The Five Faces of Manfred Mann is the debut British and second American studio album by Manfred Mann. It was first released in the United Kingdom on 11 September 1964[1] by His Master's Voice. In late October/early November, the album was released in Canada by Capitol Records.[6] The Canadian track listing was almost the same as the UK version, except it included the hit "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" instead of "I've Got My Mojo Working". The record has been called "one of the great blues-based British invasion albums; it's a hot, rocking record that benefits from some virtuoso playing as well".[1]
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."
The American version of the album (their second U.S. release following The Manfred Mann Album) was released on 8 February 1965 by Ascot Records (a subsidiary of United Artists)[7] with a very different track listing. This version is more pop-oriented than its predecessor, The Manfred Mann Album, as it features "Sha La La", "Come Tomorrow",[8] and "Hubble Bubble (Toil and Trouble)"; as well as compositions made by lead singer Paul Jones and the traditional American folk number "John Hardy". It also features a smaller section of the band's R&B and jazz influences.[9][10] It is essentially a whole different album, sharing only two songs with the UK release ("I'm Your Kingpin" and "You've Got to Take It"): the majority of the album already appeared on The Manfred Mann Album.
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]
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