Manfred Mann - Up the Junction - Alternate Version (1968)

Manfred Mann didn't release a studio album in Britain in 1967. But in early 1968, they released this one. Technically, it's name is "Manfred Mann Go Up the Junction," but I just call it "Up the Junction." It was an unusual album for them, because it was the soundtrack for a movie by the same name. But this album is very different to that one. I didn't include some songs, and added a bunch more. Only five out of the 14 songs here are exactly the same as on the 1968 release. Personally, I think this one is much better.

As I've previously mentioned for earlier Manfred Mann, most of the guys in the band were really jazz musicians who got into rock because that's where the fame, fortune, and excitement mainly was in the 1960s. When they were given the chance to record a movie soundtrack, it's not surprising they filled it mostly with jazzy instrumentals. Unfortunately, in my opinion, most of those sound like boring Muzak, so I haven't included them. I did include the two instrumentals I liked the best, which are more actually jazzy than the others.

But the soundtrack does have its charms. There are a few good songs with vocals, and I've included all of those. The best of the bunch is the title song. Personally, this might be my favorite Manfred Mann song of all. It was only a minor hit, but in a better world it would have been a big one. However, the version of it I've included here is actually unreleased. There's a bootleg out there of pristine studio outtakes by the band, and this version is from that. It's similar to the released version, but has some more psychedelic touches. I've included it instead because I think it's better. It also was written by them, showing yet again they were much more than just hit makers of cover songs.

The first six songs here are from the soundtrack, if you include the unreleased version of the title song. The rest all come from different sources but were recorded around the same time, in late 1967 or early 1968. Most of these weren't officially released at the time, but came out as bonus tracks decades later. That's a shame, because they're all as good as the stuff that was released. 

The last three songs are all from BBC performances. Apparently, no studio versions of these were ever done, so we're lucky to have the BBC recordings. I find it baffling that Manfred Mann never recorded "Handbags and Gladrags" other than this BBC version, because it was written by one of the band members. Instead, Rod Stewart recorded it, and his version is known as a minor classic. By the way, I edited this version to remove a BBC DJ talking over the beginning of it.

Probably, the late 1960s are my favorite time period for music. I feel Manfred Mann was really hitting its stride around this time, because these songs have that special late 1960s feel. This sounds very much like a Hollies album from the same time period, and I think this album was just as good as one of those.

The one bonus track here is the officially released version of the "Up the Junction" title track. As I said, I like the unreleased version better, but I'm including it for completeness's sake.

01 Theme from 'Up the Junction' [Alternate Version] (Manfred Mann)
02 Sing Songs of Love (Manfred Mann)
03 Sheila's Dance [Instrumental] (Manfred Mann)
04 Walking Around (Manfred Mann)
05 Just for Me (Manfred Mann)
06 Belgravia [Instrumental] (Manfred Mann)
07 I Think It's Gonna Rain Today (Manfred Mann)
08 Budgie (Manfred Mann)
09 Sitting Alone in the Sunshine (Manfred Mann)
10 Please Mrs. Henry (Manfred Mann)
11 Sleepy Hollow (Manfred Mann)
12 She's a Woman (Manfred Mann)
13 Summertime [Instrumental] (Manfred Mann)
14 Handbags and Gladrags [Edit] (Manfred Mann)

Theme from 'Up the Junction' (Manfred Mann)

https://www.imagenetz.de/cDLUQ

The album cover is basically the official cover released in 1968. But I made a couple of minor changes. The biggest was I changed the text "Manfred Mann Go Up the Junction" to just "Manfred Mann" and "Up the Junction."