His Master’s Voice, 1964 (UK)
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Ascot Records, 1964 (US)
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The variation between the content of British and American albums of the same name by the same artist was often puzzling. It was common, for example, on the early catalogs of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to have alternate track listings with minor changes (or a totally different release exclusive to the respective country). The American marketing strategy for LPs at the time was to feature songs that were released as singles, and with fewer overall tracks than the UK counterpart.
For the release of Manfred Mann’s debut album it involved totally different titles. Eleven of the twelve tracks on The Manfred Mann Album were taken from their British release, The Five Faces of Manfred Mann. The later included “I’m Your Kingpin”, “Mr. Anello” and “You’ve Got to Take It”. These three are excluded from the American debut version, which instead has “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” as the twelfth track. To make it even more confusing, Mann’s second American album was also called The Five Faces of Manfred Mann but included “Sha La La”, “Come Tomorrow”, and “Hubble Bubble (Toil and Trouble)”; not used on the British version of Five Faces. Enough of that!
Reviews of the UK and US releases were favorable. Especially notable are the cover versions of R&B standards like Howlin’ Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning”, Muddy Waters’ “I’ve Got My Mojo Working”, and Bo Diddley’s “Bring It to Jerome”.
Manfred Mann were formed in London in 1962. The lineup included Mike Hugg (drums, vibraphone), Paul Jones (lead vocals, harmonica, 1962-66), Mike d’Abo (lead vocals, 1966-69), Manfred Mann (organ, piano), Tom McGuinness (bass guitar), and Mike Vickers (guitar, alto saxophone, flute). Jack Bruce and Klaus Voormann were also in the band, for a few years in the mid-60s. Manfred Mann’s Earth Band evolved in 1971 with much success and several charted hits.
If you’re interested in a comprehensive collection of their early works, check out the 4-CD box set “Down the Road Apiece – Their EMI Recordings 1963–1966”.
[Note that Mann’s debut in the UK was on His Master’s Voice (HMV), a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Company Ltd. The name is taken from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russell Terrier named Nipper listening to a wind-up disc gramophone and tilting his head. In the original painting the dog was listening to a cylinder phonograph. It was also used as the trademark and logo of the Victor Talking Machine Company, later known as RCA Victor.]