Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Label: Philips Records
Released: 1972
Length: 50:38
Rating: 3.5/5
Legendary South African keyboardist Manfred Mann (born in Johannesburg as Manfred Sepse Lubowitz) started a new chapter of his career in 1971, after the collapse of his first progressive rock project, Manfred Mann Chapter Three. That band put out two albums and marked a huge stylistic swerve away from the sixties pop rock that made his first group, Manfred Mann, famous (who could forget sixties evergreens like Do Wah Diddy Diddy and The Mighty Quinn). The new name was meant to signal a ‘return to earth’, back to more rocking roots, and a farewell to the jazz rock of Manfred Mann Chapter Three.
Mr. Mann, one of the best rock keyboardists of all time, who back in the early seventies swore mainly by the Hammond organ and the Mini Moog synthesizer as his keyboards of choice, polished his unique mix of prog rock, jazz fusion, blues rock and hard rock, wildly innovative for its time, to near perfection over the years and created plenty of unforgettable rock evergreens. Traces of that prog-rock perfectionism were already audible on the solid debut, which he simply named after his new band, whose original lineup featured, besides him, guitarist/vocalist Mick Rogers, drummer Chris Slade and bassist Colin Pattenden.
Besides their innovative original material, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band were best known for their excellent covers of other artists’ songs, mainly Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, which goes especially for their biggest hits. So it’s no surprise that »Manfred Mann’s Earth Band«, an album from the band’s early phase that’s soaked in rhythm and blues and funk influences, features five originals and five covers of various other artists.
Opener »California Coastline« is a hard rocker with a funky rhythmic seasoning, where Rogers shines above all with his exceptional vocal and guitar talent. »Captain Bobby Scott«, at almost seven minutes the longest piece on the album, has elements of blues rock and gospel, the latter courtesy mainly of the fired-up female backing vocal harmonies. The playful rhythmic mood gets spiced up by Manfred’s witty Mini Moog solo, which couldn’t be more typical of this musician. »Sloth« is a short instrumental variation on Mini Moog and piano.
»Living Without You«, a cover of popular American musician Randy Newman, rests on a hypnotic acoustic-guitar melody and peaks in a pop-rock chorus, while the prog-rock flavor comes from a mischievous mid-song interplay of guitar phrases and keyboard textures. On the melodramatic »Tribute« things get a bit more complicated for the first time, as it’s built on lots of classical-tinged variations from Mann’s keyboards and delicate guitar passages. »Please Mrs Henry« is an R&B cover of American musician Dr. John Henry, with a simple dance beat, bluesy ‘programmed’ guitar phrases and cheeky male-female vocalizations.
»Jump Sturdy« is yet another funk experiment, with a minimalist rhythmic structure and the standard mixed-gender recipe when it comes to colorful vocal harmonies. A jazz-fusion ending with guitar and piano improvisation gives it an interesting experimental fresh-air finish. The hard-rocking »Prayer« was nice proof that Manfred’s crew knew how to hit really hard when they felt like it, with Pattenden’s noisy bass lines, Rogers’ beefy guitar phrases and Slade’s mighty drum crashes. Meanwhile, maestro Mann provides some thoroughly witty keyboard variations. The final two pieces are pretty average by the band’s usual artistic pedigree and don’t leave much of a lasting impression, but they still make for a decent close to the album. »Part Time Man« is a barroom-flavored number laid over a piano melody and ‘sleepy’ vocal harmonies. A flute variation and acoustic guitar inside the main melody add a pinch of folk too. The closing pop-rock, piano-driven ballad »I’m Up and I’m Leaving« likewise clings to folk-rock influences and features a deliberately boozy-sounding vocal performance.
Even though it didn’t reflect the far more sophisticated and complex sound the band would develop later, the solid debut Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, through its most interesting pieces, already foreshadowed the long and successful road ahead for this cult outfit, which ‘grew’ from album to album right up to the end of the seventies.
Line-up
Manfred Mann – organ, synthesizer, backing vocals
Mick Rogers – guitar, vocals
Colin Pattenden – bass guitar
Chris Slade – drums
Production
Manfred Mann, Dave Hadfield and David MacKay
Track list
1. California Coastline
2. Captain Bobby Stout
3. Sloth
4. Living Without You
5. Tribute
6. Please Mrs Henry
7. Jump Sturdy
8. Prayer
9. Part Time Man
10. I’m Up And I’m Leaving
