GOT THE BLUES

I REMEMBER when I was a young rock’n’roll newspaper editor in Melbourne, Australia, and one of the driving songs of the era was the foot- stomping rock-blues number, “I Remember When I Was Young”.

The original version was rendered by Matt Taylor, a blues musician who, at one stage, fronted the seminal Aussie blues band Chain, which was formed in Melbourne in late 1968.

The band went through many permutations over a long period of time, but one of the key players who was with the band in most of its reincarnations was the mellow Phil Manning, who was regarded as somewhat of a guitar virtuoso.

His influences include Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, B.B. King, Freddie King, Robert Johnson, Lonnie Johnson and Blind Blake.

Manning was associated with Chain since its inception and the band, while never enjoying top 10 commercial success, was a key driver in the hard-rock blues-inspired Aussie sound that was introduced to the world at large via the tough and rugged music of AC/DC.

Now aged 62, Manning’s still performing and the good news is he’ll soon be doing his thing in Siem Reap, at FCC Angkor on December 4 after three gigs at FCC Phnom Penh on November 26, 27 and 28.

Manning played the Phnom Penh venue last year, but didn’t make it to the Reap. But this year we’re blessed because he’s travelling with his wife and the couple wants to see the temples.

ANGKOR NO.1

A RECENT UNESCO/TripAdvisor survey reveals that Angkor is the most recommended World Heritage site by a quarter of a million travellers worldwide.

TripAdvisor claims its survey is the biggest analysis ever conducted of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites around the world.

It also said it has chalked up 244,690 feedback submissions from travellers who have visited 789 of UNESCO’s list of 911 World Heritage sites.

The popular site said too that travellers have given the nod to Angkor as the number-one recommended UNESCO site to visit in the world, describing it as, among other quotes, “one of the wonders of the world”.