Two letters by Manfred Mann's lead vocalist Paul Jones, both to Tony Glover, with excellent music content:
ALS signed "Paul Jones," two pages both sides, no date but circa February 1966, in part: "Various people kept telling me I should listen to you (chiefly Bill Wyman, the Stones' bass player) and then I hear from you before I hear you…We have a new album out soon and I will send you a copy but I don't think you'll like it in view of what you say about 'Smokestack' and 'Sha La La.' You ask about our scene, aims—well, they're varied. Really we want to have a big octopus-thing going, with each tentacle to be a different style; small group modern jazz, blues…get some folk things going; though to be honest I can't say I dig a scene which makes a cult of a man (Dylan) and then boos him at Newport Folk Festival. Anyway, I oscillate between wanting to sound like Sonny Boy ('just me and my harp,' sounds pretty!) and wanting to sound like the Righteous Brothers (peering out from the tangled foliage of a Phil Spector production). I guess I'd like to be in a position not to have to differentiate between blowing my soul and making bread…You probably know this but you guys are on the way up here. I haven't seen J Koerner but spies say he did business. I was with the Stones talking about tour records, and you know J Lennon said 'Blues Rags and Hollers' was his favourite album (publicly) thereby directing attention towards you—and I guess pushing up sales!" Accompanied by the original mailing envelope.
TLS, signed "Paul," two pages, January 8, [no year], in part: "Your new L.P. is nowhere near as bad as you seem to think. I'd never have noticed an overdose of Leadbelly, or that you weren't grooving. As far as recording quality is concerned, I must confess (1) I am no judge of things like that…and (2) having said that, I must also say that I think all your records are weak on that score. Perhaps it's a fault with Elektra, because, as you say, the Butterfield s week too…Our group has started to do 'Black Betty' some nights—our new bass player doubles harmonica and we do it as a duet. He plays the bass harp, and I the other. We do it on a Diddley beat—know what I mean?—and apart from the guitar, everybody else plays some kind of percussion instrument…Also I've met Joe Boyd, Mister Elektra U.K. He told me about this Electric Blues Project thing, and I've got together a special pick-up band for the session…We've got Steve Winwood to sing and Peter York on drums, both from the Spencer Davis group (they have the number one record in England right now), Jack Bruce on bass (Manfred Mann), Eric Clapton on guitar (John Mayall's Blues Breakers, ex-Yardbirds) and a fine piano player who used to be in my band at Oxford." In overall fine condition.
From the Tony Glover Collection.
