Manfred Mann - "Soul of Mann (Instrumentals)" Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Reissue (Umbrella)

This past year I have been going through an ongoing appreciation for the band Manfred Mann.  Both Paul Jones and Mike D'Abo years.  During the Paul Jones era and in between the two lead singers, the band recorded a series of instrumentals as b-sides and album cuts.  What I find fascinating about the group is that they are jazz players playing pop as well as blues or rhythm n' blues, but I get their very essence is jazz.   Manfred Mann recorded pop music, but it is the tension between the commercial music and their jazz leanings, which gives them an intensity.

"Soul of Mann" is a fantastic compilation of their instrumentals, which are mostly based on pop songs.  Done with excellent jazz arrangements, as well as some originals and their take on jazz artists/composers as Milt Jackson and Nat Adderley.   The album is very "Mod" orientated, and the cool here is essential.   The album fits very much into Milt Jackson world as well as the Mod planet of The Who, The Small Faces, and Graham Bond Organization.  

Manfred Mann - "The Very Best of Manfred Mann 1963-1966" Vinyl, LP, Compilation, 1984 (Music For Pleasure/EMI)

As of now, one of the most underrated bands of the British Invasion is Manfred Mann.  They had hits in the United States (Do-Wah-Diddy-Diddy) but made a more significant presence in the U.K. and Europe during the years 1963 to 1966.  The original line-up of Manfred Mann was great, due to certain aspects of the band.  For one, the musicianship is top-notch, and besides being blues-based, they also had a strong jazz orientation to Manfred Mann's (the individual) skills with the keyboard, specifically the organ. Mike Hugg, their drummer, is very jazz orientated in his playing, and there is a lightness in this touch on the percussion instruments that make their sound unique at the time.  The other source of their greatness is their frontman and vocalist Paul Jones.  He's exceptional.  Jones could sing the blues (in a British manner) but also a superb pop ballad vocalist as well as a good songwriter.  The fact for a brief second he was the lead singer of The Rolling Stones, is no joke.  Still, the strength of all musicians is that they are schooled in the roots of modern blues and jazz, but was a pop band as well. 

If one takes the long approach, there are three chapters in the Manfred Mann's (the band) narrative.  The Paul Jones era then came a different singer and writer Mike D'Abo (who sort of looked like Paul Jones, but more pop orientated), and then Manfred Mann Chapter 3, which turned into Manfred Mann's Earth Band.  All bands including Mike Hugg, their drummer, and a songwriter as well. 

This album focuses on the Paul Jones era, and there are many delights on this greatest hits collection.  Of course, the fantastic "Do-Wah-Diddy-Diddy" which is so thrilling and happy sounding, that its simplicity is almost zen-like happiness wrapped in a song. "Pretty Flamingo" is the other classic pop single by the Manns, and that I believe features the talents of Jack Bruce on bass.  The other element that is part of the puzzle of this band is Mann's instrumentals, which their very first single "Why Should We Not" is very noir sounding, and there is that Manfred Mann's world perhaps in Soho London.  I can easily imagine Francis Bacon hearing this song on some jukebox in a Soho bar sometime in the early 1960s.   

Manfred Mann did a lot of covers, but one thing that they had a strong focus on is Bob Dylan. I think Manfred Mann shared the same song publisher, so he was able to hear Dylan demos or music sheets before anyone else, and therefore I think they were one of the great interpreters of Dylan's music at the time.  Paul Jones to me was the perfect singer for Dylan's early material.   And if not mistaken, Dylan was a fan of the band.  Nevertheless, this is a super enjoyable collection. 

Manfred Mann - "This Is... Manfred Mann" Vinyl, LP, Compilation, 1970 (Philips)

The Paul Jones era of Manfred Mann is what I know best of this band.  When Mike D'Abo took over as the lead vocalist, I either lost my attention to them, or more to the fact, that they became very European orientated with respect to marketing and didn't follow them just due to that fact. Although they had a massive hit here in the States with Bob Dylan's "Mighty Quinn" it was a one-shot deal for me and my ears.  Alas, there are hidden treasures in the later Mandred Mann world.  

At heart, and what makes Manfred Mann the band interesting is that they are basically blues players with a healthy appreciation for jazz. Mann was always a jazz keyboard player who happened dip his toes into the world of pop.   Paul Jones (to this day) had an organic appreciation of the blues and was once considered to be the lead singer for the Rolling Stones, due to his friendship with Brian Jones.  When D'Abo took over vocal duties, this led the band to a more pop format.   And here on this compilation album is the highlights of the D'Abo years with Manfred Mann.  I, for one, is a huge fan of the song "Ha Ha! Said the Clown."   The Yardbirds (with Jimmy Page) also recorded this song around the same time that Manfred and crew recorded it.  There is not a huge mega difference between the two recordings, except Manfred does have a jazz feel for his material, even if it's a straight ahead pop song. 

Side two is the real deal for me.  For the sole reason, there are three Manfred Mann instrumentals.  I suspect that these were recorded between lead singers, and they had to release something in the meantime.   They do "Sweet Pea" (by Tommy Roe), "Wild Thing" (the Troggs legendary song), and the French classic "Autumn Leaves."  Here we get the hardcore Soho London jazz version of the band, which I suspect is the real Manfred at work and play.  I wrote about their EP that they released in 1968, that was all instrumental.  "Wild Thing" was part of that package, but the other two were not on the EP.   Their version of "Sweet Pea" is essential Manfred listening experience.  Mann is an excellent organist, and the band is having a great time exploring this song up, and then putting it back in its proper pop mode.    The British Invasion Manfred Mann was a great band.  They also had inside track into Bob Dylan songs, and I think that when they handle a Bob piece, it's the best version of that song.    Not the easiest album to find, but worth while, if only for their jazz instrumentals.  And yes, of course, "Ha Ha!, Said The Clown."