The Five Faces of Manfred Mann


The Five Faces of Manfred Mann is the debut British and second American studio album by Manfred Mann. It was first released in the United Kingdom on 11 September 1964 by His Master's Voice. In late October/early November, the album was released in Canada by Capitol Records. The Canadian track listing was almost the same as the UK version, except it included the hit "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" instead of "I've Got My Mojo Working". The record has been called "one of the great blues-based British invasion albums; it's a hot, rocking record that benefits from some virtuoso playing as well".

Background

The songs on the original version of the Five Faces of Manfred Mann are R&B, including the band's cover versions of Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning", Muddy Waters' "Got My Mojo Working", and Bo Diddley's "Bring It to Jerome", as well as a few of the group's own jazzy compositions. Particularly noticeable in the instrumental sections are Manfred Mann's keyboard work, Mike Vickers' flute and saxophone work, and Mike Hugg's vibes. The album includes the Cannonball Adderley song "Sack O' Woe" from the R&B-influenced school of early 1960s jazz.
Bruce Eder of AllMusic writes:

Reception

In his retrospective review of the US release, critic Bruce Eder wrote, "The band's second American LP was slightly less impressive than their first, but was still a respectable mix of R&B and pop. For pop, there were 'Sha La La' and 'Come Tomorrow,' two of their biggest mid-'60s hits, and 'She,' one of their best self-penned efforts in that vein. For R&B, there was the original 'Hubble Bubble,' a British hit, and some good covers, notably 'I'm Your Kingpin,' 'Groovin',' and 'Dashing Away with the Smoothing Iron,' drawn from a then-recent British EP release."

Track listing

Side one

  1. "Smokestack Lightning" – 2:30
  2. "Don't Ask Me What I Say" – 3:09
  3. "Sack O' Woe" – 3:31
  4. "What You Gonna Do?" – 3:03
  5. "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" – 2:10
  6. "I'm Your Kingpin" – 2:38
  7. "Down the Road Apiece" – 3:16

Side two

  1. "Got My Mojo Working" – 2:43
  2. *Canadian version: "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" – 2:23
  3. "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" – 2:33
  4. "Mr. Anello" – 2:15
  5. "Untie Me" – 3:41
  6. "Bring It to Jerome" – 3:31
  7. "Without You" – 2:25
  8. "You've Got to Take It" – 2:00

US version

The American version of the album was released on 8 February 1965 by Ascot Records with a very different track listing. This version is more pop-oriented than its predecessor, The Manfred Mann Album, as it features "Sha La La", "Come Tomorrow", and "Hubble Bubble "; as well as compositions made by lead singer Paul Jones and the traditional American folk number "John Hardy". It also features a smaller section of the band's R&B and jazz influences. It is essentially a whole different album, sharing only two songs with the UK release : the majority of the album already appeared on The Manfred Mann Album.

Side one

According to the Sundazed reissue:
  1. "Sha La La" – 2:30
  2. "Come Tomorrow" – 2:13
  3. "She" – 2:10
  4. "Can't Believe It" – 3:19
  5. "John Hardy" – 2:01
  6. "Did You Have to Do That" – 3:29

Side two

  1. "Watermelon Man" – 2:12
  2. "I'm Your Kingpin" – 2:38
  3. "Hubble Bubble " – 2:25
  4. "You've Got to Take It" – 2:00
  5. "Groovin'" – 3:40
  6. "Dashing Away with the Smoothing Iron" – 1:59

Personnel

Manfred Mann
Production

Charts

The Five Faces of Manfred Mann peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart and is the band's highest charting release on that chart. The U.S. version also charted on the Billboard 200, spending four weeks on the chart and peaking at number 141 on 20 March 1965.