Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Studio Discography (1972-2004)



Manfred Mann's Earth Band nace en 1971 como secuela del anterior grupo de Mann: Manfred Mann Chapter Three, el cual llegó a editar dos álbumes durante su corta vida, entre 1969 y 1970, combinando el jazz rock con incipientes sonoridades progresivas, que se cristalizarían en la Earth Band más plenamente. Para este proyecto Mann se rodeó de nuevos músicos, quienes dieron forma a un álbum debut homónimo editado a principios de 1972: el guitarrista y vocalista Mick Rogers, el bajista Colin Pattenden y un joven Chris Slade en batería, quien luego sería parte de grupos como AC/DC, Uriah Heep, The Firm o Asia, entre otros.

Hacia fines de 1972 la Earth Band edita un segundo LP, Glorified Magnified, seguido de una serie de álbumes que marcarían la época cásica de la banda, entre 1973 y 1976: Messin', Solar Fire, The Good Earth y Nightingales & Bombers, todos grabados con la misma formación, tras lo cual el cantante y guitarrista Mick Rogers se aleja del grupo.

Para The Roaring Silence de 1976 es convocado el cantante y guitarrista Chris Hamlet Thompson, más un guitarrista líder, Dave Flett, pasando Manfred Mann's Earth Band a ser un quinteto, no obstante Mick Rogers participa en coros. De aquí en más las formaciones de la Earth Band comienzan a tornarse más inestables: para el siguiente álbum Watch (1978), el bajista Colin Pattenden es reemplazado por Pat King, mientras que en Angel Station, de 1979, Geoff Britton reemplaza a Chris Slade, al tiempo que aparece el guitarrista y cantante Steve Waller haciéndose cargo de las voces junto a Chris Hamlet Thompson.

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Progressive Rock / Art Rock / Contemporary Pop-Rock

- Manfred Mann's Earth Band and Manfred Mann's Plain Music. 16 Non-Remastered Albums -

Manfred Mann's Earth Band: Studio Discography (1972-2004):

CD01: Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Glorified Magnified (1972)
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West Germany | BMG Ariola/Bronze, 258 732 | ~ 225 or 226 or 102 Mb | Scans(jpg) Included
Progressive Rock / Art Rock / Contemporary Pop-Rock
The second album by Manfred Mann's Earth Band to be released in 1972, Glorified
Magnified is as solid a heavy rock album as you're likely to find from
that era, and it still holds up three decades later, mostly because
these guys are smarter than the music they're playing and don't mind
indulging their taste as well as their dexterity. They can romp and
stomp through "Meat" or "I'm Gonna Have You All," complete with a
slashing guitar solo by Mick Rogers on the latter, or throw in a
synthesizer interlude by Mann on "One Way Glass" that's so quietly and
carefully executed as to be worthy of a classical piece -- and not skip a
beat doing it. Between Rogers' bold yet tasteful leads, Mann's
beautifully assertive yet virtuoso synthesizer and general keyboard
work, and Colin Pattenden's muscular bass playing, this is a
consistently inspired group, even when their material isn't as
interesting as what they do with it, which is the case here. On "Look
Around," for example, Rogers' playing on the break starts off as brief,
fragmentary digressions off from a not too terribly diverting central
riff that turn into longer progressions that eventually take the entire
band with him -- and just when you think you've got this band pegged in
terms of what it's about, along comes "Ashes to the Wind," opening side
two of the original LP, which includes room for an acoustic guitar amid
the high-wattage excursions, all leading into a surprisingly effective
synthesizer workout by Mann on "Wind," before moving onto the acoustic
guitar-driven "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue." The latter, which adds
instrumentation until it's so totally removed from its opening section
as to be a different song, is one of the best Dylan covers of its era,
and is almost worth the price of admission by itself. And then there's
the title instrumental, a mix of rock and synthesizer sounds -- with a
choir in there somewhere -- that sounds like mid-'70s King Crimson in
rehearsal.

by Bruce Eder
Tracklist:

1. Meat 4:04
2. Look Around 5:11
3. One Way Glass 4:14
4. I'm Gonna Have You All 5:22
5. Down Home 3:19
6. Our Friend George 3:04
7. Ashes To The Wind 2:14
8. Wind 2:01
9. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue 4:27
10. Glorified Magnified 4:36

Credits:

Manfred Mann - Organ, synthesiser, vocals
Mick Rogers - Guitar, vocals
Colin Pattenden - Bass
Chris Slade - Drums

Produced by Manfred Mann and D. Hadfield

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CD02: Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Manfred Mann's Earth Band (1972)
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1990 | Japan, Century, CECC-00119 | ~ 257 or 258 or 115 Mb | Scans(jpg) Included
Progressive Rock / Art Rock / Contemporary Pop-Rock
Most folks know Manfred Mann from his '60s hits, but too few have ever heard the
brilliant Manfred Mann's Earth Band album. Exploring arty and
progressive directions, the Earth Band was a wholly different group from
Mann's earlier lineup. Unlike the heavier art rock groups that would
follow (Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Yes), the Earth Band never became
burdened by its own seriousness.

Manfred Mann's Earth Band combines hypnotic instrumentals ("Tribute"),
exhilarating original songs ("Captain Bobby Stout"), and three
definitive covers all laden with hooks worthy of "Do Wah Diddy Diddy."
Mann mines Dylan's basement tapes again for "Please Mrs. Henry" (see
"Quinn the Eskimo" and "Get Your Rocks Off" on other releases). An
obscure Dr. John song, "Jump Sturdy" nearly jumps off the record. The
synthesizer solo "Sloth" segues into the album's centerpiece, "Living
Without You." With its thumping bassline and "So hard" chorus, this
might be the best version of a Randy Newman song ever recorded. Closing
the album, the Mann himself takes vocal turns on "Part Time Man" and "Up
& Leaving," quiet acoustic tales that contrast with the complex
instrumentals of the rest of the record. On whole, Manfred Mann's Earth
Band is a completely satisfying album and one of the most underrated of
the '70s.

by J.P. Ollio
Tracklist:

1. California Coastline 2:49
2. Captin Bobby Stout 6:59
3. Sloth 1:26
4. Living Without you 3:38
5. Tribute 5:37
6. Please Mrs Henry 4:36
7. Jump Steady 4:54
8. Prayer 5:43
9. Part Time Man 3:06
10. Up and Leaving 3:06

Credits:

Mick Rogers - guitar, vocals
Manfred Mann - organ, Synthesizer, vocals
Colin Pattenden - bass
Chris Slade - drums

Produced by Manfred Mann and Dave Hadfield

=====================

CD03: Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Messin' (1973)
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1990 | Japan, Century, CECC-00120 | ~ 258 or 259 or 116 Mb | Scans(jpg) Included
Progressive Rock / Art Rock / Contemporary Pop-Rock
Opening with Mike Hugg's title track, which builds on Mick Rogers' intense riffing
and the killer vocals of Vicki Brown, Judith Powell, Liza Strike, and
Ruby James, Messin' is pretty intense and involving from its very first
bars. It's also damned topical and serious, for all of the free-wheeling
rock & roll spirits and the progressive rock complexities that go
into the playing. And the result is a spellbinding whole, featuring some
astonishing keyboard flourishes by Manfred Mann himself (who ventures
into Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson territory on "Buddah," even as the
rest of the band seems to be emulating Deep Purple) and killer guitar
from Mick Rogers, while Colin Pattenden and Chris Slade lay down the
rhythm section like a pair of articulate pile-drivers. They pretty much
stomp their way through their rendition of Bob Dylan's "Get Your Rocks
Off" and do a gorgeous high-wattage blues rendition of "Black and Blue."
The whole record comes out somewhere in the middle of art rock and
heavy metal, along with (amazingly enough) topical folk, and does no
violence to any of the genres -- and the band even works in a
loose-limbed version of Dr. John's "Mardi Gras Day" as a finale. In a
way, it's surprising from hearing this record that it took this band
another two years, and an embrace of one of Bruce Springsteen's songs,
for Manfred Mann's Earth Band to become truly well known, because all of
the ingredients were in place, and their genre-bending sound was only
the best, most accessible kind. The album was also issued with a
different cover as Get Your Rocks Off, but Messin' has become the
reissue title.

by Bruce Eder
Tracklist:

1. Messin' 9:58
2. Buddah 7:05
3. Cloudy Eyes 5:36
4. Get Your Rocks Off 2:55
5. Sadjoy 5:26
6. Black and Blue 7:24
7. Mardi Gras Day 3:04

Credits:

Manfred Mann - synthesiser, organ
Mick Rogers - guitar, vocals
Colin Pattenden - bass guitar
Chris Slade - drums
with
Laurie Baker - Machines and Zoo on "Messin'"
Liza Strike - backing vocals
Vicki Brown - backing vocals
Judith Powell - backing vocals
Ruby James - backing vocals

Produced by Manfred Mann

=====================

CD04: Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Solar Fire (1973)
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France, Legacy/Petbrook, 96.515 | ~ 259 or 262 or 104 Mb | Scans(jpg) Included
Progressive Rock / Art Rock / Contemporary Pop-Rock
Fans of muscular progressive rock will love Solar Fire, a concept album loosely
designed around cosmology. The album opens with the majestic "Father of
Night, Father of Day," which has the drive and complexity of a prime
King Crimson track. As unlikely as it may seem, the track was
controversial in Mann's native South Africa because of the "Father of
black, father of white" line, implying that apartheid might not extend
to infinite space. The album moves on to the progressive rock/jazz
fusion of "In the Beginning, Darkness," a swinging, even funky track
that benefits from soulful vocals by Doreen Chanter and Irene Chanter of
the Grove Singers. The same duo contributes to the title track, a slow
piece that begins with a fairly standard rock structure and incorporates
a massive progressive jam in the middle. The instrumental suite which
follows is a showcase for the combination of angular, sometimes slightly
dissonant guitar with fluid keyboard work, and the band rocks straight
through with stately grace. Once again, one is reminded of early King
Crimson, which was about the only other group to turn out complex,
shifting instrumentals of this quality. The album closes with the
strange "Earth, the Circle, Pt. 1," which begins almost like a nursery
rhyme, switches to a jazz shuffle, and fades out as an odd combination
of the two. The album was groundbreaking when it was released and is
still a delightful listen. If you like the hard-edged side of Manfred
Mann, this may be your favorite album.

by Richard Foss
Tracklist:

1. Father Of Night 9:55
2. Solar Fire 5:17
3. In The Beginning 5:21
4. Earth The Circle Part 1 3:23
5. Saturn - (Mercury) 6:30
6. Earth The Circle Part 2 3:48
7. Pluto The Dog 2:46

Credits:

Manfred Mann - organ, synthesizers, vocals
Colin Pattenden - bass
Mick Rogers - lead vocals, guitar
Chris Slade - drums

Doreen Chanter - backing vocals
Irene Chanter - backing vocals
The Grove Singers - backing vocals
Peter Miles - percussion (2)
Paul Rutherford - trombone

Produced by Manfred Mann

=====================

CD05: Manfred Mann's Earth Band - The Good Earth (1974)
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West Germany, BMG Ariola/Bronze, 258 734 | ~ 252 or 252 or 109 Mb | Scans(jpg) Included | Scans(png, 600dpi) -> 89 Mb
Progressive Rock / Art Rock / Contemporary Pop-Rock
Another piece of topical hard rock from Manfred Mann's Earth Band and, as before,
listenable even to those without a serious bone in their bodies, by
virtue of the playing. Moving between hard rock and British blues
influences (with a special debt to Cream on the opening cut, "Give Me
the Good Earth") and progressive rock, the quartet cuts a mean swathe
across the sonic landscape, between Mick Rogers' soaring guitar solos
and Manfred Mann's inimitable synthesizer work. Some of the less
ambitious cuts, such as "I'll Be Gone," are relatively dispensable, but
when these guys start reaching, as on "Earth Hymn," that's when their
best musical instincts take hold, and the results are always worth
hearing. There's stuff here that King Crimson or Be Bop Deluxe wouldn't
have been ashamed to have had on any of their albums; indeed, the
instrumental "Sky High" is worth the price of admission by itself as a
showcase for the talents of all four players as both hard rock musicians
and an art rock ensemble. They even manage to work in elements of
folk-rock, and its attendant lyricism, on the album, by way of the
Christopher Logue-based "Be Not Too Hard" (which was also recorded, in a
different adaptation, by Joan Baez about seven years earlier). And
"Earth Hymn, Pt. 2" closes out the album in grand style, once again
pushing the band to the edge of their unique brand of progressive/hard
rock.

by Bruce Eder
Tracklist:

1. Give Me The Good Earth 8:16
2. Launching Place 5:55
3. I'll Be Gone 3:24
4. Earth Hymn 6:22
5. Sky High 5:17
6. Be Not Too Hard 4:14
7. Earth Hymn Part 2 4:17

Credits:

Manfred Mann – keyboards
Mick Rogers – guitars, vocals
Chris Slade – drums
Colin Pattenden – bass guitar

Produced by Manfred Mann and Earth Band

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CD06: Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Nightingales & Bombers (1975)
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West Germany, BMG Ariola/Bronze, 258 730 | ~ 227 or 229 or 104 Mb | Scans(jpg) Included | Scans(png, 600dpi) -> 72 Mb
Progressive Rock / Art Rock / Contemporary Pop-Rock
The album that was Manfred Mann's commercial breakthrough was a departure from the
previous albums made with the Earth Band. Though the personnel are the
same and the musicianship is as mind-blowing as ever, the songs are
shorter and punchier, in some cases more poppy. This is not to say that
the band had sacrificed a bit of ingenuity or complexity, but the long
jams are gone in favor of briefer sound portraits. Nightingales and
Bombers included Manfred Mann's first cover of a Bruce Springsteen song,
the album-opening "Spirits in the Night," a single that charted, and
became one of the only pieces written in 10/4 time ever to do so. It
would prove to be an important move in their recording career, as 1976's
Roaring Silence earned them a big hit with Springsteen's "Blinded by
the Light." Another foreshadowing of that tune can be detected in the
track "Fat Nelly," which includes a synthesizer part almost identical to
the intro of the aforementioned hit. Also featured in Nightingales and
Bombers are such synth-driven rockers as "Crossfade," "Countdown," and
the title track, in which Manfred Mann appear to be trying to capture
the prog rock crown. Nightingales and Bombers featured in almost every
"Best of the Year" list for 1975. Justifiably so -- though attention at
the time was naturally on the hits, the rest of the album features a mix
of good originals and eccentric covers, inspired playing, and tight,
focused arrangements. The album stands up to repeated listening decades
after it was created, and though fans of the more expansive progressive
phase may prefer earlier works, they will generally allow the excellence
of this one. (The name of the album was once regarded as a possible
drug reference, but it is actually taken from a nature recording made
during World War II. An ornithologist who was trying to record birdcalls
captured not only the sound of birds, but also of incoming enemy
aircraft. That recording is used in the track "As Above, So Below," and
gives it an eerie character.)

by Richard Foss
Tracklist:

1. Spirits In The Night 6:27
2. Countdown 3:06
3. Time Is Right 6:33
4. Crossfade 3:40
5. Visionary Mountains 5:43
6. Nightingales And Bombers 4:54
7. Fat Nelly 3:20
8. As Above So Below (Recorded Live) 4:13

Credits:

Manfred Mann – organ, synthesisers
Mick Rogers – guitars, vocals
Chris Slade – drums, percussion
Colin Pattenden – bass

Ruby James – backing vocals
Doreen Chanter – backing vocals
Martha Smith – backing vocals

Produced by Manfred Mann and Earth Band

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CD07: Manfred Mann's Earth Band - The Roaring Silence (1976)
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West Germany, BMG Ariola/Petbrook, 258 729 | ~ 260 or 264 or 116 Mb | Scans(jpg) Included | Scans(png, 600dpi) -> 104 Mb
Progressive Rock / Art Rock / Contemporary Pop-Rock
The reason that The Roaring Silence became Manfred Mann's Earth Band's best-selling
album may have been because of both Bruce Springsteen-penned singles,
but its instrumental makeup, by way of Mann's keyboard manipulation
coupled with Chris Thompson's chiseled singing, had just as much of an
affect. "Blinded By the Light" and "Spirit in the Night" gave the band
hits at both ends of the Top 40 spectrum, with "Blinded" going to number
one while the mysteriously-sounding "Spirit in the Night" edged in at
number 40 six months later. Outside of the singles, The Roaring Silence
is made up of clean-cut, well-established synthesizer and guitar work,
with touches of techno psychedelia that are sometimes lengthy but never
messy. Tracks such as "Questions," "This Side of Paradise," and even
"Starbird" uncover the band's creativity and instrumental wit. Mann is
careful not to stray too far with his keys, and his compliance with
Thompson's vocals are noticeable in almost every track. Aside from the
music, The Roaring Silence basks in veiled poetry, cryptic but at the
same time intriguing, verging on the complexities of progressive rock
but far from its pretentiousness. Eventually achieving gold status, The
Roaring Silence both commercially and artistically became the group's
finest effort.

by Mike DeGagne
Tracklist:

1. Blinded By The Light 7:06
2. Singing The Dolphin Through 8:15
3. Questions 3:58
4. The Road To Babylon 6:52
5. This Side Of Paradise 4:44
6. Starbird 3:07
7. Waiter, There's A Yawn In My Ear 5:37

Credits:

Manfred Mann - keyboards, backing vocals
Colin Pattenden - bass
Dave Flett - lead guitar
Chris Hamlet Thompson - vocals, guitar
Chris Slade - drums, percussion, backing vocals

Doreen Chanter - backing vocals
Irene Chanter - backing vocals
Susanne Lynch - backing vocals
Mick Rogers - backing vocals
Barbara Thompson - saxophone

Produced by Manfred Mann and Earth Band

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CD08: Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Watch (1978)
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UK, Legacy/Petbrook, LLCD 123 | ~ 268 or 270 or 112 Mb | Scans(jpg) Included | Scans(png, 600dpi) -> 93 Mb
Progressive Rock / Art Rock / Contemporary Pop-Rock
With essentially the same crew as the excellent Roaring Silence from two
years earlier, this is cut from the same musical cloth. However, without
the two Bruce Springsteen songs from the earlier album, the material is
not as strong. With keyboardist Manfred Mann's jazz leanings melded to a
rock band, this sounds much like Colosseum without horns.

by Mark Allan
Tracklist:

1. Circles 4:48
2. Martha's Madman 4:51
3. Drowning On Dry Land / Fish Soup 5:54
4. Chicago Institute 5:46
5. California 5:27
6. Davy's On The Road Again 5:53
7. Mighty Quinn 6:19

Credits:

Manfred Mann - keyboards, backing vocals
Chris Slade - drums, percussion
Pat King - bass guitar, backing vocals
Dave Flett - lead guitar, acoustic guitar
Chris Hamlet Thompson - vocals, guitar

Doreen Chanter - backing vocals
Irene Chanter - backing vocals
Stevie Lange - backing vocals
Victy Silva - backing vocals
Kim Goddy - backing vocals

Produced by Manfred Mann and Earth Band

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