From wikipedia:
Manfred Mann Chapter Three was a British experimental jazz rock band founded by South African keyboard player Manfred Mann and long-time partner Mike Hugg, both former members of the group Manfred Mann. The line-up for its debut at Newcastle's Mayfair Ballroom on 24 October 1969 was: Mike Hugg (vocals/electric piano), Mann (organ), Bernie Living (alto sax), Steve York (bass) and Craig Collinge (drums), augmented by a five-piece brass section of Clive Stevens (tenor sax), Carl Griffiths (tenor sax), Dave Coxhill (baritone sax), Gerald Drewett (trombone) and Sonny Corbett (trumpet). The band released two studio albums, and shelved a third. Mann went on to form Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 1971.
I can't remember exactly when I first heard Manfred Mann Chapter Three, but I do remember my surprise at how different they were to the previous incarnation of the band. I did like some Manfred Mann, preferring the Mike d'Abo years over the Paul Jones era. I recommend "Mighty Garvey!", released in 1968 it's a fine psychedelic pop album. MMC3 was a huge leap forward, ditching their pop roots for a more progressive/jazz rock direction. Unfortunately the public didn't embrace this change in style, sales for their only 2 albums were rather poor, culminating in their break-up less than 2 years after forming. After their demise Mann formed the much more successful Manfred Mann's Earth Band, a band I never really took to.
For this collection, unsurprisingly tracks from those 2 albums dominate, but I have also included some tracks which were recorded for the shelved 3rd album. Some of these tracks first saw the light of day on the "Odds & Sods – Mis-takes & Out-takes" box set released in 2005. Mostly consisting of Manfred Mann's Earth Band songs, the first 5 tracks featured MMC3, 3 of which came from those 3rd album sessions. "Radio Days Vol. 3 - Live Sessions & Studio Rarities", released in 2019, featured more tracks from the shelved album. The track "Happy Being Me" from the 2nd album is almost 16 minutes in length, it's a decent tune but in my opinion way too long, so have shortened it somewhat. There was a single version released, but the editing was quite poor, otherwise I would have included that instead.
The blog Albums I Wish Existed has recreated the 3rd album, giving it the title "Fish & Chips". You can find it here, but only in mp3. For my anthology I decided to do a spoof on that title, naming it "Chips But No Fish" as it doesn't include the track "Fish". While the track in question has some interesting parts, as a whole I found it somewhat lacking, so it was an easy decision to exclude.
Manfred Mann Chapter Three was a British experimental jazz rock band founded by South African keyboard player Manfred Mann and long-time partner Mike Hugg, both former members of the group Manfred Mann. The line-up for its debut at Newcastle's Mayfair Ballroom on 24 October 1969 was: Mike Hugg (vocals/electric piano), Mann (organ), Bernie Living (alto sax), Steve York (bass) and Craig Collinge (drums), augmented by a five-piece brass section of Clive Stevens (tenor sax), Carl Griffiths (tenor sax), Dave Coxhill (baritone sax), Gerald Drewett (trombone) and Sonny Corbett (trumpet). The band released two studio albums, and shelved a third. Mann went on to form Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 1971.
I can't remember exactly when I first heard Manfred Mann Chapter Three, but I do remember my surprise at how different they were to the previous incarnation of the band. I did like some Manfred Mann, preferring the Mike d'Abo years over the Paul Jones era. I recommend "Mighty Garvey!", released in 1968 it's a fine psychedelic pop album. MMC3 was a huge leap forward, ditching their pop roots for a more progressive/jazz rock direction. Unfortunately the public didn't embrace this change in style, sales for their only 2 albums were rather poor, culminating in their break-up less than 2 years after forming. After their demise Mann formed the much more successful Manfred Mann's Earth Band, a band I never really took to.
For this collection, unsurprisingly tracks from those 2 albums dominate, but I have also included some tracks which were recorded for the shelved 3rd album. Some of these tracks first saw the light of day on the "Odds & Sods – Mis-takes & Out-takes" box set released in 2005. Mostly consisting of Manfred Mann's Earth Band songs, the first 5 tracks featured MMC3, 3 of which came from those 3rd album sessions. "Radio Days Vol. 3 - Live Sessions & Studio Rarities", released in 2019, featured more tracks from the shelved album. The track "Happy Being Me" from the 2nd album is almost 16 minutes in length, it's a decent tune but in my opinion way too long, so have shortened it somewhat. There was a single version released, but the editing was quite poor, otherwise I would have included that instead.
The blog Albums I Wish Existed has recreated the 3rd album, giving it the title "Fish & Chips". You can find it here, but only in mp3. For my anthology I decided to do a spoof on that title, naming it "Chips But No Fish" as it doesn't include the track "Fish". While the track in question has some interesting parts, as a whole I found it somewhat lacking, so it was an easy decision to exclude.
Finally, a huge thanks to Manerg for his great help with this collection, including the cover art. Again, I hope you're all keeping safe out there, and you can enjoy this rather interesting (ahem) chapter in Manfred Mann's career!
1. Snakeskin Garter (5:48)
2. Poor Sad Sue (5:55)
3. Train Crash (2:23)
4. Sometimes (2:38)
5. Time (7:22)
6. Happy Being Me (edit) (3:53)
7. So Sorry Please (8:15)
8. Lady Ace (7:57)
9. Turn You Away from My Door (3:26)
10. Ain't It Sad (1:57)
11. It's Good to Be Alive (3:29)
12. A Study in Inaccuracy (4:06)
13. Messin' Up the Land (8:42)
14. I Ain't Laughing (2:34)
15. One Way Glass (3:31)
16. Chips (2:09)
17. Travelling Lady (5:49)
2. Poor Sad Sue (5:55)
3. Train Crash (2:23)
4. Sometimes (2:38)
5. Time (7:22)
6. Happy Being Me (edit) (3:53)
7. So Sorry Please (8:15)
8. Lady Ace (7:57)
9. Turn You Away from My Door (3:26)
10. Ain't It Sad (1:57)
11. It's Good to Be Alive (3:29)
12. A Study in Inaccuracy (4:06)
13. Messin' Up the Land (8:42)
14. I Ain't Laughing (2:34)
15. One Way Glass (3:31)
16. Chips (2:09)
17. Travelling Lady (5:49)
1 comment:
Great stuff! Many thanks SB.
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