British Band

One thing is certain in this uncertain world – you can trust Ashley Hutchings to do interesting things with various areas of British folk and rock music. In the case of the Albion Dance Band, under its various names, the focus was on mutating traditional English dance and folk music, which led to escapades involving traditional tunes, Morris dancers, double drummers, dance callers, Philip Pickett's entire collection of medieval instruments, and serious rock guitar front lines that tend to leap onto the hay cart and start blazing away. The Prospect Before Us is particularly unusual, even for Hutchings and the Albions – a number of the tracks were recorded live in the studio, complete with dancing by the Albion Morris Men, an effort that resulted in some especially raucous moments: the bonus version of "Merry Sherwood Rangers" is far more staid than the live rendition that made it to the original version of this album. An essential purchase, we think.

An R&B band that only played pop to get on the charts, Manfred Mann and its various permutations ranked among the most adept British Invasion acts in both styles. South African-born keyboardist Manfred Mann was originally an aspiring jazz player, moving toward R&B when more blues-oriented sounds became in vogue in England in the early '60s. Original Manfred Mann singer Paul Jones was one of the best British Invasion singers, and his resonant vocals were the best feature of their early R&B sides, which had a slightly jazzier and smoother touch than the early work of the Rolling Stones and Animals…

Varese's The Best of the Blues Band collects sixteen highlights from the Blues Band, the group vocalist Paul Jones formed after leaving Manfred Mann. This music is pretty much straight-ahead British blues, but since it was recorded after the peak of British blues, it's a little slicker and more commercial, and it also boasts some hints of album rock. As such, it's primarily of interest to either British blues fetishists or Manfred Mann collectors.

The Blues Band is a virtual who's who of the British blues scene. An '80s supergroup of sorts, the band consists of Paul Jones, solo artist and former member of Manfred Mann (lead vocals and harmonica ); Dave Kelly, solo artist and former member of the John Dummer Blues band (lead vocals and slide guitar); Tom McGuinness, former member of Manfred Mann and McGuinness Flint (lead guitar and back-up vocals); Hughie Flint, also former McGuinness Flint (drums); and Gary Fletcher, formerly of Sam Apple Pie (bass and backup vocals). Although formed in 1979, the band released its debut album, The Bootleg Album, in 1980 as supposedly a one-time live project. The album was originally a private pressing, recorded live and released by the band themselves, but it sold so well it was re-released intact by Arista after signing the band to a contract…