The second album by Manfred Mann's Earth Band to be released in 1972, Glorified Magnified is as solid a heavy rock album as you're likely to find from that era, and it still holds up three decades later, mostly because these guys are smarter than the music they're playing and don't mind indulging their taste as well as their dexterity. They can romp and stomp through "Meat" or "I'm Gonna Have You All," complete with a slashing guitar solo by Mick Rogers on the latter, or throw in a synthesizer interlude by Mann on "One Way Glass" that's so quietly and carefully executed as to be worthy of a classical piece – and not skip a beat doing it.

Recorded in the late 1960s and early '70s, this collection of cover songs presents Elton John in his formative years, just on the verge of major success, though clearly not there yet. (John, aka Reginald Dwight, is erroneously – and humorously – referred to as "Reg Bright" by a press clipping in the liner notes.) On these work-for-hire sessions, Captain Fantastic is still very much in the music-industry trenches, running through hits such as "In the Summertime" for release on budget-priced British LPs. Despite the unglamorous origins of these tracks, there are plenty of gems, as John can't help but let his charm seep through, even when trying for John Fogerty's vocal grit on Creedence's "Travelin' Band" and "Up Around the Bend."/quote]