Manfred Mann’s Earth Band - Then & Now

The perfect companion to the Bootleg Archives

Three elements have remained constant during Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s 39 years gigging on this planet: their leader’s moustache-less beard, guitarist Mick Rogers and perennial encore of Dylan’s Mighty Quinn, which gave the original Manfreds a hit in 1967. It was the keyboardist’s only concession to his “past life as a pop star”, as he describes it during a 1972 concert filmed for Australian TV, which was accompanied by the laconic interview providing an extra on this consummate presentation of the Earth Band’s career, the present represented by a 2005 Rockpalast show.

Mann had been forced to leave his jazz roots behind when pop stardom beckoned, but returned to them in 1969 with the groundbreaking Manfred Mann Chapter Three. (Another extra is the only known footage of this shamefully-aborted group, captured at full blast on Australian TV in 1970.) Mann formed the Earth Band in 1971, initially joining the nation-wide sea change from jazz-rock into prog, going on to release a string of albums until the present day. Despite the band’s muso sheen, they scored 70s hits including their take on Springsteen’s Blinded By The Light and Davy’s On The Road Again, both present and correct in the 2005 set, along with Sting covers and their eternal encore bursting into Smoke On The Water.

3 stars 3 stars 3 stars

Cohesion | MANN DVD 5

Reviewed by Kris Needs
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