The Manfred Mann Album – MANFRED MANN****

Do Wah Diddy Diddy/Don’t Ask Me What I Say/Sack O’ Woe/What You Gonnado/I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man/Smokestack Lightning/Got My Mojo Working/Its Gonna Work Out Fine/Down The Road Apiece/Untie Me/ Bring It To Jerome/Without You

The Manfred Mann Album was a US only release from this British Invasion group. There is a considerable overlap with the tracks on the UK debut album Five Faces Of Manfred Mann. One exception though is the inclusion of Do Wah Diddy Diddy which topped the singles chart on both sides of the Atlantic. (US:35)

"Manfred Mann's debut full length US release was probably their strongest, and indeed one of the stronger British Invasion albums of the very competitive year of 1964. Besides the smash Do Wah Diddy Diddy, it contained a number of fine soul and R & B covers. Standouts were the versions of Untie Me and Ike & Tina Turner's Its Gonna Work Out Fine, as well as the strong pounding Paul Jones Without You."

"Excellent 60s R & B album from a highly underrated band that was way better than the few hit singles you normally hear from them. On a par with any Yardbirds, Stones, Animals LP of the period."

"The energy and innovative blend of jazz, rock, and R & B that made the Manfreds unique still sounds sharp today. The first thing you notice is the voice of Jones, who has a polished grit that sounds authentically soulful, without resorting to the faux black vocal mannerisms many white singers fall back on. His exuberant vocal on Do Wah Diddy Diddy is pure pop and contrasts nicely with his dark, melisma-drenched work on Untie Me, an understated cry of pain with Mann’s dramatic electric piano solo adding to the song’s bluesy feel."

"Two Jones originals are the record’s standout tracks. On What You Gonna Do he uses a growling Howlin’ Wolf tone; his harp and Mann’s organ give the song an ominous feel that Wolf would have dug. Jones turns in his best vocal on Don’t Ask Me What I Say. The tune was never released as a single, which is a shame. It’s a driving piece of British R & B that’s as catchy as any early Stones hit, with aggressive piano from Mann, a four-on-the-floor beat, a bassline that pushes the tempo to the wall, and sizzling sax work by Vickers."