The Roaring Silence - Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
Track List:
Blinded By The Light
Singing The Dolphin Through
Waiter, There’s A Yawn In My Ear
The Road To Babylon
This Side Of Paradise
Starbird
Questions
Before we begin
The only song I think I have heard here is Blinded By The Light. I know I have heard the single edit, I think I have heard the full version. For as long as I can remember I have liked that song, apparently it’s a cover of a Springsteen tune that I think I heard once and I don’t think it made a big impression on me. Let’s give this a listen.
Blinded By The Light
I am familiar with this song and I really like it. I don’t really know what it means. I think it’s singing about nostalgia about youth and lost loves and friends of yore. But I almost suspect a lot of the lyrics were chosen because they sound good next to one another instead of because they were trying to convey a point. I think I like this version better than the single edit. I like the extended guitar solo.
Singing The Dolphin Through
I like the way the bass comes in. Neat soundscape. This is not what I expected. I don’t really have a clue what this is about. I am guessing but perhaps this is an anti-war song. From a dolphin’s perspective these two naval fleets are fighting and the dolphin wants peace so they can swim. I can almost hear the guitar and synths as the dolphin’s echolocation cries and chirps. The song really wasn’t what I had anticipated and now I am excited about the next few songs. I really appreciate the sax solo.
Waiter, There’s A Yawn In My Ear
I can’t find lyrics so I am going to assume this is going to be instrumental. We have some synth exploration. Really this is approaching the style of some modern EDM. The bass drop would have been more dramatic in modern EDM. I am going to have a hard time describing this because it’s something near indescribable. The album cover is a mouth yawning in the inner part of the ear. That makes about as much sense as me trying to explain what is happening in this song.It’s a neat exploration of themes and jams. I think the title is a reference to some hallucinogenic chemicals that after ingestion can make the user yawn as the effects of the chemicals start to take effect, the oddly phrased statement could explain confusion under the effects of the chemicals.
The Road To Babylon
So this one borrows lyrics and style from Don McLean’s Babylon. I still like the exploration within the composition of the music, the searching and echos between the instruments, almost reminds me of Zappa with some of the phrasing. I really like the integration of the synth as a melodic counterpart from the vocal. I don’t know if the end is just the recording I have but it almost seems cut off and leaves you wanting more. I assume this was where side A ended and you had to flip.
This Side Of Paradise
Bells. More bells. Arp. The synth is the star here. I wonder how close the synth solo and guitar solo are? As for a meaning. I think it is just trying to say to enjoy yourself instead of worrying about what could happen.
Starbird
This starts with a hymn? Then we get a jam. Some songs are excuses to play cool sounding solos. I think this is one of them. It does share themes with Blinded By The Light and The Road To Babylon.
Questions
This one starts almost like a nursery rhyme. This one is a ballad and reminds me of Meatloaf. The song is about reflecting on yourself and searching for self discovery. What a pretty end of the album.
Thoughts after listening
That was a pleasant experience. I feel it was very explorative and lacked a real sense of direction. I’ve heard that producers used to shop songs to small bands and manufacture one hit wonders. I wonder if that is what went on here. I prefer the explorative tracks searching for different sounds that mix and mingle in interesting ways. There is a clear influence from what I would call “church music” hymns or things that sound like hymns. I think this likely shows a bit of the history of the members in the band and where they came from. Overall that was a good time.
