Up for sale is a stunning piece of thick pristine vinyl, an original 1969 U.S. First Pressing of the self-titled debut album by Manfred Mann Chapter Three (Polydor 24-4013). This particular copy is just a vinyl dream—pressed at the legendary Monarch Record Mfg. Co. in Los Angeles using lacquers mastered at Sterling Sound in New York, in gorgeous condition that plays clean and warm. 

In 1969, keyboard virtuoso Manfred Mann threw away his highly successful pop formula to form Manfred Mann Chapter Three alongside Mike Hugg. This group became an iconic vanguard of the burgeoning UK progressive underground. The music is a dark, brooding, and heavily experimental fusion of avant-garde jazz, heavy horn arrangements, and progressive rock. Abandoning standard lead guitars entirely, the band layered five saxophones and flutes over a fierce, driving rhythm section and Mann’s distinct, heavy organ lines. The record was written and arranged almost entirely by Mike Hugg and Manfred Mann, utilizing the freedom of extended studio sessions to capture a raw, wall-of-sound brass style. Recorded in London, the tapes were sent directly to the United States for high-fidelity lacquer cutting at Sterling Sound to maximize the dynamic horn bursts and deep, cavernous bass frequencies. It remains a legendary sonic artifact of the late-60s counter-culture transition into progressive art-rock.