Rob Mancini – Rock'N'Roll Circus

Releasedate: 11-11-2011; Label: GMG Records
By: Martine Goffard

Even if the album sounds purely US, Rob Mancini is a rocker from the Irish scene. The German-Italian musician and producer has played during the 90’s in bands like Hotwire and Crush and has toured with Victory or Thunderhead. You can hear here that it’s an experienced musician who is playing, even if it’s a first solo album. It was recorded at Rob’s GMG Studio One in Ireland and contains 13 tracks, a good length for an album.
This “Rock’n’Roll Circus” is pure nostalgia. All the songs have an 80’s – early 90’s rock sound. It’s like a crossover between Bon Jovi’s melodies and Joe Cocker’s voice. The little bonus is the touch of electro you can hear regularly and which proves we are well in 2012. The weak point is that it sounds a bit too much, like it was prepared for the radio. He could have taken more risks and made it less mainstream.
The album starts with Carnival Of Fools. This intro sounds like if we were entering a circus, but not a normal one, more like a Rob Zombie’s circus. It’s creepy and well conceived but it doesn’t reflect the atmosphere of the album. The next song, Rock And Roll Circus is an invitation to party. It’s good punchy rock with some riffs which reminded me a bit of Marilyn Manson’s intro. The following songs are more traditional. Edge Of A Broken Heart, carried by Mansini’s rusted voice, could have been a hit 25 years ago. Everytime You Cry is the love song of this album. The atmosphere, like the rain on a winter day, is penetrating. This song is better than Time Stops For No One But You, which is far too slow and put you asleep. We have the pleasure to hear a cover of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill. It’s not as brilliant as the Placebo version but it’s an interesting one, with heavy rolling guitars and mixed electro voices. The bass makes a perfect job on this one. The rest of the album is good rock with in tune, refined solos and girl choirs. Some songs like Stranger In Paradise or Lay Down The Law bring nothing to the CD and are limit boring. All in all, an enjoyable album you can hear anytime.

Line up:
Rob Mancini (voice, guitar, bass, keyboard)
Aine Mancini (choirs)

Tracklist: 01. Carnival Of Fools 02. Rock’N’Roll Circus 03. Edge Of A Broken Heart 04. Everytime You Cry 05. Running Up That Hill 06. Lay Down The Law 07. Weak As I Am 08. Stranger In Paradise 09. Too Late To Die 10. The Reaper 11. United We Stand 12. Time Stops For No One But You 13. Edge Of A Broken Heart (Radio Edit)

Links:
Rob Mancini Facebook