{"id":48475,"date":"2015-03-02T15:47:28","date_gmt":"2015-03-02T20:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=48475"},"modified":"2015-03-02T15:47:28","modified_gmt":"2015-03-02T20:47:28","slug":"manfred-manns-earth-band-chance-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2015\/manfred-manns-earth-band-chance-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Manfred Mann\u2019s Earth Band | Chance<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"manfredThe album opens on an upbeat note:<\/p>\n

We\u2019re gonna live out the Hollywood dream
\nAll through the Eighties
\nEverything\u2019s gonna be just what it seems
\nAll through the Eighties
\nGonna find a better way to run our cars
\nAll through the Eighties
\nAnd our feet are gonna point away from the past \u2026
\nAll through the Eighties
\nAnd another generation will talk about \u201cTheir Generation\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The cheery, self-confident way in which the song greets the upcoming decade is a typical Manfred Mann trick: making uncertain things feel certain, big things \u2014 mundane, as well as turning ordinary things into utter phantasmagoria. On their tenth record Manfred Mann\u2019s Earth Band stick to this inverted-universe formula, but joyfully so \u2014 in stark contrast to the album’s predecessor Angel Station where the weirdness meter went up to 11. <\/p>\n

The witchy charm of Chance<\/em> comes at you with a hopeful, direct vibe, and at the same time manages to remain an enigma. Standout \u201cStranded\u201d is exactly this kind of outer-space gem: a seemingly simple pop tune aglow with echoes of cosmic symphonies overheard in a different galaxy. The world which ordinary people can glimpse only when on the threshold between wakefulness and sleep seem to be a regular reality to this band. <\/p>\n

The way Mann spaces his notes and phrases, lets silences speak, orchestrates and layers texture, and the way he contrasts laconic melodies and exuberant impro \u2014 all this is half-acqured (from his thorough knowledge of jazz), and half-inspired by his love for pop. Not only does \u201cStranded” confirm how Mann can unite effortless earworm songwriting with exquisite prog arrangements, but it also prepares you for the biggest whopper of this release which follows next: a version of Dennis Linde\u2019s \u201cHello, I am Your Heart\u201d. The chugging country rock original here turns into a trance-inducing revelation. The hypnotic vocal ostinato, the heavy guitar riff, the pregnant pauses layer meanings that reach to the core of our relationship with ourselves \u2014 the channel that stays open throughout the album, but appears at its most transparent on this track.<\/p>\n

An expert in musically-induced altered states, an impeccable pop composer, and a prodigious improviser, Manfred Mann enters the Eighties as a proud torch-bearer of the prog era, the keeper of psychedelia\u2019s flame and \u2014 as always \u2014 an instantly accessible songwriter who manages to sound both timeless and contemporary. <\/p>\n

Although the Eighties became a much more complex decade than this album envisions, and many of the 70s stars soon began to lose prominence, the MTV era couldn\u2019t have happened without seers such as Mann. His genius for combing catchiness and eccentricity resonated in the quirkiness of the New Romantics and electronic pop. His is gift for turning other people\u2019s obscure oddball tunes into big-riff anthems encouraged young geeks to become stadium acts. And his knack for cryptic ambivalence refracted in the 1980s alternative rock. <\/p>\n

These days Mann still tours and records albums, and anyone who sees him perform these days will be inspired \u2014 not only musicians, but regular folks too. After all, it\u2019s pretty startling to see someone who is 74 look like a 35-year-old, playing his old hits (some of which date as far back as 1963) which more flair and imagination than the majority of young acts do these days. <\/p>\n

Genre: Progressive Rock, Hard Rock<\/p>\n

Personnel:
\nManfred Mann – keyboards, vocals (\u201cAdolescent Dream\u201d)
\nJohn Lingwood – drums
\nPat King – bass, bass pedals
\nSteve Waller – guitars, vocals (\u201cHello, I am Your Heart\u201d)
\nChris Thompson – vocals (\u201cLies Through the 80s\u201d, \u201cOn the Run\u201d, \u201cFor You\u201d)<\/p>\n

Trevor Rabin – guitars
\nRobbie McIntosh – guitars
\nGeoff Whitehorn – guitars
\nDyan Birch – vocals (\u201cNo Guarantee\u201d)
\nWilly Finlayson – vocals (\u201cHeart on the Street\u201d)
\nPeter Marsh – vocals (\u201cStranded\u201d)
\nCarol Stocker – backing vocals
\nBarbara Thompson – saxophone<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. Lies (Through the 80s) (Denny Newman)
\n2. On the Run
\n3. For You (Bruce Springsteen)
\n4. Adolescent Dream
\n5. Fritz the Blank
\n6. Stranded
\n7. Hello, I Am Your Heart (Dennis Linde)
\n8. No Guarantee
\n9. Heart on the Street (Tom Gray)<\/p>\n

Label: Bronze (UK), Warner Bros. (U.S.)<\/p>\n

Online: www.manfredmann.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai – Senior Columnist — The album opens on an upbeat note: We\u2019re gonna live out the Hollywood dream All through the Eighties Everything\u2019s gonna be just what it seems All through the […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":48483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10852,12394],"tags":[10864,2317,10871,1103,8069,3456,10872,9434],"class_list":{"0":"post-48475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-1980-landmark-albums-turn-35","8":"category-arcrvws2015","9":"tag-bronze","10":"tag-cd-review","11":"tag-chance","12":"tag-hard-rock","13":"tag-manfred-manns-earth-band","14":"tag-progressive-rock","15":"tag-trevor-rabin","16":"tag-warner-bros"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}