THE GOOD EARTH

This album was released almost a year later the great "Solar Fire" and for a reason I can't explain, I totally missed it at that time. Now, when you listen to this, you might understand that there were less interest for this work than for its great predecessor. After the Sun, Manfred is tackling the Earth concept. Why not?

"The Good Earth" is not a bad album. Taken as such, it features some pleasant songs, more bluesy and closer to their prior work (before "Solar Fire" I mean). Some good rocking numbers with raving electric guitar ("Giving Me The Good Earth" as well as "Launching Place").

Things get worse with the dull "I'll Be Gone". I guess that the best thing to do to avoid this poor and repetitive song is effectively to move away or to press nextT of course.

The mood is totally different for "Earth Hymn - Part One". Indeed a great hymn, full of energy, great synthesizer part and a frenetic beat during the instrumental part of this excellent rock song. The most sophisticated and the best one as well. On par with the best from "Solar Fire". And the second and more aerial part is also very nice. Spacey keyboards and softer attack, it is a good extension of "Part One". I particularly like the excellent and emotional guitar work which closes this song.

The approach is somewhat similar for "Sky High". But while it starts on a very proggy way, the second half is a bit of a deception. Fully jazz oriented, almost improv should I say. It could have been written by dear Carlos ("Barboletta" period), the guitar being again of great support for this average song.

At the end of the day, this album is more than acceptable. Of course when compared to "Solar Fire", it falls short (but that one was a masterpiece IMO).

Three stars for this good old earth one.

This is a unique one to say the least. In fact, I've always found the vocals very reminiscent to Roy Wood of _The Move_ from the album Shazaam. Keyboards are experimental on this album and the riffing is angular in a King Crimson-ish style. _Be Not Too Hard_ probably the best MMEB single ever released outside of _Joybringer_. Mellotron fans will highly enjoy the keyboard work by Manfred Mann on _The Good Earth_. This album also reminds me of what Badger(Tony Kaye's group) might sound like had they recorded in the studio around the release of _One Badger Live_. Certainly, this is the underdog in their discography and should never garner less than 3 stars. _Good_ for some, but _an excellent addition to any prog music collection_ to my ears. 4 stars!

3.5 stars.This is better then i thought it would be.This band certainly know how to create great songs and this album is no exception.I like what it says in the liner notes."The band's popularity live was increasing rapidly and by late 1974 they were touring to packed houses headlining with label mates URIAH HEEP and the up and coming(soon to be supergroup)Rush".Haha. "Give Me The Good Earth" opens with a crowing rooster before guitar and vocals come in.I like the guitar solo 3 1/2 minutes in,and when it ends the song settles down and we can hear birds chirping.It kicks back in around 6 1/2 minutes. "Launching Place" builds slowly with synths and drums.Vocals before 2 minutes.The guitar is prominant 4 1/2 minutes in. "I'll Be Gone" is catchy with this "down home" feel to it. "Earth Hymn" takes a minute to get going as vocals and a beat come in with synths.Guitar before 2 minutes.It kicks in before 4 minutes to the end. "Sky High" has no real melody and lots of synths early.The tempo picks up 2 minutes in with drums,bass and piano.Synths start to play over top then it's the guitars turn. "Be Not Too Hard" is a beautiful track.Fragile vocals,synths and acoustic guitar lead the way early.A fuller sound 2 minutes in. "Earth Hymn Part 2" opens with synths and mellotron.Faint vocals come in.There's a bit of a FLOYD vibe 2 minutes in.Vocals 3 minutes.Great sound. This is one of those albums right on the edge of 4 stars.

Progressive environmentalism?

Starting with Solar Fire and culminating with The Roaring Silence, Manfred Mann's Earth Band released a string of good albums. The Good Earth is the least good out of these albums, but it is still very good and almost as good as the other ones from this golden period.

There were always cover songs on Manfred Mann's Earth Band's albums and most of their biggest hits and live favourites were actually written by other people. The Good Earth stands out in this respect since there is neither a Bob Dylan nor a Bruce Springsteen cover on this album and it also did not produce any big hits for the band. This is ironic in a way since this album is possibly the most accessible of this period (1973-1976), with some songs reminding somewhat of the more commercial music the band produced in their early years (as well as on some later albums). There is, however, a covers on this album too. The somewhat environmentalist title track was written by Gary Wright of Spooky Tooth fame. I sometimes wonder what the connection is between Prog and environmentalism since many Prog bands featured such themes on their albums.

As on most of Manfred Mann's Earth Band's albums, the material on The Good Earth is melodic and catchy. This album is not at all very different from most other albums by the group. It often comes across as an updated 60's pop which is developed in a progressive way with longer songs and some experimental features.

The best tracks on The Good Earth are in my opinion the two Earth hymns, which are up to par with the best from Solar Fire.

If you like this band and this type of music in general, this is an album you should have in your collection. But if you are new to the band there are a few better places to start. Good, but non-essential.