Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Collection (1967 - 2014) [Vinyl Rip 16/44 & mp3-320] Re-up

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.

by Richie Unterberger, allmusic

Tracklist VNL01 - MANFRED MANN - Soul Of Mann:
JP LP 1967 Odeon Records, OP-8174

01. A1. Satisfaction [02:49]
02. A2. The Abominable Snowmann [02:47]
03. A3. I Got You Babe [02:32]
04. A4. Bare Hugg [03:54]
05. A5. Spirit Feel [02:43]
06. A6. Why Should We Not [03:02]
07. A7. L.S.D. [03:51]
08. B1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen [01:56]
09. B2. My Generation [02:30]
10. B3. Mr. Anello [02:16]
11. B4. Still I'm Sad [02:44]
12. B5. Tengo Tango [03:38]
13. B6. Brother Jack [02:30]
14. B7. Sack O'Woe [02:14]



Tracklist VNL02 - MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND - Solar Fire (1973):
JP LP 1974 Nippon Columbia Co., YP-7053-BZ

01. A1. Father Of Day, Father Of Night [09:55]
02. A2. In The Beginning, Darkness [05:24]
03. A3. Pluto The Dog [02:51]
04. B1. Solar Fire [05:19]
05. B2. Saturn, Lord Of The Ring / Mercury, The Winged Messenger [06:34]
06. B3. Earth: The Circle Part Two [03:24]
07. B4. Earth: The Circle Part One [03:55]



Tracklist VNL03 - MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND - Nightingales & Bombers:
JP LP 1975 Warner-Pioneer Corporation, P-10046

01. A1. Spirits in the Night [06:28]
02. A2. Countdown [03:06]
03. A3. Time Is Right [06:32]
04. A4. Crossfade [03:39]
05. B1. Visionary Mountains [05:43]
06. B2. Nightingales and Bombers [04:53]
07. B3. Fat Nelly [03:20]
08. B4. As Above, So Below [04:22]



Tracklist VNL04 - MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND - The Roaring Silence:
JP LP 1976 Warner-Pioneer Corporation, P-10240B

01. A1. Blinded By The Light [07:09]
02. A2. Singing The Dolphin Through [08:22]
03. A3. Waiter, There's A Yawn In My Ear [05:40]
04. B1. The Road To Babylon [06:54]
05. B2. This Side Of Paradise [04:46]
06. B3. Starbird [03:10]
07. B4. Questions [04:01]



Tracklist VNL05 - MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND - Watch:
UK LP 1978 Bronze Records Ltd., BRON 507

ing On Dry Land / Fish Soup [06:00]
03. A3. Chicago Institute [05:49]
04. A4. California [05:32]
05. B1. Davy's On The Road Again [05:56]
06. B2. Martha's Madman [04:53]
07. B3. Mighty Quinn [06:18]



Tracklist VNL06 - MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND - Angel Station:
JP LP 1979 TOSHIBA-EMI, WBS-81210

01. A1. Don't Kill It Carol [06:19]
02. A2. You Angel You [04:03]
03. A3. Hollywood Town [05:11]
04. A4. 'Belle' Of The Earth [02:46]
05. A5. Platform End [01:31]
06. B1. Angels At My Gate [04:50]
07. B2. You Are - I Am [05:13]
08. B3. Waiting For The Rain [06:20]
09. B4. Resurrection [02:50]



Tracklist VNL07 - MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND - Chance:
JP LP 1980 Victor Musical Industries, VIP-6782

01. A1. Lies (Through The 80's) [04:38]
02. A2. On The Run [03:53]
03. A3. For You [05:43]
04. A4. Adolescent Dream [02:45]
05. A5. Fritz The Blank [02:55]
06. B1. Stranded [05:52]
07. B2. Hello, I Am Your Heart [05:20]
08. B3. No Guarantee [03:52]
09. B4. Heart On The Street [04:58]



Tracklist VNL08 - MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND - Criminal Tango (with Chris Thompson):
JP LP 1986 Toshiba EMI Ltd., 25VB-1091

01. A1. Going Underground [05:21]
02. A2. Who Are The Mystery Kids? [03:44]
03. A3. Banquet [05:18]
04. A4. Killer On The Loose [04:00]
05. B1. Do Anything You Wanna Do [04:15]
06. B2. Rescue [03:01]
07. B3. You Got Me Right Through The Heart [03:53]
08. B4. Bulldog [04:25]
09. B5. Crossfire [03:51]



Tracklist VNL09 - MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND - Masque:
DE LP 1987 10 Records Ltd., 208 632-630

01. A1. Joybringer (from Jupiter) [02:28]
02. A2. Billies Orno Bounce (including Billies Bounce) [03:14]
03. A3. What You Give Is What You Get (Start) [02:37]
04. A4. Rivers Run Dry [03:05]
05. A5. Planets Schmanets [02:40]
06. A6. Geronimos Cadillac [04:47]
07. B1. Sister Billy's Bounce (including Sister Sadie & Billies Bounce) [02:18]
08. B2. Telegram To Monica [05:39]
09. B3. A Couple O Mates (from Mars & Jupiter) [03:21]
10. B4. Neptune (Icebringer) [01:08]
11. B5. The Hymn (from Jupiter) [03:58]
12. B6. We're Going Wrong [04:01]



Tracklist VNL10 - MANFRED MANN - Lone Arranger:
UK 2 x LP 2014 Creature Music Ltd., MANNLP 22

01. A1. One Hand In The Air [02:54]
02. A2. Rock You [02:58]
03. A3. Footprints (En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor) [03:52]
04. B1. All Right Now [03:57]
05. B2. I Came For You [03:15]
06. B3. Light My Fire [04:45]
07. B4. Nothing Compares To You [04:27]
08. C1. I Heard It Through The Grapevine [03:44]
09. C2. Insects [02:10]
10. C3. UKOR [01:46]
11. C4. The Crystal Ship [02:01]
12. D1. One Way Stand-up [03:37]
13. D2. Bang A Gong [03:35]
14. D3. Aranjuez First Movement (En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor) [03:41]



All thanks go to bazar, alvaedis & Alex Blackseam