| Manila | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 1982 | |||
| Recorded | July–August 1981 | |||
| Studio | Cinema Audio Studios, Manila | |||
| Genre | Australian Rock | |||
| Length | 46:23 | |||
| Label | Mushroom | |||
| Producer | Paul Kelly, Chris Thompson | |||
| Paul Kelly and the Dots chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Manila | ||||
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Manila is the second album by Australian rock groupPaul Kelly and the Dots and was originally released in August 1982 byMushroom Records and re-released in 1990.[1] The group travelled to thePhilippine capital to recordManila during July and August 1981 with Kelly and Chris Thompson producing.[1] Line-up changes and Kelly having his jaw broken in an assault had delayed the album's release by a year.[2] The album contains the singles, "Clean this House", and "Alive and Well" but neither album nor singles had any chart success.[2][3] All tracks were written, or co-written, by Kelly, including two with guitarist Chris Langman.[4]
Paul Kelly and the Dots had released their debut albumTalk in March 1981, which had peaked at No. 38 on the National albums charts,[3] but its third single "Lowdown" released in May had no chart success.[2][3] Considerable line-up changes had occurred within the Dots since its 1978 formation inMelbourne.[2] The band that travelled to thePhilippines in July 1981 with Kelly was Tony Thornton on drums, Alan Brooker on bass guitar, Tim Brosnan on guitar and Michael Holmes on guitar.[1][2] After returning to Australia, the band became involved inGillian Armstrong's 1982 filmStarstruck which starred Jo Kennedy.[5] Paul Kelly and the Dots supplied "Rocking Institution" for the soundtrack and Kelly added to the score.[5][6] Acting in a minor role inStarstruck wasKaarin Fairfax,[5] who later became Kelly's second wife.[7] Kelly had replaced Holmes withMaurice Frawley on guitar and Thornton with Huk Treloar on drums.[1][2] Whilst in Melbourne Kelly was assaulted and had his jaw broken.[2] The single "Clean this House" was released in April, and "Alive and Well" in July, but neither album nor singles had any chart success.[2][3] The line-up changes and Kelly's broken jaw had delayed the release ofManila until August 1982. The Dots were disbanded and the Paul Kelly Band was formed in 1983,[1][2] Kelly's next album was the solo releasePost which was recorded after he had relocated to Sydney by January 1985.[2]
Kelly later said of the album, "I was heavily under the influence ofSandinista!,the Clash album, at the time.Sandinista! has this kind of 3D thing on it, which I was trying to get on record, but it was my first effort at production so it didn't turn out that great."[8]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [9] |
All tracks written byPaul Kelly, except where noted.[4]
Paul Kelly and the Dots members
Recording details