Are you made of love sent from above to me
Beginning with water dripping, a simple backlash beat and easy guitar, the solo debut American release “The Land of Pure Imagination” from Roger Joseph Manning Jr builds to his unmistakable voice coming in with beautiful lyrics building to an ecstatic amazement of the of Moog Cookbook and Imperial Drag in one on track one.

Three seconds into track two (Too Late For Us Now) though you’d swear this was a lost Jellyfish album… hell you’d swear it was a lost track from a classic Beatles album with Roger’s lyrical and musical inclinations. The “record” continues on with songs that will instantly become your new favorites and you’ll be singing along even though Roger neglected to have the liner notes include lyrics.

Track three is a somber lovely piano ballad which will have you swinging back and forth and bopping your head the way you would to things “She Still Loves Him” and “Sabrina, Paste & Plato”.

Track four is a fast bustling hard beautiful song, while definitely RJMJR’s you might expect to hear it on a Manic Street Preachers or Stereophonics album.

Track five is a melodic magical trip, the kind of thing you’d expect to hear in a rock opera, but also works as just a perfect power pop-rock song, which RJMJR is a master of alongside his contemporaries former bandmate Jason Fakner, Beck Hansen, Butch Walker, AJ Popoff, Mark Ricketts.

Track six might be the weakest track, sounding like an ironic church choir song, but it shows off how versatile a musician Manning, Jr. is.

To prove how truly versatile he is, track 7 “Dragonfly” combines Spanish and indoasian sensibilities to turn an erotic sensual breakdown. Leading into funkifacation and 70’s style rock with track 8, recreating the feel of Red Hot Chili Peppers and proving how absolutely amazing of a musician he is.

Did I mention he plays every instrument on the album and did all the vocals, including backing himself up and did all the production as well. You’d never believe there wasn’t a band for this album, but it’s Manning.

With Track 9 he shows his truly soft side, another lovely piano ballad, but with much more sweetness and tenderness. To fans of Jellyfish, the moldy may seem familiar, but I don’t want to ruin it for you.

Track 10 is my favorite, very coverable, with an excellent chorus, it’s the one that might just stick in your head, if you have my tastes. It’s not exactly poppy, it’s more in the vein of Billy Joel/Elton John, but it’s just perfect.

The whole thing closes out with what could be considered a harmonic lullaby titled “Appleby”, it’s a perfect example of Roger’s beautiful voice and amazing musical talents and quickly but surely delves into the pure type of strangeness you’d expect from the man who once teamed with the writer of songs such as “Teen Titans Go!” before returning to the sweetness. Which is what Roger’s imagination is… sweetness, laced with spikes and deviousness. This solo album more than anything explains how and why Andy Sturmer were able to meet mentally to create the Jellyfish sound and what parts they gave.

If you order the NOT LAME edition early enough you’ll also get a bonus disc of three tracks from the Japanese edition of the album that were dumped for three new songs.

The first track “What You Don’t Know About a Girl” sounds like something out of the 60’s. It’s the first track of the album that definitely shows RJMJR’s Eric Carmen and Alex Chilton influences.

Track Two on the bonus could easily replace track two of the main album, but is a bit less danceable and bopping and quote more sad and somber, but it’s still beautiful.

Track Three of the bonus could’ve replaced “Appleby”, but is much slower and not as fun, but is a perfect closer track.

The main lyric mentions “Till We Meet Again” and mentally to Roger I say “Sooner than Later would be best!”