Via Prog Archives:
“The second and final installment of Chapter Three’s recorded history is the logical extension of the amalgamation of murky electric piano led blues and progressive jazz flights of fancy that characterised the debut album. However despite its laudable ambition, and the fact that it is probably the more progressive of the two Chapter Three albums, I consider it to be a marginally less impressive effort. At the heart of this album are two major cuts, the 8 minute long Lady Ace and Happy Being Me which is just about twice as long. On both these tracks, the brass section takes some significant rambles, but despite quality playing, it lacks the incisiveness of most of the tracks on the first album. Happy Being Me in particular, has a series of really nice solos on first piano and then saxophone, but that doesn’t excuse sticking with the same groove and backing chords for a quarter of an hour, although the track will definitely appeal to those who enjoy some of the lengthier jams that Steve Winwood’s Traffic got up to. Of the shorter tracks, the instrumental Jump Before You Think is a real highlight. It kicks off with a great Steve York bass solo (the guy has one major moment on each album that I’ve heard him on so far) and this particular track is sure to excite those who get a kick out of Colosseum’s brand of jazz-rock. Poor Sad Sue is another good song that carries on the trend of moody blues-rock with brassy diversions. But on average the shorter tracks like I Ain’t Laughing, the sluggish (surely ironically) It’s Good To Be Alive and the generally tedious Virginia (which is a basic boogie song broken up by some shocking brass segments) compare poorly with their counterparts on the first album. As I said though, the overall defecit between this album and the previous one is not that large. Essentially Volume One is more consistent and has the band’s better songs but Volume Two has many of the band’s most daring moments. Manfred Mann (the man) was to go on to make more spectacular music with the Earth Band, but his two albums with Chapter Three are definitely worth checking out, and are downright essential if you’re into the jazz-rock scene. … 66% on the MPV scale.” – Trotsky
“Second album from this band, and still delving further in experimentation – these things being relative, of course, but remember that these guys were pop writers just a year before this release. With an unchanged line-up and a strange artwork, this second albums takes off just where the previous had quit. The most logical step forward was the extension/lengthening of the tracks allowing for more instrumental interplay. 8-min opening track Lady Ace could’ve easily fitted on their previous album, with the difference that the brass section does get wilder than anything they had done on the first volume. Poor Sad Sue easily tops that with a free-jazz brass section solo before bringing things back to more conventional rock. Jump Before You with its African percussions and York improvising wildly on his bass, then the brass (first with a Moroccan feel) take over and a dissonant sax soloing away, is yet another perfect example of this unit still breaking new grounds. Good To Be Alive is more reminiscent of their debut album, but it is a creeper. The extended 16-min track Happy Being Me is full of great soloing (including Mann on piano) and some outstanding wind-works from Harold Becket and Nick Evans (of Keith Tippett fame). Legend has it that a third album was recorded but the tapes lost, but one thing is certain, that record would’ve been another step towards nirvana. Instead the Chapter Three will break up and Manfred will take Hugg with him to found another superb group , the Earth Band which will make plenty of excellent records (but the first two albums were a clear step backwards) but in a rockier direction than here.” – Sean Trane
Manfred Mann
Chapter Three Volume Two
(Vertigo, 1970)
MediaFire DL Link
01. Lady Ace
02. I Ain’t Laughing
03. Poor Sad Sue
04. Jump Before You Think [MP3]
05. It’s Good To Be Alive
06. Happy Being Me
07. Virginia
