CHANCE
Manfred Mann's Earth Band
•Eclectic Prog
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3.23
| 145 ratings | 12 reviews | 9% 5 stars
Good, but non-essential |
Studio Album, released in 1980 Songs / Tracks Listing 1. Lies (through The 80's) (4:32) - Chris Hamlet Thompson / vocals (1-3,12,13)
Artwork: Ole Kortzau's 'Deckchairs' Screenprint and to Quinino for the last updates Edit this entry |
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MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND Chance ratings distribution
(145 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(9%)Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(41%)Good, but non-essential (35%)Collectors/fans only (13%)Poor. Only for completionists (2%)
MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND Chance reviews
Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings
Collaborators/Experts Reviews
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
PROG REVIEWER
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
MMEB were riding high on the back of a couple of enormously successful singles when they released "Chance". The ingredients were all there for further singles success on the back of this album, but those hits for some reason failed to materialise. Chris Thomson, who had left the band in 1979 but continued to tour and record with them, adds his distinctive tones to the first three tracks here. For the remainder, a number of singers are brought in such as Steve Waller (on "This is your heart") Willy Findlayson ("Heart on the street") Peter Marsh ("Stranded") Dyan Birch ("No guarantee"), and even Manfred Mann himself on "Adolescent dream". When added to the list of five guitarists, including one Trevor Rabin (also associate producer), this gives the album a disjointed feel. It took over a year to record, during which time Manfred Mann himself reports that a lot of time was spent on tracks which were eventually rejected. Others such as "On the run" and "Fritz the blank" metamorphosed into completely different pieces of music from those they started out as.
The opening track, "Lies (through the eighties)" borrows a lot musically from "Blinded by the light", with an uplifting chorus containing an eco-sensitive lyric. There is also what would now be referred to as a "sample" from Joni Mitchell's "Big yellow taxi". Quite why the song failed to find further success for MMEB is something of a mystery, it seems to have all the right ingredients.
"For you" reverts to the tried and tested policy of taking a Dylan or Springsteen (in this case the latter) song and improving it out of all recognition. It really is quite astonishing to compare the raw, unkempt original of Springsteen, with the refined melodic rock performance of MMEB. This is a superb rendition, and one of MMEB's finest pieces on any album.
As soon as Mann starts to sing on "Adolescent dream" it is clear that the unique vocals of Chris Thompson are behind us (for this album at least). Mann may be a great keyboard player, but this already mediocre song is made worse by his ill advised indulgence. "Fritz the blank", which originally had lyrics until Rabin wisely suggested it remain an instrumental, sounds like a Slippermen outtake from "The lamb lies down on Broadway".
"Stranded", which was originally record for "Watch" but rejected, is reworked for "Chance". The track includes radio shipping forecasts, something other bands would mimic, even into the 21st century. Peter Marsh does his best to sound reasonably like Chris Thomson here, but once again the song is adequate, but no more.
"Hello, this is your heart" is a pretty effective heavier piece, with blues overtones and some fine guitar work. Interestingly the copyright date on this song is 1973. "No guarantee" was a completed song which Mann decided he did not like, although he was pleased with the backing track. He therefore used the wording of a commercial guarantee to provide the lyrics, resulting in the track which appears here. This creates lines such as "We don't guarantee any work caused by the failure of the water supply"! It's not actually as bad as it sounds, the song is quite original and enjoyable. "Heart on the street" sounds a little too like what has gone before, lacking anything distinctive by way of melody or lyrical content.
Manfred Mann's sleeve notes are informative, but tend to betray a lack of enthusiasm for the finished product. His closing thought is that the album is "more or less how we intended it to be", although with the revolving door for the vocalist and guitar slots, it is difficult to identify exactly who "we" are.
In all, a decent but rather ordinary album. Had Chris Thompson remained on board for the entire album, it would undoubtedly have benefited from his talents. The fact that he provides the vocals for the two best songs is no coincidence.
PROG REVIEWER
Electro-pop (but uninspired) is the mix for "On The Run " and the AOR style is back for "For You". Not bad but don't expect any wonderful tracks in here. There aren't. At times OK but when I listen to "Adolescent Dream", I can't really get charmed. Great drumming though. As a consolation, probably.
Songs are not per se bad but highlights are absent, inspiration scarce. "Hello, I Am Your Heart" being a heavy and dull number. When compared to most of the songs, "Stranded" is a bit more sophisticated. Some spacey sounds (� la "Hawkwind") do appear and are a nice combination with a pleasant melody. One of the best song available here.
As such, two stars seem to be a fair deal. No real blunder but no real good songs either. My fave from this work is "Heart On The Street". A slow paced rock song with some feeling at least as well as a nice melody. But we are far from the great Mann's songs.
This is typically an album that you listen distractively. Then, it is OK. But when you do it carefully, there is not much things left in your memory after a few spins. I guess that it is a sign that you only face an average album. And this is exactly what it is.
PROG REVIEWER
To many listners this album is almost a desaster, because of the catchy pop tunes and easy listning, but to me is a damn good one, one of my fav MMEB albums, in fact the third best after Nightingales& bombers and The good earth. This is pop music with some leanings to prog but a well played one and very enjoyble. This is one of that albums that has something special even if you are not a MMEB fan. The best tracks are : the opening track - the rocker - Lies (through the 80's), the smooth Adolescent dream, For you , No guarantee and the funny Fritz the blank( who saw the cartoon version from the DVD they know what i'm talking about). So no deseppointing album for me, the keys om MM are present all over the album and recognaizeble instant, and again did a great job. Finaly this album for me was their turning point in their career, what followed never quite achived the magic moments of the previouses ones. 4 stars without hesitation
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk Researcher
Other than the catchy minor hit single cover of Springsteen's 'For You' this is a completely forgettable album delivered in the exact mood, spirit and compositional structure described above. The opening "Lies (Through the 80s)" was written by Denny Newman, a mostly unknown blues guitarist who would later form the ill-fated SOS with If/Procol Harum guitarist Geoff Whitehorn and former Earth Band guitarist/vocalist Mick Rogers. Instrumentally this is vintage 80s schlock, distinguished most by its bastardized lyrics lifted from Joni Mitchell's 1970 anthem 'Big Yellow Taxi'. Otherwise the song is completely forgettable along with the next track 'On the Run' with its muffled keyboard progression and MTV-worthy poseur vocals.
'For You' garnered the Earth Band one of their last hit singles, and a minor one at that. Honestly I always thought this was a Survivor or Whitesnake song or something. It wasn't until years later that I heard it on the band's 'Best of' compilation and realized it was recorded by them. It's a catchy tune but frankly the keyboard riff and vocal phrasing too closely parrots that of 'Blinded by the Light' and in the end I think Mann went to the Springsteen well once too often this time.
Otherwise the rest of the album is barely worth mentioning, including 'Stranded' with that obligatory British radio clip, the muddled guitar spasm titled 'Hello, I Am Your Heart' and the totally disjointed 'No Guarantee'. Not much at all to like here.
The band would pull themselves together a couple more times to release modestly decent albums including the artistically pleasant but socially vapid 'Somewhere in Africa' and Mann's under-appreciated 'Plains Music' experiment. But really the best was far behind by 1980 and like so many of their contemporaries the Earth Band were mostly just going through the motions by this point. This is barely a two star effort and one that only the most stalwart fans could love. Don't bother with this one unless you fall into that category.
peace
PROG REVIEWER
This is a two and a half star album, but I will round down on this one. If you are a fan of the Earth Band, you will eventually want to listen to this. Otherwise, give Chance a pass.
Latest members reviews
If you listen to Chance right after any of the albums from 3 or 4 albums earlier, you can see that they had started to move away from the progressive sound a little bit, and some may even consider some of the songs to be commercial sounding, but I see it more as that they were keeping an eye o ... (read more)
Report this review (#481419) | Posted by 7headedchicken | Wednesday, July 13, 2011 | Review Permanlink
I have always had a soft spot for this 1980 release from MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND. It does not have much prog on it, but as a pure pop/rock album it is awesome. I enjoy each and every song here. This work is without a doubt a product of it's times- it has a very "80's" feel and even a "new wa ... (read more)
Report this review (#351818) | Posted by mohaveman | Monday, December 13, 2010 | Review Permanlink
Agree very much with Curry69 above about the special feeling of this album. This is what makes me give it a 4 withou hesitating a second. I think it sounds similar to "Angel Station", but not that superb overall. But there a lot of highlights here with Adolescent Dream, For You, Stranded, Hell ... (read more)
Report this review (#69078) | Posted by | Saturday, February 11, 2006 | Review Permanlink
This tenth Earthband album is my favourite one of Manfred Mann. A Masterpiece? Probably not for most people. But for me, it contains a certain feeling and a lot of great songs that deserve the top rating... Everyone that doesn't agree is pleased too accept my vote... ... (read more)
Report this review (#27966) | Posted by | Sunday, May 23, 2004 | Review Permanlink
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