Live Review

Jason Manns – Barfly, Brighton

• 16th Feb 2008

Following his first UK tour last November, Singer/Songwriter Jason Manns returned to our shores from Los Angeles to a rapturous welcome from a good sized crowd in Brighton. Looking very relaxed Jason was on excellent form, his voice effortlessly lifting the rafters and blowing the cobwebs away.

Last year’s tour showed an artist on top form, even so there has definitely been growth in the intervening months. Jason’s lyrics offer a view deep into a poetic soul, clearly touching many in the audience.

“Your fantasies are wild and sad, you let your dreams control you still,
And you describe some epic life you’ll never have,
And your faith in all these things well it’s beautiful but sad.
It doesn’t entertain me like it used to,
And I don’t understand it like I used to.
I let it go.“

One or two fans in the audience even have tattoos of his lyrics as permanent reminders of their favourite songs. A huge tribute to his work, and one he humbly acknowledges.

The vocal is stellar and can pack quite a punch. In fact it’s hard to think of another artist who can sustain a note as purely and for as long as he can – with perhaps the exception of Barbara Streisand – not only does he sustain the note but he builds on it. It’s breathtaking and, like a fine wine, the voice is maturing deliciously.

From start to finish he thrilled the audience with songs old and new and some stunning covers. Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Crazy Love” were outstanding. Whilst Otis Redding’s “Dock Of The Bay” was a superlative example of how an excellent singer can take a great song and make it even better. Still it’s the original work that makes you want him to come back again and again.

Tonight saw a first outing for a new song based on a poem about two portraits. It is thoughtful and warm with a melody that wraps itself around the hearer. As yet untitled and still, as he himself admits, a little raw around the edges – it is nonetheless a keeper.

All too soon it seems the evening comes to an end, but the audience are warmed by the prospect of his return in May for another short tour. Watch this space for details.

artist’s website:
[link]