348 - Manfred Mann's Earth Band - The Best Of (1996)

BIOGRAPHY
by Richie Unterberger
An R&B band that only played pop to get on the charts, Manfred Mann and its various permutations ranked among the most adept British Invasion acts in both styles. South African-born keyboardist Manfred Mann was originally an aspiring jazz player, moving toward R&B when more blues-oriented sounds became in vogue in England in the early '60s. Original Manfred Mann singer Paul Jones was one of the best British Invasion singers, and his resonant vocals were the best feature of their early R&B sides, which had a slightly jazzier and smoother touch than the early work of the Rolling Stones and Animals.

It was a couple covers of obscure girl group songs, "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" (the Exciters) and "Sha La La" (the Shirelles), that broke the group internationally — "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" reached number one in the States, and "Sha La La" just missed the Top Ten. The Paul Jones lineup never duplicated this success, although "Come Tomorrow" and "Pretty Flamingo" were smaller hits. From 1964 to 1966, they took the approach of playing gutsy pop/rock on their singles (including the original version of "My Little Red Book") and soul and R&B on their albums, with occasional detours into jazz, Dylan (their cover of his then-unreleased "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" was a big British hit), and competent original material.

Jones left for a solo career and acting in 1966, and the group reformed around singer Mike D'Abo (Beatle friend Klaus Voormann was also in this aggregation on bass). Adopting an even more pop-oriented approach for the singles, with occasional psychedelic and progressive touches, the band ran off a string of Top Ten hits in their homeland until 1969, although the only one to hit the jackpot in the U.S. was their cover of another unreleased Dylan song, "The Mighty Quinn."

Mann dissolved the D'Abo lineup in 1969 to form Manfred Mann Chapter Three with drummer Mike Hugg, who had been in the band since the beginning. The outfit's early jazz-rock efforts were interesting, but not very popular, and Manfred steered the ship back toward mainstream rock by forming yet another incarnation, Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The heavier, more synthesizer-oriented outfit made quite a few albums in the 1970s; 1976's The Roaring Silence made the Top Ten, and featured the number one hit "Blinded by the Light" (Mann also made the Top 40 with another Springsteen cover, "Spirit in the Night"). Ironically, despite Mann's oft-proclaimed preferences for serious explorations of jazz, blues, and progressive music, it's his pop/rock recordings that hold up best, and for which he'll be remembered most.
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REVIEW
by Doug Stone
Remakes can be atrocious wastes of wax: subpar carbon copy re-treads dressed up as calculated idolatry, or deconstructionist reconfigurations basking in the laziness of lyrics already written. However, two of the greatest rewrites in history belong to Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The treatments of Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded By the Light" and "For You" included here create a wholly unique variation on the stark, earthy originals by flipping the tracks and exposing the soft, white underbelly, then piling on excessive musical ornamentation like a master filmmaker visualizing a novel, blowing the inspiration at the nucleus into a bowdlerized paronomasia of sonic perfection. Pages have already been written about "Blinded By the Light," dissecting the rock critique jargon and roiling synthetic imagery. But it's the Earth Band classic that poured this bizarre stream-of-consciousness into the mainstream. Totally tubular and totally '70s, MMEB's "Blinded By the Light" is unquestionably one of the greatest left-field singles in history. Meanwhile, the awesome "For You," though more, like, totally '80s, comes across as nothing less of a masterwork. Hot licks and the always tasty voice of Chris Thompson make the whooping ELP keys bearable. "Spirit in the Night" is not as great a departure from the Springsteen standard, as "the Boss" himself began leaving his folk roots plane to reach a more bombastic base of inception (David Bowie performs a wild rendition of "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City," all of the aforementioned from Springsteen's monolithic debut). Though consequently not as grand as the above epiphanies, "Spirit" nevertheless stands as a very strong piece. In fact, as the many glorious moments of MMEB pile on top of each other, one realizes what a discerning ear this African scion possessed, and what a wicked ensemble he surrounded himself with to realize these brilliantly blinding pastiches. Manfred Mann understood the nuances of Springsteen's Dylan discipleship, even as the band itself cleverly interpreted Robert Zimmerman's works. The distracting live read of "Quinn the Eskimo" goes on just too darn long, but "You Angel You" soars sublimely. "Davy's on the Road Again" and "Hollywood Town" also remain within the realm of enjoyableness, through expert over-embellishment. Sadly excluded is Randy Newman's "Living Without You," later reconstructed itself by Zebra. These erudite linear notes discuss too many other numbers not included (luckily, that annoying Olympic "Runner" song is omitted), still leaving a very listenable amalgam of tight prog (usually a contradiction) and a worthy addition to any personal library.
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TRACKS
1 Blinded by the Light Springsteen 7:06
2 Spirit in the Night Springsteen 6:27
3 Quit Your Low Down Ways Dylan 3:25
4 Questions Flett, Mann, Pattenden, Slade, Thompson 3:58
5 Circles Marks 4:49
6 Davy's on the Road Again Robertson, Simon 5:53
7 Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) Dylan 6:15
8 You Angel You Dylan 4:01
9 Hollywood Town Schock 5:10
10 Don't Kill It Carol Heron 6:16
11 On the Run Ashton, Mann, Palmer 3:52
12 For You Springsteen 5:36

CLICK HERE & PLAY TRACK 8
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CREDITS
Dyan Birch Vocals (bckgr)
David Boswell-Brown Cello
Geoff Britton Drums
Doreen Chanter Vocals (bckgr)
Irene Chanter Vocals (bckgr)
Graham Elliott Cello
Dave Flett Guitar
Ruby James Vocals (bckgr)
Pat King Bass, Vocals (bckgr), Bass Pedals
John Lingwood Drums, Bass Pedals
Suzanne Lynch Vocals (bckgr)
Manfred Mann Organ, Synthesizer, Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Robbie McIntosh Guitar
David Millman Viola
Anthony Moore Synthesizer, Guitar
Jimme O'Neill Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm)
Colin Pattenden Bass
Trevor Rabin Guitar
Mick Rogers Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Chris Slade Percussion, Drums, Vocals (bckgr)
Mark Smith Vocals (bckgr)
Martha Smith Vocals (bckgr)
Barbara Thompson Saxophone
Chris Thompson Guitar, Vocals
Steve Waller Guitar, Vocals
Christopher Warren-Green Violin
Nigel Warren-Green Cello
Geoff Whitehorn Guitar
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