WATCH

Prog, it comes in all shapes and sizes, whatever you want. A bit of an omnivore can fill its belly quite well. When you think of a not-too-complicated prog variant, you quickly think of Manfred Mann's Earth Band, especially since their level of playing is simply excellent, bordering on brilliance. The album in question here, "Watch", is the band's eighth album and because it was released in 1978, it actually marks the end of a glorious decade with albums like "Solar Fire" and "The Roaring Silence."

After "Watch", the band released the fairly melodic "Angel Station", after which they permanently stopped making albums rooted in progressive rock. The nod to commercialism is mainly expressed in the singles Davy's On The Road Again and Mighty Quinn. In particular, Davy's On The Road Again, which features some very catchy melodies, brought the band some fame. For the average prog fan, however, the enjoyment of the album lies precisely in the other tracks. In that regard, let's highlight five of them.

On the original A-side (I will always see "Watch" as an LP), there are four tracks. The opener, Circles, continues the line from the previous album, "The Roaring Silence", very well. Thanks to the enchanting, often high vocals of Chris Thompson, there is a mystical atmosphere. Not that the song is elusive. It gradually becomes clear that new bassist Patt King is a great replacement for the legendary Colin Pattenden. In the subsequent two-part track, Drowning On Dry Land / Fish Soup, after the lively first part, King's class becomes evident as the band transitions to the almost instrumental Fish Soup. The Earth Band's collaboration is at its best here, with delightful guitar work and heavenly Mellotron, accompanied by a melodic bass guitar and supported by a delightful drumming style. After this magnificent piece of music, the band returns to the Drowning On Dry Land section, albeit without the lead vocals, while the backing vocals are still present. The band's somewhat funky side can be heard in Chicago Institute, a typical MMEB track. In the ballad California, the band is once again fully itself, as it has been for years. Take a listen to the closing synthesizer solo. An attempt was once made to get California into the charts, but it didn't fare well. The tracks on the B-side had more success.

What more can be said about Davy's On The Road Again? Well, for example, the songwriters, John Simon and Robbie Robertson of The Band, can be very happy with the classic rock/AOR version by Manfred Mann and his Earth Band. It's good to know that the version on "Watch" features a significant keyboard solo that was omitted from the single. Enough has also been said about the closing track, Mighty Quinn, I think. This sing-along, written by Bob Dylan, is performed live on the album, just like Davy's On The Road Again. In both cases, the recordings were made during Pinkpop 1977. If you go along with the music, you'll experience its feel-good character. In between these two tracks, there's Martha's Madman, which is not a live track, but it fits perfectly thanks to Mann's awe-inspiring Moog playing.

All in all, there's a lot to enjoy on "Watch". The five studio tracks are a treat for every prog fan and the two live tracks won't spoil that celebration. We're in good hands with it.

Orginally posted on www.progenrock.com