The Good Earth (Manfred Mann's Earth Band album)

The Good Earth is the fifth studio album released by Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 1974. Its opening song is a cover of "Give Me the Good Earth", written by Gary Wright and released on his 1971 solo album Footprint, while tracks 2 and 3 were originally by Australian progressive rock band Spectrum.

The Good Earth
Studio album by
Released11 October 1974
Recorded1974
StudioThe Workhouse, Old Kent Road, London
GenreHard rock, progressive rock, jazz rock
Length38:09
LabelBronze (UK)
Warner Bros. (US)
ProducerManfred Mann, Earth Band
Manfred Mann's Earth Band chronology
Solar Fire
(1973)
The Good Earth
(1974)
Nightingales & Bombers
(1975)
Singles from The Good Earth
  1. "Be Not Too Hard"
    Released: 1 November 1974[1]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Record GuideB−[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Only Solitaire[5]
Rolling Stonemixed[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]

Early owners of each copy of The Good Earth were entitled to rights over 1 square foot of the earth situated at Llanerchyrfa in the County of Brecon, in Wales. The inner sleeve included a coupon that had to be sent for registration. This was part of the promotion activities linked to the album that had ecological inspirations. There was no swindle and thousands of fans were registered. Registration could be done on or before 31 December 1975.[8]

The album was on the US Billboard 200 charts for three weeks, peaking at number 157 on 7 December 1974.[9]

Track listing

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Side one

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  1. "Give Me the Good Earth" (Gary Wright) – 8:31
  2. "Launching Place" (Mike Rudd) – 5:52
  3. "I'll Be Gone" (Rudd) – 3:42

Side two

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  1. "Earth Hymn" (Manfred Mann, Chris Slade) – 6:19
  2. "Sky High" (Mann, Mick Rogers) – 5:15
  3. "Be Not Too Hard" (Rogers, Christopher Logue) – 4:12
  4. "Earth Hymn Part 2" (Mann, Slade) – 4:18

Bonus Tracks (1998 CD reissue)

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  1. "Be Not Too Hard" (Single version) (Rogers, Logue) – 3:39
  2. "I'll Be Gone" (Single Version) (Rudd) – 3:28
  3. "Earth Hymn Part 2a" (Single Version) (Mann, Slade) – 4:13

Personnel

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The Earth Band

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Technical

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Charts

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Chart (1975) Peak
position
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[10] 20
US Billboard 200[11] 157

References

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  1. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 68.
  2. ^ Eder, Bruce. The Good Earth at AllMusic
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 4 March 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (1998). "Manfred Mann's Earth Band". Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Groves Dictionaries. pp. 3438–39. ISBN 1-561-59237-4.
  5. ^ Starostin, George. "Manfred Mann's Earth Band". Only Solitaire.
  6. ^ Barnes, Ken (2 January 1975). "Manfred Mann's Earth Band: The Good Earth". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  7. ^ Marsh, Dave (1983). "Manfred Mann". In Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2th ed.). Random House. pp. 313–314. ISBN 0-394-72107-1.
  8. ^ "Liner notes". Discogs. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Billboard 200 - December 7, 1974". Billboard. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Manfred Mann's Earth Band – The Good Earth". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Manfred Mann's Earth Band Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
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