by Matt Baamonde. Guitarist Eric Mantel’s music roots lie in the sounds of the ‘60s and ‘70s. His songwriting talents have been compared to Todd Rundgren, Sting, Greg Lake and the Beatles and when he grabs his axe, he weaves jazz, pop, rock, country, R&B, funk, ragtime, classical and other styles into finely crafted melodic tapestries. In 1982, at the age of 19, Mantel released his first independent solo album Montage.