Magnificent
Robert Truchan | Blossom Rd., Little Cayman Isl. Cayman Islands | 12/03/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"While no talents such as Outkast and the like sell millions of records, the maestro has come out with another gem. Taking off where Soft Vengeance left off Manfred brings forth one of his most personal albums yet. From Demons and Anfgel full tilt to Frog and Monkman, not a wasted note. Some tracks are with Earth Band, Some with his friends from Germany, all extraordinairy.
If you buy nothing else, buy this, and see why he has been around 40 years.
With music like this, hopefully he will be around a lot longer.
Buy and enjoy,"
Mann Strikes Back
Sergey Lenkov | Mother Russia | 12/24/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I saw live show by Mannfred Mann in Moscow in 2003. The concert was fantastic. Comparing with dynamic stage set this album is quite different. This is album by Manfred the Wise, Manfred the Sage.
Very atmospheric recording. You would hear classic rock ballad "Demons and Dragons", classic pop song "Independent Woman" (based on famous Tchaikovsky`s First Piano Concerto Theme!), folk song of Russian Gypsies "Black Eyes" (Ochi cherniye) in rock instrumental version with great guitar solo by Mick Rogers, meditative version of "Down in Mexico" by Leiber and Stoller and even dark Gothic Enigma-Gregorian-like track "Monkmann" with choral singing!
All in one album... Manfred made these records for many years. So the quality of music is very high. Of course, you wouldn`t find there "Mighty Queen-2" or new "Don`t Kill It Carol", but this album is among the best prog-rock records of last years. Try to catch the mood of Manfred and you would like his new work."
Classic and new Mann sounds
Michael J. Cohen | Queens, NY United States | 08/06/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Though this album is not as radical a departure from the ever-evolving Earth band sound as Manfred seems to think, it's a consistently high quality and extremely listenable album that may be Mann's best since the 1970s. Vintage prog touches are balanced by innovative flourishes (German rap?!) and quirky humor. If you've enjoyed ANY album by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, you'll find something to like here--and something to challenge you, in a good way.
Only negative is absolutely NO Mick Rogers vocals--but his guitar work is all over this album, in top form."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1