THE GOOD EARTH

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.

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