Search - Manfred Mann :: Ages of Mann

The definitive sixties collection

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 10/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There were three phases to Manfred Mann's career - the mid sixties with Paul Jones as lead singer, the late sixties with Mike D'Abo as lead singer and the stuff they did after the sixties as Manfred Mann's Earth Band. This compilation covers the first two of those phases and is the best single CD collection of their sixties music.Back in the sixties, Manfred Mann had many hits in Britain although not many of them charted in America. Do wah diddy diddy (first recorded by the Exciters who only had a minor American hit with it) was a number one in both countries.Their music was generally upbeat good-time music and could be described as a cross between R+B and mainstream pop. Given that, it may seem surprising that they covered several songs by folk-rocker Bob Dylan but the combination worked well and no doubt helped to build Dylan's reputation as a great songwriter. Manfred Mann took Mighty Quinn to the very top of the British charts and had other top ten UK hits with Dylan's songs, including If you gotta go go now and Just like a woman.Of the other songs, Pretty flamingo was yet another British chart-topper and Oh no not my baby was originally an American hit for the under-appreciated Maxine Brown. Other songs that I particularly like include 54321, Come tomorrow, My name is Jack, Ha ha said the clown, Ragamuffin man and Fox on the run.There are plenty of Manfred Mann compilations to choose from but this one has all the songs that matter from the sixties."