and some great guitar work from Collen, “I, Superbiker” is a raw, adrenaline fueled rocker that to me is the standout track on the album.  Unfortunately it is followed by “Bittersweet,” one of the weaker tracks here that comes across like a Foo Fighters outtake.  They close the album out with the “Dog Bite,” a really strong hard driving rock instrumental with a catchy groove that showcases the musicianship of all three.

As for the three discs of bonus tracks, they start off with one containing eleven instrumentals.  With nine of these coming from songs on the two albums and the vocal versions of the other two appearing as a bonus track on disc five, it’s doubtful that this disc is going to be anybody’s go to.  As for the final two discs, that is a completely different story.  Disc four is titled “Live & Unplugged” and kicks off with nine live cuts recorded at three different venues.  The band is tight and on fire on these tracks, often giving them a kick in the pants compared to the album versions (check out the two performances of “This Is”).  The remaining six cuts are acoustic takes that show they are just as successful going the other direction, including a great version of “Halo” that incorporates a snippet of Al Green’s “Take Me To The River” and an incredibly soulful take on “All I Wanna Do.”  The final disc is Unreleased and Unleashed and actually contains some of the most diverse tracks in the collection.  First up are a couple non-album singles, both containing some outstanding guest backing vocals from gospel singer Debbi Blackwell-Cook.  “I Surrender” is a midtempo track with a bit of a Def Leppard feel, but really set apart with her vocals, while “Take On The World” (the main song in the movie I, Superbiker II - The Showdown, about the British Superbike racing championship) is really cool high energy, foot stomping rocker mixed with a dance beat.  The other unreleased songs here are “Immaculate,” a dark, really heavy instrumental that has a movie soundtrack vibe and a bit of an industrial influence and “Original Sin,” a really strong, gritty rocker with a darker side.  The remaining tracks are a Deep Dub instrumental version of “Turn It Up,” that turns it on its head and sounds nothing like the original, a heavy dance mix version of “Halo,” a dark, electro-industrial mix of “Skin Crawl” and club dance remixes of “Low” and “Get Up.”  All of them put a nice spin on the original and are well worth a listen.  While it's quite possible that Manraze fell under the radar of alot of people, which is surprising with the musical lineage of its members, Lock, Stock & Barrel is the perfect way to correct that in one nice five CD package. 

(HNE Recordings)