Manfred Mann’s Chapter Three lasted all of two years from late 1969 when they made their debut album to 1970 when Volume Two was released, and became their final album. In 1970 Chapter III recorded some music for a proposed third album, but before it could be finished and released, Mann disbanded Chapter III and formed The Earth Band. Following a fire at Manfred’s London recording studio in the mid-1980's, it was thought that the tapes of that third album were lost forever, but a copy was found in the 90's at a record company vault in the U.S.A., and so we can now hear what a third Chapter III album could have sounded like. 'Messing Up The Land', 'Fish' and 'Turn You Away From My Door' were later released on Mann's four-CD box set 'Odds & Sods: Mis-Takes & Out-Takes', and the rest of the tracks have been taken from a bootleg which surfaced following the re-discovery of the tapes, with the exception of 'So Sorry, Please' which seems to have vanished, so I've had to use Mike Hugg's solo take from his 'Stress & Strain' album (see note below where I've now been sent the full MMCIII version to replace the Mike Hugg one). 'Fish & Chips' ('Volume Three') is an odd mix of old-style British invasion era pop songs ('It’s So Easy', 'Turn You Away From My Door'), ballads, proto-ambient tracks ('So Sorry, Please'), and a cover of James Taylor’s 'Something (In The Way She Moves)'. At first listen, you might think that Mann was experimenting to see in which direction the band should take, but it appears this was submitted to the record company for release as a finished album, as that copy of the master was found in the U.S.A. in the 90's. In any case, we should be thankful Chapter III did not succumb to pressure to conform or make formula music, but reinvented themselves as the Earth Band, as this third volume, which has more ballads than necessary, including an even slower, more intimate version of 'Sometimes' (from their first album), would have made it harder for Mann to retain credibility.
Track listing
01 Forgot To Remember02 Messin' Up The Land03 Train Crash04 It's So Easy05 Fish06 Something (In The Way She Moves)07 So Sorry, Please08 Turn You Away From My Door09 Sometimes (Version 2)10 Chips
Thanks to The Little Chicken at bigozine2.com for the history of the album, and especially to Bill for supplying the missing tracks, including the full 8 minute MMCIII version of 'So Sorry, Please', which means that we can now hear the full album as it was recorded in 1970.
