Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Label: Virgin Records
Release: 1986
Runtime: 56:01
Rating: 3.5/5
»Criminal Tango« was the twelfth studio album from British art-rock institution Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, and their second record to feature both outgoing singer and occasional guitarist Chris Thompson and former guitarist/vocalist Mick Rogers, who had decided to return to his favorite musical collective. Thompson and Rogers had previously appeared together on »Chance« (1980) and on the masterpiece »The Roaring Silence« (1976), though on that latter gem Mick only took part as a guest backing vocalist.
Thompson, who was also a superb guitarist when needed, even though the band’s chief, cult South African keyboardist Manfred Mann, preferred to put him in a vocal role, and on their biggest hits at that, had been the lead singer of this legendary group since 1976, apart from a brief spell in the late seventies when he left to focus on his solo career and his then project Night. The extraordinary emotional, expressive and technical power of Chris’s voice was the guarantee of success for some of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s most beloved evergreens. Just how highly Mr. Mann valued Thompson’s contribution is clear from the fact that »Criminal Tango« came out under the name ‘Manfred Mann’s Earth Band feat. Chris Thompson’. Even so, Chris left his bandmates (again) after »Criminal Tango« came out, so Rogers, who contributed guitar and backing vocals on this album, became lead singer again for a while after 1986.
After the previous album »Somewhere in Afrika« (1983) and their last big hit »Runner«, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s popularity started to drop fast, as trends in the music industry had thoroughly shifted once more. Still, on »Criminal Tango«, which boasts an exceptionally polished, clean production, Mann’s crew didn’t change the winning recipe that had earned them plenty of acclaim in the past. Like most of their eighties albums, »Criminal Tango« leaned closer to melodic rock/AOR than to progressive rock. Once again they couldn’t resist the long-standing tradition of covering other artists’ songs. This time they put their own spin on a classic by Paul Weller and his band The Jam, »Going Underground«, on »Banquet«, which originally belongs to Joni Mitchell, and on the Beatles standard »Hey Bulldog«, which they released under the title »Bulldog«.
The aforementioned cover of Weller’s hit, which opens the album, turns out great and fits right in with most of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s past openers, with their strong melodic-rock stamp and a hypnotic chorus draped in pompous arrangements at the center. Had interest in this legendary band not started to fade at the time, this cover could easily have become a popular radio hit too, as it has all the ingredients needed for such a feat. »Who Are The Mystery Kids?«, where Rogers cuts loose with some mighty guitar passages, also radiates the strong AOR leanings of most of the »Criminal Tango« compositions, while Thompson’s phenomenal singing is a chapter all on its own throughout. Mr. Mann, who by then was swearing by eighties synth technology above all, lays down his keyboard textures with exquisite feel in just the right places, giving the triumphant chorus even more punch than it would have had otherwise.
The cover »Banquet« has a somewhat darker, ambient stamp, while the lyrics refer to Africa, Mann’s homeland, to which he also devoted his fight against apartheid in South Africa in the eighties. This too is a tastefully arranged piece with excellent harmonies between the synths and the electric guitar, while Chris’s vocals do the lion’s share of building the melodramatic atmosphere. »Killer On The Loose« is another pop/AOR gem with a ‘cool guy’ ambient pulse, dominated by synth textures and superbly harmonized vocal lines, while Rogers, with a handful of short guitar improvisations, proves he was still a master of his instrument.
»Do Anything You Wanna Do« is a pompous AOR appetizer with an epic chorus and ideal backing vocals, set on a lively synth arrangement. Under ideal circumstances it would surely have become a radio hit, but the ‘stars’ were no longer smiling on the band by then. On »Rescue«, another melodic-rock standard, Rogers returns as lead singer after a long time and does the job excellently, casually pulling off a few short guitar variations while enjoying the backdrop of melodic synth textures the whole way through.
»You Got Me Right Through The Heart« is yet another quality AOR track that pours all its energy into a pompous chorus with Thompson at the peak of his vocal game, though there’s no shortage of dynamic harmonies between electric guitar and synth either. It was only a matter of time before Mann’s gang remembered a Beatles cover or two, though probably nobody expected them to pick »Hey Bulldog« from that treasure chest, which originally appeared on the album »Yellow Submarine« (1969). This adaptation turns out very well too, as the art-rock champs turn the Beatles evergreen into a completely their-own song with a totally different approach to arrangement and atmosphere. On the closing, ambiently gorgeous instrumental »Crossfire«, Maestro Mann takes plenty of room to lay down subtle symphonic arrangements, while Rogers treats himself to a lively guitar improvisation.
»Criminal Tango« was a solid AOR album that cemented Manfred Mann’s Earth Band as champions of crafting big, melodic-rock anthems with a virtuoso backbone, even though it earned them no real recognition. On top of that, their artistic development had slowly begun to stall, as they still swore by a successful but somewhat worn-out and not quite dynamic enough stylistic formula, something Thompson quickly figured out, so he preferred to throw himself into a solo career again. Manfred, Mick, drummer John Lingwood and the rest of the crew, even though Chris’s second departure was quite a blow, still found enough energy to make one more album in the eighties, »Masque« (1987), after which a somewhat longer ‘rest’ followed.
Lineup
Manfred Mann – keyboards
Chris Thompson – lead vocals
Mick Rogers – guitar, backing vocals
Steve Kinch – bass guitar
John Lingwood – drums, percussion
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Durban Betancourt-Laverde – bass guitar
John Giblin – bass guitar
Production
Manfred Mann and Steve Forward
Track List
1. Going Underground (5:18)
2. Who Are The Mystery Kids? (3:44)
3. Banquet (5:17)
4. Killer On The Loose (3:59)
5. Do Anything You Wanna Do (4:14)
6. Rescue (2:59)
7. You Got Me Right Through The Heart (3:53)
8. Bulldog (4:23)
9. Crossfire (3:47)
