Robert Plant Manic Nirvana CD

Personnel: Robert Plant (vocals); Phil Johnstone (vocals, keyboards); Doug Boyle (guitar); Charlie Jones (bass); Chris Blackwell (drums).
Personnel: Robert Plant (vocals); Doug Boyle (guitar); Phil Johnstone (keyboards, vocals); Charlie Jones (bass); Chris Blackwell (drums).
A limited edition 6" x 12" box with special graphics, a red cloth banner and extra photos not found on the regular release. The CD is encased in a red digi-pak embossed with the Robert Plant logo.
Personnel: Robert Plant (vocals); Laila Cohen, Rob Stride, Micky Groome, Carolyn Harding (vocals); Doug Boyle, Phil Johnstone (guitars); Charlie Jones (bass instrument); Chris Blackwell (drums); Siddi Makain Mushkin, Jerry Wayne (background vocals).
Audio Remasterers: Raj Das; Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot.
Manic Nirvana essentially continued the revitalized hard rock crunch of Now & Zen. Unlike the previous record, Manic Nirvana played it a little closer to the vest, concentrating on a set of lean, driving riff-rockers instead of ponderous Led Zeppelin pomp. While the overall result is successful -- especially on the frenzied "Hurting Kind," the Technicolor stomp of "Tie Die on the Highway," and the affectionate rockabilly cover "Your Ma Said You Cried in Your Sleep Last Night" -- the album sounds like a holding pattern instead of a step forward. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Anyone who couldn't see that Robert Plant was returning back to his bombastic Zeppelin roots on his 1988 release, NOW & ZEN, definitely got the hint on his fifth solo release two years later, MANIC NIRVANA. Sonically, the album was Plant's most rock-based solo release yet, with weighty guitar riffs serving as the basis for many of the songs.
While there's no mistaking MANIC NIRVANA for a Zep album (the production is a lot cleaner here than on their past classics), it was a welcome return back to the type of music that made a name for Plant in the first place. Tracks such as "Hurting Kind (I've Got My Eyes on You)," "Nirvana," and "Tie Dye on the Highway" are pure hard rockers. Other highlights include "Anniversary" (which harkens back to Plant's earlier solo work), and the Middle Eastern-tinged "Watching You."Rolling Stone (5/17/90) - 4 Stars - Excellent "...this new sound is even more exciting than the old...may well be the singer's most important work to date."
Entertainment Weekly - B+ "gritty, fascinating"
Q - 4 Stars - Excellent - Ranked by Q as the #8 Album of 1990.
Down Beat - 3.5 Stars - Very good