Waiting For The Rain - Manfred Mann's Earth Band (1979) video free download

Waiting For The Rain was released in late-winter 1979 on Manfred Mann's Earth Band's tenth album, Angel Station. As a huge fan of Manfred Mann's Earth Band...I actually believe them to be THE single most underrated progressive rock/rock band ever, I was very happy to finally finish a video from this album.

I'd been working on another cut from the record concurrently (in addition to numerous other tracks from their catalog), and hopefully I'll also finish that one soon enough...it's a bit more involved effect wise. Manfred Mann's Earth Band is one of those artists that, whenever I'm working on one of their videos, I just want to make more and more since they have so many songs that I love so much and which easily inspire and motivate me....if yer a fan, stay tuned as I'll have lots more from this amazing band in the future....mostly focused on tracks from my string of four favorite albums from '76's The Roaring Silence (I've done two videos for tracks from this album previously) through '80's Chance, but I'll also work a few earlier ones as well.

For this video I knew I wanted to incorporate some clips from Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly's 1952 film Singin' in the Rain. The absolutely amazing, iconic dance number Gene Kelly does in the rain kept trying to take over the video! ;-) but I really wanted to get the weather effects and the girl in there as well. (I have an almost finished video consisting entirely of edits from Singin' In The Rain, but that one's on hold since Supertramp vids are not a good idea to upload on YouTube at this time.....maybe one day?.....thinking about it, maybe I'll rework it to another "rain" song.....we'll see?)

Angel Station features a six-note descending theme in most of the songs on the album, woven into the context of each song in a different way. "Hollywood Town" and "You Are, I Am" share a common tune and basic arrangement. They occupied almost identical positions on either side of the LP. The album has the air of an emotional and musical crossword puzzle, or has affinities with the work of M. C. Escher, whose art is alluded to on the cover illustration.

Of interest is the involvement of Fingerprintz's Jimmy O'Neill whose influence can be heard in the edgy, angular instrumental "Platform's End" (a song whose title was probably influenced by the fact that it originally closed the 1978 vinyl's A side), and ex-Slapp Happy and Henry Cow member Anthony Moore who produced the album and influenced its modern, sparse sound.

"This is Chris Thompson's last album with the Earth Band as he is forming his own band in the near future. I wish to thank him for a valuable creative and personal relationship, and wish him every success in the future." - Manfred Mann 1979. In spite of this announcement, Thompson's own outfit Night turned out as unsuccessful, releasing two mostly overlooked albums in 1978 and 1979 respectively, so the singer stayed with the Earth Band instead, returning on the group's next album Chance (1980) already.

As usual, HUGE THANKS to everyone who's art made this new art possible.....THANKS!!!

[Lyrics]

Waiting for the rain,

Waiting for the rain,

You told me you were gonna make it,

You told me you were gonna win,

And I believed it was true,

Yes I believed, I believed in you.

There you go running through the alleys,

Can't you see you're waiting for the rain,

Look at you now wondering what you could be,

You've had all the hard luck you can handle,

Can't you see you're slipping down again.

And I believed it was true,

Yes I believed, I believed in you.

There you go, you're running through the fire,

Can't you see you're near the danger zone,

Look at you now, hiding from the sunshine,

You've had all the hard luck you can handle,

Can't you see you're slipping down again.

You deserve the sunshine and not the rain,

You deserve the rainbow, you've had enough pain,

I wanna see you win and get it all,

Hey, I never wanna see you fall.

Can't you see you're waiting for the rain,

Can't you see...

Waiting for the rain...

Waiting for the rain...

Waiting for the rain...