No, this is not the kind of music I usually share, simply because I generally don't care for it. This is different: It's one of the best examples of progressive rock I've ever heard. The fact that it was recorded in 1966 makes it all the more astonishing. Manfred Mann was a band both ridiculously-versatile and far, far ahead of its time.
Hugg kicks it off, and it's clear from the first beat that he means business. No self-indulgent, flimsy tempos here. Thanks to his background in jazz, Hugg's beat is rock-solid, and even his cymbal playing has a focus that lesser drummers lack. Manfred Mann the band started as the Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers, and you hear the fruits of that long association in their hand-in-glove rhythm playing, to which both Klaus Voormann on bass and Tom McGuinness on guitar add their equally-estimable chops.
This is probably an awkward moment in which to mention that I detest drum solos -- loud, thrash-y, over-long, inexact, self-congratulatory drum solos. Mike Hugg's solo is none of these things. It's as well-plotted as if he'd learned it from sheet music. He makes full use of dynamics as well as his mind-boggling technique. Then, as his solo comes to a close, he puts in a ritardando (In rock? Who does that?), which sets the stage perfectly for the rest of the band to come back to the main theme -- a return that Hugg telegraphs in the last few beats of his solo. The technique is so rigorous, the musicianship so delightful that it's almost classical.
This is Manfred Mann, featuring birthday boy, Mike Hugg, with "Still, I'm Sad". And, yes, in case you're wondering, this beats the Yardbirds' lugubrious, spaghetti western version to death.
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