Manfred Mann Greatest Hits

I see there's now a 2-CD set that includes Manfred Mann's Earth Band and later tracks. Just for the record, this disc covers the career of only the group known as Manfred Mann from 1964 to 1968. Manfred Mann was a major act in the second wave of the British Invasion in the fall of 1964 and like the Animals reached #1. Other new British acts of this wave included the Kinks, Honeycombs, Nashville Teens, Zombies, Sandie Shaw, Marianne Faithfull and toward the very end of the year Petula Clark and Herman's Hermits. A few others like the Hullaballoos and the Pretty Things got some press but had no hits. Though they came on like gangbusters with Do Wah Diddy Diddy and Sha La La, in the U.S. Manfred Mann virtually disappeared until The Mighty Quinn in early 1968 with 1966's Pretty Flamingo charting only at #29 in 1966.In Britain it was another story where Manfred Mann was a powerhouse band who seemed to always have some hit on the charts. Fifteen of the songs on this collection made the Top 20, thirteen of those made the Top 10 and three made #1. In fact it was because they were tired of their status as a kind of hits factory and the constant promotion of their latest single that caused their breakup in late 1968 while Ragamuffin Man was still in the Top 10. Manfred Mann himself had been a jazz musician in South Africa where he had grown up (and in fact Manfred Lubowitz took his stage name from Shelly Manne the American jazz drummer, eventually dropping that final "e"). He and Mike Hugg (drummer) formed a jazz/blues group, the Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers that eventually became the five man band, Manfred Mann.Mann and Hugg stayed through to the end but otherwise the group went through the usual changes in membership that most bands do. Notably they had two lead singers which can be really difficult for a band but which they just sailed through as if nothing had happened. The first was Paul Jones, who had turned down former bandmate Elmo Lewis (Brian Jones) and Keith Richards to join their new band, the Rolling Stones to be in Manfred Mann. He left Mann to go solo in early '66, a move that never really worked out for him. His replacement was Mike d'Abo from mid 1966 on. Though Jones's voice was deeper their singing style was similar enough that most people didn't notice the change. There were four bass players over the years including long-term member Tom McGuiness who switched to lead when Jack Bruce joined for about a year before Cream and then Klaus Voorman.Though their interest was in jazz and blues they basically became a pop band. The girl group origins of Do Wah Diddy Diddy and Sha La La were pretty obvious but they made solid rockers out of both. The Exciters hadn't done well with the first song earlier in '64 anyway (#78). The Shirelles complained that Sha La La was stolen from them but as much as I am a fan of theirs, their time was over with, last year's thing, and they'd never have a hit again. Pretty Flamingo was their next #1 and they began to do Dylan songs as well (Oh No Not My Baby and Just Like a Woman, both U.K. hits).Their sound changes in late '66 (Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. James) becoming more of a pop sound that on most songs through Ragamuffin Man which (except Mighty Quinn) sound somewhat like early Traffic. Their version of Ha Ha Said the Clown was Top 5 and is more of a Manfred Mann kind of song than Yardbirds, whose version while not bad was really an off the wall thing for them to do. And speaking of off the wall, they even had a Top 10 hit with My Name is Jack, from the truly bizarre and disjointed film You Are What You Eat, a musical documentary mostly shot in San Francisco in 1967 and featuring the Butterfield Blues Band, Family Dog, Electric Flag, Peter & Paul (but not Mary),Barry McGuire, Frank Zappa (briefly) and Tiny Tim singing with members of The Band in the basement of Big Pink. You'd have to see it to believe it.This collection is very thorough, featuring just about everything that charted except Sweet Pea and adding some of the more interesting album tracks. The One in the Middle was written by Paul Jones and is a real rocker. The band did not generally write their songs so this is a nice inclusion. The cover of the Coasters's Poison Ivy seems unnecessary as well as Peter & Gordon's There's No Living Without Your Loving. It's just a quibble but I would have rather seen some of their odd songs make it like Burt Bacharach's My Little Red Book, which they sang on the soundtrack of What's New Pussycat or their funny spoof of 1930's English Dance Band singers, By Request Edwin Garvey.The sound is great as the disc has been put out by Polygram (now part of Universal) and combines both the HMV and Fontana releases. The booklet was written by bass and lead guitar player Tom McGuinness. The songs aren't in the order of release, which I prefer, but that's not too big a thing. The cover features photos of both phases of the group.

I remember Manfred Mann from my high school years and always liked them but never had their music. So, I tried this CD and was pleased with the quality and selection of songs. I had never heard many of the songs but found them entertaining. Of course their hits are the songs I remembered and they were on the CD also. A good purchase!

good sound quality. price was right had three songs I needed. still missing uncensored version of my name is jack. I guess I'm lucky ihave it on vinyl

Has all the hitsGreat CD

A great mix of some very familiar and not so familiar tunes. Quality is good and a it offers a deep dive into the early days of MM. Well worth the price

It was a surprise for my husband. It was a particular CD with music on it that my husband has been looking for for quite some time and he was very excited and happy.

Good music but not a fan of all of their older sounds, however, still a good buy.

I have always love their songs, and now I finally have them on my beloved MP3 player. Makes me glad I grew up in the era. The CD arrived in fine condition and as promptly as promised.

Descubrí este grupo al hacer un shazam de un grupo desconocido para mí, mientras escuchaba una cinta magnetofónica que había comprado en algún mercadillo. Parece mentira cómo se recicla la música. El grupo era un completo desconocido para mí, pero algunas de sus canciones fueron versionadas por otros músicos en su momento. El resto del repertorio, hasta 22 canciones, me encantó. Si te gusta la música pop de los años 60, éste es tu grupo.

I first heard of the band Manfred Mann while watching television. I decided to check out some of their songs on youtube. I bought the cd Manfred Mann Greatest Hits. This cd full of great songs such as "If you gotta go, go now", "The one in the middle" and many others. I really enjoyed the great lyrics, and musical performances like the electric guitar and Manfred Mann's excellent playing of the organ, the drumming etc... I also enjoyed the vocals very much. I heard a lot of these songs on TV and youtube. This cd contains a lot of great songs including the cover songs like "Got my mojo working". I'm glad I bought this cd, I may buy more Manfred Mann cds in the future.

I had the right age for Manfred Mann's first part of his career. We used to play his songs when we had live acts. The band had great musicians. The best drum performance for me was "Mighty Quinn" and it still is. Paul Jones a wonderful vocalist. All their great hits are on this record from "Doo Wah Diddy Diddy" to Greta Garbo's House.If you want to enjoy an hour of enjoying music which is not too complicated the ideal stuff.By the way: there is also a wonderful "Tabaluga" Story in English, which I adore and the singer there is Chris Thompson. "Tabaluga and Magic Jade Stone" if I remember it correctly.

Favoloso! Fantastico!

Very happy with the Manfred Mann CD and service provided