Tony McManus - Tony McManus

"This man has a talent second to none. (Phil Cunningham) This self-taught acoustic guitarist has his own distinctive style. He was brought up on traditional Scottish and Irish music, but has expanded his musical horizons to include Canadian, Breton, Galician and other influences. He is in great demand as a session musician and can be heard on albums by Kate Rusby, Brian McNeill, Alasdair Fraser, and others. This is the long overdue debut album from a guitarist of exceptional talent - TONY McMANUS - who seems to have sessioned on almost every good album to come out of Scotland in the last year or two. Phil Cunningham says of Tony - ""This man has a talent second to none. His sensitivity and dexterity combine to make him one of the most listenable guitarists around."" (Leaves almost nothing else to be said!!) On many of the tracks Tony plays solo guitar but selected tracks also feature the talents of Brian McNeill (fiddle), Mike Travis (percussion), Patsy Seddon (harp), Rebecca Knorr (flute) and Jim Sutherland (bodhran), with the opening track being a fine example of combined talents. The guitars played by Tony were made by Bill Kelday, except Tracks 3 and 8, which were played on a Larrivee. Brian McNeill produced the album which was recorded by Peter Haigh at Pier House Studios, Edinburgh. In general the tunes are a wonderful mix of traditional Irish and Scottish with some more recent compositions included. For example, Louis Armstrong's signature tune -""What A Wonderful World"" - sits comfortably with a couple of traditional tunes on the last track. This album is a gem - to be enjoyed by all! Tracks: + Doherty's + The Sweetness Of Mary + The Emigrant's Farewell + The Flanagan Brothers Jig + Jackie Coleman's + Breizh + The Humours Of Barrack Street + Ar Bhurach Na Laoi + The Snowy Path + Gavotte De Marcel + Hector The Hero + The Johnstown Reel + What A Wonderful World"