Roaring silence

Manfred Mann's Earth Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• ASIN: B0000071W1
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,457 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The crowning success of Manfred Mann, phase two, February 12, 2001

By 

Gavin Wilson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roaring Silence (Audio CD)

Before the 'Blinded by the Light' single was released, Manfred Mann had largely been forgotten by mainstream audiences, written off in history as a mid-60s English pop success. This was wrong in two respects: first, he's South African, and second, he had built a band with progressive leanings that was attracting a small but growing following.

This is one great record, and brings back many memories of my schooldays. 'Blinded by the Light' magnified the Earth Band's audience a thousand-fold, but strangely I wouldn't say Springsteen was a big influence on the band, judging by this album. Mann had a good ear for the prevailing music of the era, and the duelling guitars in the instrumental section of 'Blinded' owe more to Thin Lizzy's JAILBREAK than to 'Born to Run'. Similarly the classical feel of 'Road to Babylon' follows the path that Alan Parson's TALES OF MYSTERY & IMAGINATION had opened up the previous year. And 'Starbird' wouldn't have seemed out of place on the Brand X album, UNORTHODOX BEHAVIOUR.

But for me, and several of my contemporaries, the stand-out track is the instrumental 'Waiter, There's a Yawn in My Ear'. I know this track was derided in one review here, but for me, it's the tune that makes this album an absolute must-have. For us teenagers, locked into a rural boarding school, it was one of those wonderful Saturday night foot-tappers, where you'd pound out the rhythm with your hands on a desk, on your knees or anyone else's. This track was the reincarnation of Golden Earring's MOONTAN, one of those perfect albums that the Dutch band never managed to replicate. Dave Flett's guitar solo could have been executed by George Kooymans.

I suspect that the Earth Band's greatest problemin the end was that their most distinctive asset was not Mann's keyboards-playing or his compositions, nor either of the guitarists. It was Chris Thompson's voice. Lose that, and the singles-buying public would never be able to tell the band from any of the hundreds of other wannabees. And eventually the Earth Band did lost Thompson.

But this is how we love to remember the band.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helps you remember the good old days of the mid 70's, February 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Roaring silence (Audio CD)

I hunted high and low for this album. My brother and his mates used to play it over and over again in the flat where we used to smoke the stuff your mum or dad never had in there cigarettes.

Now I am 37, married, have a daughter and a mortgage and am not the svelt young man I once was and cant afford or really want to have a smoke.

But I can still put this album on and close my eyes and remember the perfect waves at Cronulla Point, the long hot days in summer and the smell that makes dreams.

A truly classic piece of music from a classic era.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Didn't we ..., October 20, 2001

By 

Schlingemann (Den Haag Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roaring Silence (Audio CD)

With this album, the Earth Band briefly attracted the attention of those who were into progressive rock during the second half of the seventies. The band had made enormous progress in the course of five previous albums, and had got themselves a new singer, who would turn out to be the greatest contribution to their success. Then again, The Roaring Silence is not a masterpiece. The Earth Bands best album is enjoyable, but it has its flaws. The instrumental 'Waiter, there's a yawn in my ear' may appeal to the more specialised tastes, but it drifts far away from the overall feel of the album. And then there is 'Starbird', a shameless, low key chant based on the main theme from Strawinski's Firebird Suite. I mean, how can you steal one of the greatest tunes in classical music and credit it to yourself?? It's a miracle Mann did't get sued for this offence. On the other hand, The Roaring Silence contains great things, like 'Blinded by the light', an ace example of picking up a good tune and making it better, 'The road to Babylon' and the sensitive 'Questions'. Also, it's nice to find the additional track 'Spirits in the night', although it doesn't feature Chris Thompson but the guy he replaced, Mick Rogers. So, four stars it is. The Earth Band did not succeed in keeping up this level of artistic quality after this album and faded into oblivion. The Roaring Silence is the album you should have in your collection, even though it is not the album they could have made. It is almost there, but not quite. A case of 'Didn't we almost make it this time ...'