Search - Manfred Mann :: Up the Junction

Swinging London Lives

Bernard Perusse | 04/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"(Correction to listing: this is not by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, but by the Mike d'Abo line-up of Manfred Mann.) In an era when most rock soundtracks consisted of a couple of songs and filler noodling, this one has focus and feel. The writing team of Manfred Mann and Mike Hugg came up with some of their most arresting melodies and arrangements for this one, making it a stand-alone work that lives outside the movie. The immortal title track is just one of the high points in this beautiful, moody, psych-jazz score. Fans of the group should replace their bashed-up vinyl copy with this superb-sounding CD. Fans of British pop who haven't heard it have a thrill in store."

A delight! Great 60s soundtrack music.

kaban43 | Somewhere over the rainbow. | 06/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have had this soundtrack album for over 5 years on CD, and the music on it still moves me and makes me wish I could see the film that it was written for!



"Up the Junction" is fantastic opener, with evocative lyrics. You get the feeling that the person in the song is completely detached from the dull, work-a-day life he sees around him (or maybe high on LSD?). This feeling is sustained throughout many of the other tracks. It beams you back to the 1960s, a time of social upheaval and uncertainty.



When the chorus of "Up the Junction" brightly breaks through, it changes the vibe from introspective to pop perfection- almost like Brian Wilson did on some sections of his "Smile" album. So, the music feel moves from reflective to joyous. Manfred Man does this on "Walking around" as well, probably my favorite track. "Walking around" is pure excellence, with its yearning, dreamy melancholic verses abruptly interchanged with the bright, poppy chorus. It really works! The vocalwork is muliti-layered, complex and beautiful on other songs such as "Songs of love". Wonderful!



The instrumental work is great too, songs such as "Belgravia" have a slinky piano/vibrophone Jazz groove that makes you want to bust out your cocktail glasses. Then there are sort of collage tracks of atmospheric music, such as "Wailing Horn", starting off with complex drum work, which is then abruptly cut by a long sustaining piano chord (ala "Day in the life"), fading into a hammond organ with an amazing saxophone solo which could easily fit in with some of Sun-Ra's work.



I fully recommend this album to any fan of 60s music."