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General Information
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Artist...............: Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Album................: Nightingales and Bombers
Year.................: 1975
Genre................: Progressive Rock (Eclectic)
Source...............: CD
Number of Songs......: 8
Duration.............: 00:37:55 min
Audio Format.........: MP3
Encoder..............: LAME 3.97
Bitrate..............: CBR 192 HQ
Channels.............: Stereo / 44,100 hz
Tags.................: ID3 v1.1, ID3 v2.3
Included.............: M3U, Covers
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Release Notes
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Track Listing:
1. Spirits In The Night ***** 6:26
2. Countdown 3:06
3. Time Is Right 6:32
4. Crossfade 3:39
5. Visionary Mountains 5:42
6. Nightingales And Bombers 4:54
7. Fat Nelly 3:20
8. As Above So Below 4:16
Album Review:
The album that was Manfred Mann's commercial breakthrough was a departure from the previous
albums made with the Earth Band. Though the personnel are the same and the musicianship is
as mind blowing as ever, the songs are shorter and punchier, in some cases more poppy.
This is not to say that the band had sacrificed a bit of ingenuity or complexity, but
the long jams are gone in favor of briefer sound portraits. The perfect example is the
cover of "Blinded by the Light" by a then obscure songwriter named Bruce Springsteen.
A listen to the original version, a rambling stream-of-consciousness piece reminiscent
of early Dylan, doesn't hint at the delightfully bizarre possibilities Mann and the Earth Band
extracted from the tune. Taking a piece of folk-rock, giving it a cool, spooky delivery,
and adding a full-band treatment created an uncategorizable masterpiece. It was a number one
hit for Mann and a major career boost for its author, and Mann released Springsteen covers
on several subsequent albums. A second single from the album, "Time Is Right," also charted,
becoming one of the only pieces written in 10/4 time ever to do so. Nightingales and Bombers
featured in almost every "Best of the Year" list for 1975. Justifiably so -- though attention
at the time was naturally on the hits, the rest of the album features a mix of good originals
and eccentric covers, inspired playing, and tight, focused arrangements. The album stands up
to repeated listening decades after it was created, and though fans of the more expansive
progressive phase may prefer earlier works, they will generally allow the excellence of this one.
(The name of the album was once regarded as a possible drug reference, but it is actually taken
from a nature recording made during World War II. An ornithologist who was trying to record
birdcalls captured not only the sound of birds, but also of incoming enemy aircraft.
That recording is used in the track "As Above, So Below," and gives it an eerie character.)
Richard Foss, All Music Guide.
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