The Five Faces of Manfred Mann

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]

The Five Faces of Manfred Mann is the debut British and second American

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.^[4]

Bruce Eder of AllMusic writes:

The debut album by Manfred Mann holds up even better 40 years on than it did in 1964. It's also one of the longest LPs of its era, clocking in at 39 minutes, and there's not a wasted note or a song extended too far among its 14 tracks.^[1]

Reception

In his retrospective review of the US release, critic Bruce Eder wrote, "The band's second American LP (which shares its title with their first British album) 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 (Toil and Trouble),' 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" (Chester Burnett) – 2:30
2. "Don't Ask Me What I Say" (Paul Jones) – 3:09
3. "Sack O' Woe" (Cannonball Adderley) – 3:31
4. "What You Gonna Do?" (Jones, Manfred Mann) – 3:03
5. "
   I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" (Willie Dixon
   ) – 2:10
6. "I'm Your Kingpin" (Mann, Jones) – 2:38
7. "Down the Road Apiece" (Don Raye) – 3:16

Side two

1. "Got My Mojo Working" (Preston Foster; credited to Muddy Waters) – 2:43
   • Canadian version: "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" (Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich) – 2:23
2. "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" (Rose Marie McCoy, Sylvia McKinney; credited to Joe Seneca, J. Lee) – 2:33
3. "Mr. Anello" (Mike Hugg, Jones, Mann, Tom McGuinness, Mike Vickers) – 2:15
4. "Untie Me" (Joe South) – 3:41
5. "Bring It to Jerome" (Jerome Green) – 3:31
6. "Without You" (Jones) – 2:25
7. "You've Got to Take It" (Jones) – 2:00

US version

The

According to the Sundazed reissue:^[11]

1. "
   Robert Mosley
   , Robert Napoleon Taylor) – 2:30
2. "Come Tomorrow" (Bob Elgin, Frank Augustus, Dolores Phillips) – 2:13
3. "She" (Jones) – 2:10
4. "Can't Believe It" (Jones) – 3:19
5. "
   Traditional
   ) – 2:01
6. "Did You Have to Do That" (Jones) – 3:29

Side two

1. "Watermelon Man" (Herbie Hancock) – 2:12
2. "I'm Your Kingpin" (Jones, Mann) – 2:38
3. "Hubble Bubble (Toil and Trouble)" (Mann, Hugg, Vickers, Jones, McGuinness) – 2:25
4. "You've Got to Take It" (Jones) – 2:00
5. "
   Groovin'" (Ben E. King
   , James Bethea) – 3:40
6. "Dashing Away with the Smoothing Iron" (Mann, Hugg, Vickers, Jones, McGuinness) – 1:59

• Manfred Mann – keyboards, backing vocals
• Paul Jones – lead vocals, harmonica
• Mike Vickers – guitars, saxes, flutes, backing vocals
• Tom McGuinness – bass, backing vocals
• Mike Hugg – drums, percussion, vibes
• Dave Richmond – bass on "Without You"

Production

• John Burgess – producer, mixing
• Norman Smith – engineer

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.^[12] 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.^[1][13]

Release history

References