Manfred Mann Album: “Five Faces of Manfred Mann [UK Bonus Tracks]”

I was just listening to my old vinyl copy of the first American Manfred Mann album prior to coming online because it was easily one of my favorite British Blues albums I had heard when I first was turned on to it in 1967 (it was released in 1964), and if this is the British counterpart it probably rates more than the four stars I gave it. The first US release was titled The Manfred Mann Album: Doo Wah Diddy Diddy and every song except the title track was previously released in the UK as The Five Faces of Manfred Mann, which had three additional tracks. My confusion comes from the fact that the second US album was also titled The Five Faces of Manfred Mann, but the cover shown was not an American cover so I must presume this is indeed the English first album.

Of all the early 60s British bands that dabbled in the blues (Stones, Yardbirds, etc.) this album to me was stylistically closest to the Animals with more solid blues tracks than most: Howlin' Wolf's Smokestack Lightning, Muddy Waters' Got My Mojo Working, Willie Dixon's Hoochie Coochie Man, Amos Milburn's Down the Road Apiece and Bo Diddley's Bring it to Jerome (written by Bo's maracas man, Jerome Green) as well as the Ike and Tina tune It's Gonna Work Out Fine and the Adderly jazz instrumental Sack o' Woe. The other four tracks maintain the feel of these standards to make this an album that has stood up throuigh the years very well, so the additional UK tracks can't do anything but add to the value, but you might wish to keep searching for a better value with a version of the American album or buy the 2-disc set of the same name which also has stuff from the second US album, which is good but more MOR. The main thing is make sure you get the tracks mentioned here if you want the bluesy side, because they are not available in any "best of" type compilations I've seen.

It would be nice if the track listings were available for this viewing.