"Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James"[nb 1] is a song written by songwriters Geoff Stephens and John Carter, recorded by English pop group Manfred Mann in 1966. Previous to this, it was recorded by the band Herbie's People who were signed to CBS and had recorded other John Carter songs. The original title was ....Mr Jones and was recorded that way by Herbie's People. Their version was pulled by CBS when Manfred Mann said they'd record it. It was subsequently issued but only in the USA on the Okeh label. Stephens and Carter, who were writers for a publishing company on Denmark Street, London, wrote the song in a style different from their usual compositions, as love was not the prevalent theme. Introduced to the song by producer Shel Talmy, Manfred Mann recorded it at Philips Studio in August 1966. Released by Fontana Records on 21 October 1966, the song was backed by drummer Mike Hugg's composition "Morning After The Party" as the group's second single on the label. Keyboardist Manfred Mann plays the Mellotron on the recording; it was one of the earliest recordings featuring the instrument. Following a trend set by Bob Dylan, the song tackles the subject of life in British middle classsuburbia from the perspective of a narrator, who laments the loss of a lover after her marriage to another man.
Upon release, "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" received warm reviews in the British music press, but also received backlash from fans for its pop style. The song became a large success across Europe, reaching number two on the Record Retailer chart in the United Kingdom while peaking within the top 10 across the continent, Africa and Oceania. The song was not released as an A-side single in the United States because a competing group released their version there; instead it was relegated to the B-side of Hugg's song "Each And Every Day". Despite being released on the same day as their third studio album As Is, "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" was excluded from it. Retrospectively, the early use of the Mellotron and the production of Talmy have been praised.
1966 was a tumultuous and relatively difficult year for Manfred Mann, due to several changes in their lineup.[4] Their lead singer, Paul Jones had left the group shortly after their single "Pretty Flamingo" had reached number one on the Record Retailer chart.[5] Jones was shortly followed by the departure of bassist Jack Bruce,[6] after which Manfred Mann hired Mike d'Abo as a vocalist and Klaus Voormann as a bassist.[4][7] After signing with Fontana Records, the band collaborated with Shel Talmy, an old acquaintance of theirs, which produced "Just Like a Woman".[8] It reached number 10 on Record Retailer,[5] which proved that Manfred Mann were able to keep their momentum and relevance following the departure of Jones and according to AllMusic's Bruce Eder, also established their "commercial credibility".[9][10]
In search for new material to follow up "Just Like a Woman", the band initially had planned on covering another song by Bob Dylan, which generated some friction between band members, a number of which thought it would have been generic and formulaic.[11][nb 2] Instead, Talmy presented Manfred Mann with tapes from the Denmark Street publishing offices, where Geoff Stephens and John Carter wrote their music.[8] Both Stephens and Carter were part of a niche group of English songwriters that "compared very favorably" to their American counterparts.[1] For the song, the duo had embraced the conservative nature of Denmark Street rather than the youth subculture that was growing in London, meaning that it was more straightforward.[1] Greg Russo states that the composition was rather unorthodox coming from them, as it was not primarily a love song which they'd previously written about.[13]
Recording and composition
"Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" was the second of three singles that were produced by Shel Talmy,[8] influential for his previous work with the Who and the Kinks, which Manfred Mann would gain experience from.[14] In an interview for New Musical Express, lead vocalist d'Abo stated Talmy taught them "new and innovative techniques" in the studio, something that "our previous producer (John Burgess)[sic] didn't".[14] He further said that the sessions were "a whole heap of fun".[14] During the summer of 1966, Fontana Records had bought studio time at the Philips Studio in Marble Arch, which would further produce the album As Is (1966).[11] "Semi-Detached" was recorded during a session held on 22 August 1966, which had also produced the bulk of the tracks which would make up As Is (1966).[15]
The song is also noted in that it is one of the first pop recordings to use the Mellotron, an instrumental that would later become prevalent in the fledging progressive rock scene.[16][17][18] On the instrument, keyboardist Manfred Mann plays loops using the flute setting during the intro, which then prevails in the composition after each chorus.[17] The model of the instrument was the second iteration, the Mark II, which Mann himself owned.[13] It was introduced to him by Mike Vickers, who previously was Manfred Mann's guitarist, and who would later similarly introduce the instrument to the Beatles.[19] Mann claims that he took the inspiration to purchase one from his curiosity of instruments that were "new and exotic".[19] The band would record another single using the instrument, the follow-up "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" in 1967.[18]
Lyrically, the track has become one of Stephens and Carters most discussed and analyzed songs.[20][21] For the song, the duo drew inspiration from a recent trend in which social issues were brought up in pop song lyrics, inspired by Dylan.[13][22] It tells the tale of British suburbia and a "wedding story" which Bob Stanley claims comes from "a jilted lover",[22][23] which according to François Penz "didn't bring much hope to the suburban man either".[24] However, some identify the song as satirical and dismissive of middle class life.[20] This criticism is "couched up" when the narrator finds out that the lover has married.[1] Russo states that the lyrics were, unlike previously more conventional love songs, rather "disturbing" from the perspective of the narrator.[13] Roger Webster calls Manfred Mann's performance of the lyrics as "ironic".[23]
Musically, "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" was largely written in the key of D major, which wasn't "unlike the writing of Stephens", who tended to write his songs in the major key.[13] The single, largely based on the inclusion of the Mellotron, gave the song a relatively "baroque pop-fueled sound".[13] Russo also believes that it was Manfred Mann's most straightforward pop rock due to the steel guitar played by group guitarist Tom McGuinness, whom he feels "makes an interesting and pleasant" contrast to the Mellotron backing.[13] However, Kieron Tyler of The Arts Desk considered it "straight pop".[25] Eder described it as a song that "marked a major departure for the group".[10]
Release and commercial performance
In the United Kingdom, "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" would be released on 21 October 1966 by Fontana Records as Manfred Mann's second single on that label.[1][nb 3] The release date coincided with the release of their third studio album, As Is, along with an unauthorized EP of older material by His Master's Voice, As Was.[13] The single was backed by a group original, "Morning After The Party", which was written by drummer Mike Hugg.[1] The song, featuring "strong Lovin' Spoonful-overtones" through the "cheesy, clinky piano",[26] followed the standard by Manfred Mann of having an outside writer composing the A-side, while the group themselves would write the B-side.[27] Unusually for a British invasion band at the time, the song was never released as an A-side in the United States nor Canada.[2] The reason behind this was that another band, Herbie's People, had quickly recorded the song and were planning on releasing it as an A-side in the US.[3][2] Instead, a then unreleased song by the band, "Each And Every Day", was released as a single in the US with "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" as the B-side.[28][nb 4]
The proof of the pudding and all that; we had a very big hit with 'Semi-Detached' and that means simply that the record buyers liked it.[31]
The song entered the Record Retailer chart on the week after it was released at number 32, before peaking at number two on 23 November 1966.[32] The song was kept from the number-one spot by the Beach Boys "Good Vibrations", and exited the chart on 18 January 1967 at a position of number 42 after lasting for 12 weeks.[32] In charts published by other British music publications it also charted high, reaching number two on the chart compiled by Melody Maker,[33] while peaking at number three on both Disc and Music Echo's and New Musical Express charts.[34][35] Across Europe, the single also reached the top ten in Denmark, where it peaked at number seven,[36] and Sweden, where it reached number five on Tio i Topp and number ten on Kvällstoppen.[37][38] The song also reached the top-10 in both Africa and Oceania.[39][40]
Although released simultaneously with As Is, "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" was ultimately not included on it, even though the B-side "Morning After The Party" was.[41] The song would not get an album release in the UK for almost four years until 1971, when it was released on the compilation albumThis Is... Manfred Mann.[30] In Europe, the song would first get an album release on the compilation album One Way in 1967.[42] Almost two years after release, the song would be issued on the group's final studio album in the US and Canada, The Mighty Quinn on 6 May 1968.[43] According to author Greg Russo, the inclusion of "Semi-Detached" along with several other early tracks by the band "cements the album as a compilation" rather than a studio album.[44]
Reception and legacy
Contemporary reception
Upon release in the UK, the single was met with positive reviews in the press. Writing for Record Mirror, Norman Jopling and Peter Jones declare that "Semi-Detached" has the potential of being a big hit.[45] They claim that the song is not written in the songwriters usual style in the lyrics.[45] The two state that the melody "is catchy enough to take them to the top", and conclude by stating that it is different instrumentally with "moments of falsetto".[45] In a review for New Musical Express, a reviewer erroneously claims the mellotron to be a flute, though notes that it "sounds beautiful".[46] They state that the "tune is a commercial highlight" while adding that the record's chorus is "delightfully infectious".[46] Another NME reviewer speculates over the chart possibilities for the song, which they claim will "either be too experimental for the charts or the perfect fit".[47] They conclude by claiming it is one of Manfred Mann's best recordings.[46] Writing for Disc and Music Echo, Penny Valentine states that the single is a "pop dream", with two "contrasting sides for the fans to dig".[48] She ends by stating that it most likely will become a hit.[48]
In the US, although being a B-side, Semi Detached, Suburban Mr. James" also received media coverage. In Cashbox magazine, the song is called "a very groovy ditty" by the staff."[49] Russo claims that "Each and Every Day" was an inferior track to "Semi-Detached" and should've never been released as a single in the first place.[9] However, he also claims that "Semi-Detached" might have not charted in the US regardless as Manfred Mann was in a state of commercial decline there.[9]
However, Manfred Mann also garnered some criticism over the single, with some fans and critics deeming it "too poppy".[9] Russo states that these claims were "nothing new" and the band had been receiving "bad media representation" since they started having hits on the UK charts in 1964.[9] In music magazine Beat Instrumental, it is stated that the band received criticism over "sounding like a thousand other purveyors of typical pop music", to which Mann himself responded.[31]New Musical Express reported that this backlash allegedly stems from how the "Manfreds music" was being played endlessly on pirate radio stations, including album tracks from As Is.[50] One fan is cited as saying that their music is "too bland" and "too 'poppy'" while stating that the group needed to experiment in style with the Beatles.[50] Russo believes these claims were justified, as he'd agree that As Is was clustered with bland songs.[9]
Legacy
The band's pop image during the Mike d'Abo era can be attributed to "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James"
"Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" became one of Geoff Stephens' most well-known compositions after "Winchester Cathedral"[51] Russo also claims it was his most "eclectic" song after "Winchester Cathedral".[9] After the Mann recording became a hit, Eder claimed that Manfred Mann started reshaping their "sound and image".[10] Russo states that they adapted to a new "era of Manfred Mann", where pop music was "first and foremost".[9] He states that the band's success with their 1968 single "The Mighty Quinn" was almost entirely based on the success of "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James".[9] He claims that they wouldn't have embraced the "pop-image the single had given them" in case it wasn't a hit, and most likely would've taken a different musical direction following its theoretical failure.[9]
The production by Talmy has also been given praise. According to Alec Palao, the song showcased a "much more sophisticated production style" than all the group's previous singles, including "Just Like a Woman".[21] The song's ending, which features heavily reverberated harmony vocals, could almost definitively be credited to Talmy.[21] The use of the mellotron on the song has also been noted.[19] According to author Mark Cunningham, the single is almost entirely responsible for the influence and popularity of the instrument as it was the first commercially successful recording featuring it.[19] Allegedly, the Beatles use of the instrument on their 1967 single "Strawberry Fields Forever" can also be credited to "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James." as Cunningham believes "the Beatles would've never been introduced to the Mellotron without it".[19]
Personnel
Personnel taken from the book Please Please Me: Sixties British Pop, Inside Out, unless noted.[52]
↑ The single has also been released with several different grammatical changes, lacking the hyphen and the comma on various international issues.[1] A common myth for the single is that the name James was a substitute for the name Jones, which allegedly was a nod to the group's previous vocalist Paul Jones.[2][3]
↑ Catalogue number Mercury 72629.[29] "Each And Every Day" would get a belated first release in the United Kingdom on the album Mighty Garvey!, released 28 June 1968, and was also included on the equivalent album in the United States, The Mighty Quinn, released 6 May 1968.[30]
Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961–74. Premium Publishing. ISBN919727125X.
Hallberg, Eric (1993). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P3: Sveriges Radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor. Drift Musik. ISBN9163021404.'
Kimberley, C (2000). Zimbabwe: Singles Chart Book.
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 different lead vocalists, Paul Jones from 1962 to 1966 and Mike d'Abo from 1966 to 1969.
Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann is a German artist, musician, and record producer.
Something Else by the Kinks, often referred to simply as Something Else, is the fifth UK studio album by the Kinks, released in September 1967. The album continued the Kinks' trend toward an eccentric baroque pop and music hall-influenced style defined by Ray Davies' observational and introspective lyrics. It also marks the final involvement of American producer Shel Talmy in the Kinks' 1960s studio recordings; henceforth Ray Davies would produce the group's recordings. Many of the songs feature the keyboard work of Nicky Hopkins and the backing vocals of Davies's wife, Rasa. The album was preceded by the singles "Waterloo Sunset", one of the group's most acclaimed songs, and the Dave Davies solo record "Death of a Clown", both of which charted in the UK top 3.
For Your Love is the first American album by English rock band the Yardbirds. Released in July 1965, it contains new studio recordings along with previously released singles. The album features some of the earliest recordings by guitarists Eric Clapton and his replacement Jeff Beck.
Michael David d'Abo is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of Manfred Mann from 1966 to their dissolution in 1969, and as the composer of the songs "Handbags and Gladrags" and "Build Me Up Buttercup", the latter of which was a hit for The Foundations. With Manfred Mann, d'Abo achieved six top twenty hits on the UK Singles Chart including "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James", "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" and the chart topper "Mighty Quinn".
Sheldon Talmy is an American record producer, songwriter and arranger, best known for his work in the UK in the 1960s with the Who, the Kinks and many others.
The Graham Bond Organisation (GBO) were a British jazz/rhythm and blues group of the mid-1960s consisting of Graham Bond, Jack Bruce (bass), Ginger Baker (drums), Dick Heckstall-Smith and John McLaughlin (guitar). They recorded several albums and further recordings were issued when the group's members achieved fame in progressive rock and jazz fusion. The spelling of the band's original name varied between releases, often depending on the intended audience. The British English spelled as "Organisation" or "ORGANisation", while in some other countries outside the UK spelled "Organization".
"A Groovy Kind of Love" is a song written by Toni Wine and Carole Bayer Sager based on a melody by the classical composer Muzio Clementi.
Geoffrey Stephens was an English songwriter and record producer, most prolific in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote a long series of hit records, often in conjunction with other British songwriters including Tony Macaulay, John Carter, Roger Greenaway, Peter Callander, Barry Mason, Ken Howard, Alan Blaikley, Don Black, Mitch Murray, and Les Reed.
"Just Like a Woman" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his seventh studio album, Blonde on Blonde (1966). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. Dylan allegedly wrote it on Thanksgiving Day in 1965, though some biographers doubt this, concluding that he most likely improvised the lyrics in the studio. Dylan recorded the song at Columbia Studio A in Nashville, Tennessee in March 1966. The song has been criticized for supposed sexism or misogyny in its lyrics, and has received a mixed critical reaction. Some critics have suggested that the song was inspired by Edie Sedgwick, while other consider that it refers to Dylan's relationship with fellow folk singer Joan Baez. Retrospectively, the song has received renewed praise, and in 2011, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Dylan's version at number 232 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. A shorter edit was released as a single in the United States during August 1966 and peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single also reached 8th place in the Australian charts, 12th place on the Belgium Ultratop Wallonia listing, 30th in the Dutch Top 40, and 38th on the RPM listing in Canada.
"See My Friends" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, written by the group's singer and guitarist, Ray Davies. Released in July 1965, it reached number 10 on the Record Retailer chart. The song incorporates a drone-effect played on guitar, evoking a sound reminiscent of the Indian tambura.
Mighty Garvey! is the fifth and final studio album by Manfred Mann, released on 28 June 1968 by Fontana Records. It was the last recorded by the band after the change of direction and personnel of their 1966 album As Is. It continued a transition away from jazz and blues towards self-composed art-pop. Despite including two UK top 5 hit singles, the album did not chart and the band split up the year after. In the US and Canada, it was released as The Mighty Quinn by Mercury Records.
"Dead End Street" is a song by the British band the Kinks from 1966, written by main songwriter Ray Davies. Like many other songs written by Davies, it is to some degree influenced by British Music Hall. The bass playing was partly inspired by the "twangy" sound of Duane Eddy's guitar. It was originally released as a non-album single, but has since been included as one of several bonus tracks from the Face to Face CD. The song, like many others by the group, deals with the poverty and misery found in the lower classes of English society.
"Days" is a song by the Kinks, written by lead singer Ray Davies, released as a single in 1968. It also appeared on an early version of the album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. It now appears as a bonus track of the remastered CD. On the original Pye 7N 17573 label, the name of the song is "Day's" due to a grammatical error.
As Is is the third British studio album by Manfred Mann, released in the United Kingdom on 21 October 1966 through Fontana Records. It was their fourth overall but their first to feature new members Mike d'Abo and Klaus Voormann.
Instrumental Assassination is a 1966 jazz-rock EP by Manfred Mann, produced by Shel Talmy and released by Fontana Records (TE17483). Mann reported that the group "loved it" and the producer was "particularly pleased": Fontana's Jack Baverstock found it full of ideas, humour and new thinking, but the EP sold poorly and was re-released in its entirety on the 1968 Fontana compilation album What A Mann.
"My Little Red Book" (occasionally subtitled "(All I Do Is Talk About You)") is a song composed by American songwriter Burt Bacharach with lyrics by Hal David. The duo were enlisted by Charles K. Feldman to compose the music to Woody Allen's film What's New Pussycat? following a chance meeting between Feldman and Bacharach's fiancé Angie Dickinson in London. "My Little Red Book" was composed in three weeks together with several other songs intended for the movie. Musically, the song was initially composed in the key of C major, largely based on a re-iterating piano riff performed. David's lyrics tells the tale of a distraught lover, who after getting dumped by his girlfriend browses through his "little red book" and taking out several girls to dance in a vain effort to get over her.
"Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" is a song written by Tony Hazzard, first recorded by British pop group Manfred Mann. Hazzard claims the song "came out of the blue" though he did not demo it for weeks. Following recording a demo, he approached manager Gerry Bron, who liked it enough to want one of his groups, Manfred Mann, to record it. Manfred Mann recorded their version of the single on 10 February 1967 at Philips Studio in Marble Arch, London, together with producer Shel Talmy. It was the second of three singles Manfred Mann recorded to feature the Mellotron.
"Come Tomorrow" is a song written by American songwriters Bob Elgin, Dolores Phillips and Frank Augustus for rhythm and blues singer Marie Knight, who issued it as a single in October 1961 through Okeh Records, a release which received good reviews, though failed to chart. The best known version of the song was recorded by British pop band Manfred Mann, who took it to the top-ten in the United Kingdom in 1965.
The Five Faces of Manfred Mann is the debut British and second American studio album by Manfred Mann. It was first released in the United Kingdom on 11 September 1964 by His Master's Voice. In late October/early November, the album was released in Canada by Capitol Records. The Canadian track listing was almost the same as the UK version, except it included the hit "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" instead of "I've Got My Mojo Working". The record has been called "one of the great blues-based British invasion albums; it's a hot, rocking record that benefits from some virtuoso playing as well".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
