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”People work hard and end up with nothing/I ain`t got nothing either, but at least I didn`t work hard for it.” So sings this subway troubadour from Manhattan`s bohemian Lower East Side on his debut album. Manning calls his music ”folkgrass,” an urban update of the rural visions of Jimmie Rodgers, Woody Guthrie and Bill Monroe. He serves up 12 variations on a theme-” (No.) 16 Blues,” ”The Pearly Blues,” ”Hitch Hiker`s Blues” . . . well, you get the idea-and they are filled with telling observations and enough clever couplets to start a small bumper-sticker business.
