Short Reviews [Geoff Mann - 2024 - "His Music"]

On 5th February 1993, Edmund Geoffrey Mann died aged just 36 years old, leaving behind not only his family but artwork, plays, fifteen albums and the memories of the fans who had seen him perform in hundreds of concerts. Of all the musicians who have died since I became interested in music it was this death which impacted me the most (still true to this day), and I put together a tribute from many who had played with and known him. Thirty years on and Andrew Wild released ‘His Love’, a wonderful biography of the Mann with loads of photos and information, and to accompany that there was also this CD which can now be purchased separately. What we have here is a Is a 15-track compilation album taking tracks from all the different albums Geoff recorded from 1981 until his untimely passing in 1993, presented chronologically. Is this a ‘Best Of’? No, as there are just way too many songs missing – no “Creepshow” or “Sequences” for example, both songs which Geoff totally owned, while “We Are Sane” and “The Collector” are also absent, but if these had been included then it would have had to be a much longer release so it is best to think of it instead as an introduction. This is a nice way of seeing the changes in Geoff’s approach through the years as when he joined Twelfth Night, they were primarily an instrumental act and he had to find room for his voice, “Sequences” being the best example of that, and here we see him moving from being an essential member of a band through to solo artist, collaborator and band leader. Of his canon, ‘Casino’, is often the most overlooked which is nothing short of criminal as this project with Clive Nolan had the potential to become huge and it is interesting to compare it with the songs either side, with “Over The Edge” (with Marc Catley) featuring his wonderful wobbly guitar while “Apathetic & Here, I” is just Geoff and an acoustic. Geoff packed way more into his time here than many of have achieved with far greater time, and this set is a wonderful way of discovering more about his music and is the perfect item to be listening to while reading the book, so why not get both?