Reviewed by Matthew Cordle

Bishop Dready Manning "has always lived life to the full, both as a sinner and subsequently as a saint." Once he was a wild man, with his life revolving around whisky, women and playing the blues, but "since God called him through a miraculous cure more than 40 years ago, he has been as passionate about playing his guitar and harmonica in the service of the Lord as he once was when serving Satan and as eager to save souls as he once was to find his next whisky." Here is a fastidiously compiled collection of 28 rare recordings from the 1970s. They are presented here with rare photographs and comprehensive sleeve notes which give interesting insight into the Manning family. Sound quality is pretty primitive but there is a tangible infectiousness about the songs in terms of their honesty and sincerity. The voice of personal experience rings through both in terms of warnings ("Don't let old Satan ride/If you let him ride he'll wanna drive/Don't let him hold your hand") and expressions of thankfulness ("I wanna thank you Jesus, let me thank you for another day"). Some of the performances are variable, Mrs Manning, for instance, sounds half asleep. But overall, the tracks here have bags of soul and exude gritty authenticity.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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