Ralph Van Manen & Band - Live (Un)Plugged

Saturday 1st April 1995
Ralph Van Manen & Band - Live (Un)Plugged
Ralph Van Manen & Band - Live (Un)Plugged

STYLE: Pop
RATING 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 4103-5128
LABEL: Ecovata EPG00007
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1

Reviewed by Kris McEwan

When I opened the envelope and found inside a CD by a Dutch man and his band doing live versions of his own songs plus covers of Geoff Moore, Steven Curtis Chapman and our own Martyn Joseph, my expectations were far from high. Nevertheless, I placed the disc in the CD player and tentatively pressed the play button to be pleasantly surprised by a great sound. As I read the sleeve notes further I became more and more enthusiastic discovering facts such as most of the other songs were written jointly by the band and Paul Field and the special guest appearance of the amazing Luca Genta on cello and recorder. Ralph is a compelling singer and songwriter (you read about him in CR19) and this is a very fine recording of a very well rehearsed band who weave their way through quiet, mellow tunes to really upbeat rock, never losing that Everything But The Girl-type sound, full of beautiful harmonies. This CD has never been out of my CD player since the morning it arrived. It's likely to stay there for some time.

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.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.

Be the first to comment on this article

We welcome your opinions but libellous and abusive comments are not allowed.












We are committed to protecting your privacy. By clicking 'Send comment' you consent to Cross Rhythms storing and processing your personal data. For more information about how we care for your data please see our privacy policy.