''Solar Fire'' is the fourth studio album by

Manfred Mann's Earth Band Manfred Mann's Earth Band are an English rock band formed by South African musician Manfred Mann. Their hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's " For You", "Blinded by the Light" and "Spirit in the Night". After forming in 1971 and with a ...

, released in 1973. It spent 15 weeks on the Billboard 200 charts, peaking at number 96 on May 11, 1974. It was initially intended to be a full adaptation of The Planets Suite but Gustav Holst's heir, who had previously given permission to the adaptation of "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" in the hit single "Joybringer", didn't allow this to happen, so the band made their own "cosmic" album using mostly original themes, although the most well known song is the (greatly reworked) Bob Dylan composition "Father of Day, Father of Night", which is in the Earth Band's live set to this day and remains a popular song on rock radio. "Pluto the Dog" (a play on the Disney character) and the two-part "Saturn, Lord of the Ring/Mercury, the Winged Messenger" are instrumentals, and "Earth the Circle Part 2" features only two lines of sung vocals. The album is often considered the peak of the early Earth Band line-up and, for a lot of progressive rock reviewers, the pinnacle of Mann's career in general.

Track listing

;Side one #" Father of Day, Father of Night" (

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

) – 9:55 #"In the Beginning, Darkness" (

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English rock band, formed in London and active between 1962 and 1969. The group were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The band had two diffe ...

, Mick Rogers,

Chris Slade Chris Slade (born Christopher Slade Rees; 30 October 1946) is a Welsh musician, best known for playing for the Australian rock band AC/DC. He drummed for the band from 1989 to 1994, performing on their 1990 album '' The Razors Edge'' along wit ...

) – 5:22 #"Pluto the Dog" (Mann, Rogers, Slade,

Colin Pattenden Colin Roy Pattenden (born November 1947, Farnborough, Kent, England) is an English bass guitarist, chiefly known for his membership of Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Pattenden was taught guitar but learned to play bass from tuition books, chiefly th ...

) – 2:48 ;Side two #"Solar Fire" (Mann, Rogers, Slade, Pattenden) – 5:15 #"Saturn, Lord of the Ring/Mercury, The Winged Messenger" (Mann/Mann, Rogers) – 6:31 #"Earth, The Circle Part 2" (Mann) – 3:23 #"Earth, The Circle Part 1" (Debussy/Mann) – 3:56 ;Bonus Tracks (1998 re-issue) #

"Joybringer" (

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

, Mann, Rogers, Slade) – 3:25 (based on "make your stash" by Ross Wilson). #"Father of Day, Father of Night" (Edited version) (Dylan) – 3:03 The track listing varied from area to area. The US edition omitted the final track "Earth, the Circle Part 1" but included "Joybringer" before "Earth, the Circle Part 2". "Joybringer" had been released as a non-album single in 1973.

Personnel

The Earth Band

– organ, Mellotron, Minimoog synthesiser,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

on "Earth, the Circle Part 1" * Mick Rogers –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, vocals *

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

– drums

Additional musicians

Irene Chanter Irene Chanter is a British singer best known for her career as a member of the Chanter Sisters and for her work as a session singer, working with a number of musicians in the 1970s and 1980s. Irene Chanter has worked with Elton John, Long John Ba ...

–

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

Doreen Chanter Doreen Chanter is a British singer best known as a member of the Chanter Sisters, and for her work as a backing vocalist and session vocalist, primarily during the 1970s and 1980s. Chanter Sisters Chanter started as a member of a group called ...

– backing vocals * Grove Singers – backing vocals * Paul Rutherford –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

* Peter Miles – additional

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

on "In the Beginning, Darkness"

Technical

* Manfred Mann's Earth Band – producer *

John Pantry John Pantry (born 10 October 1946) is a musician, singer, songwriter, audio engineer (at IBC Studios, for the Small Faces and on the first three Bee Gees L.P.s) and record producer from Harrow, Middlesex, England. He's been active since the la ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

* Dave Stephens, John Edwards – assistant engineers * Laurence Latham – tape operator * Fin Costello – design,

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

References

External links

Manfred Mann's Earth Band - ''Solar Fire'' (1973) album releases & credits
at

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Manfred Mann's Earth Band - ''Solar Fire'' (1973) album to be listened
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Manfred Mann's Earth Band albums 1973 albums Bronze Records albums Polydor Records albums Concept albums {{1970s-rock-album-stub