Carol Quinn

A celebration to mark 50 years of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band! Mannthology brings together all of the band’s singles from 1971 to date, including some from solo projects, and contains previously unreleased tracks, hard-to-obtain B sides and rare mixes. The set showcases Manfred’s striking ability to identify, arrange and perform other people’s songs to make them his own, including songs by Dylan, Springsteen, Marley, Weller and Sting.

Vocalist Chris Thompson's last album with Manfred Mann's Earth Band is dressed up in Mann's beautiful keyboards. Angel Station has some key moments – "You Angel You," a Bob Dylan tune that sounds nothing like Dylan, and not the way their Top Ten version of "Quinn the Eskimo"/"The Mighty Quinn" was reinvented. "You Angel You" has a strong hook with topnotch Anthony Moore production work, and it melts into the title track of Harriet Schock's landmark Hollywood Town album, the source of Helen Reddy's "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady." The Manfred Mann version is interesting, and explores the possibilities of the composition, though Schock's version is perfect country-pop and hard to top. It is nice to see a rock band with such good taste.