Following the Ellis Mano Band's European tour last year in support of the critically acclaimed "Luck of the Draw" album, fifteen songs recorded in Germany and Switzerland have now been released on their first live album "Live: Access All Areas".
The positive reviews of the last studio album, led us to believe that the Ellis Mano Band would also be sensational live. How right we were! There is a tight interplay between the musicians, vocalist Chris Ellis, guitarist Edis Mano, keyboardist Lukas Bosshardt, bass player Severin Graf and drummer Nico Looser.
The band sound powerful and transparent with a wide range of styles at play. It's modern rock, full of blues & soul. The emotional power of these original compositions, in which the live recordings are steeped, is quite gripping.
"Live: Access All Areas" documents an onstage snapshot in the middle of this band’s upward journey to success. Compared to the versions on the sonically perfect studio works, the original compositions sound edgier and earthier live. They also let loose with some pretty amazing improvisations.
You can appreciate the jam aspect by viewing the ten-minute track "A Lifetime" online. The video of which ended up on Joe Bonamassa's YouTube playlist and has already had over 375,000 views.
* Alan Ovington's Rock Zone can be heard 7-9pm every Wednesday on 103.6FM Tameside Radio (repeated Friday 9-11pm) and On Demand at tamesideradio.com. More rock news at therockzone.net. Twitter @tamesiderock
