Terry Manning - Home Sweet Home (1970 us, woderful mix of psych dirty hard blues rock with soul feeling, 2006 Sunbeam remaster)

If you recognize Terry Manning's name, its likely a result of his work as an engineer and producer, including numerous projects for the Memphis-based Ardent Records were he worked with the likes of Alex Chilton and Big Star. With the exception of true hard core collector's, most folks probably don't know that Manning actually recorded an early-1970s solo LP.

By the early 1970s Manning was a fixture at Stax having engineered many of their recording sessions.  While he wasn't known for his performing talents, a one off demo of a song intended for The Box Tops caught Stax VP Al Bell's attention and served to get Manning signed to the Stax affiliated Enterprise label.  Manning subsequently made his solo debut with 1970's "Home Sweet Home".  

A true solo effort, Manning produced, engineered and save drums, handled most of the instrumentation (Big Star's Chris Bell provided lead guitar on a couple of tracks).  In terms of the music, anyone into the Big Star/Alex Chilton scene will find this album irresistible. Besides, how can you not like an album that starts out with an extended, fuzz-filled cover of George Harrison's 'Savoy Truffle'.  

Manning's voice certainly didn't have Chilton's depth and breadth, but he used his limited talents well, turning in a uniformly impressive set that effortlessly blended blue eyed soul, R&B and garage rock moves. Simply a blast from start to finish, it was hard to pick out favorites, though 'Trashy Dog' (The B-52s could've had a hit with it), 'I Ain't Got You' and a fuzz guitar and harmonica propelled cover of The Beatles' 'I Wanna Be Your Man' were all worthy highlights. (Okay, I'll admit the Elvis-wannabe 'Wild Wild Rocker' was forgettable.)  Sadly, the LP vanished without a trace, making it a sought after collectable.