Manfred Mann Album: “Pretty Flamingo/The Five Faces Of”

When most people think of early Manfred Mann, "Doo Wah Diddy" comes to mind. But Manfred Mann was much more: Rock and Roll, Jazz infusion, Funk, and Blues rolled into one sound. Many of the standard Blues songs done by British bands were also part of Manfred Mann's repertoire, as were some R&R standards, but Manfred Mann took them to a different level. This is a great addition to any music collection.

Both albums worth having, despite the awful cover sleeve for 'Pretty Flamingo'

The 'Five Faces of Manfred Mann' here is their second US album. It's a TOTALLY different album to the same titled UK debut.

"Pretty Flamingo" +"The 5 Faces of Manfred Mann" LPs/CD prove that Manfred Mann were much more than their big hits. Every time I hear the loud, opening chords (on acoustic guitar) of the song, "Pretty Flamingo" or the opening organ riff of "Sha La La" I still get a big rush. But, growing up in the 60s, I never owned any LPs by the Manfreds (I only bought the singles and loved watching them on TV appearances). NOW I'm very glad I bought this item. It has proven to me that the Manfreds were one of the great blues-based British Invasion bands: this CD is hot, rocking, not a wasted note, and benefits from some virtuoso playing as well, and some of the best singing of its era, courtesy Paul Jones, who blew most of his rivals out of the competition. To me, this band sounds kind of like if you put The Rolling Stones, The Zombies, and (the occasional) Stax horns in a blender: you would get this early Manfred Mann sound; yet they have a wonderful style of their own and great sound. This is the bands' original line-up and the most exciting line-up Manfred ever had.