Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD.
I don't listen to this group much anymore, but I was a big fan in the early and mid '80s. This release is very inconsistent. A few tracks sound like something you'd hear on any Al Jarreau or Quincy Jones release around that time. All the usual musicians for those type of releases are present: Rod Temperton, Jeremy Lubbock, Jeff Pocaro, Jerry Hey, etc. The group was probably chasing some sort of chart success at the time. The disc ends with more of a jazz flavor, with some ballads and vocaleses.
Press of the time:
- Billboard: "typically smooth but wide-ranging array of pop, soul and jazz vocal styles."
- CashBox: "An eclectic assortment of tunes"
Album chart Peaks:
- US Billboard Top 200: #52
- Billboard Jazz: #10
- Billboard R&B: #38
- CashBox: #45
- CashBox Jazz: #20
- Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #4
Tracks: The two Temperton tunes, Spice of Life (#40 pop, #5 AC) and Mystery (#6 AC), are good for what they are, but they could have been performed by anybody. If fact, Anita Baker would later record a superior version of Mystery on her Rapture album. Spice of Life gets bonus points for having a Stevie Wonder harmonica solo. Weakest cuts are Code of Ethics, Soldier of Fortune, and Malaise en Malaisie. What was originally side two (the "Souls" side) of the album is much stronger, finishing with Down South Camp Meetin', Why Not! (Manhattan Carnival), Goodbye Love, and The Night That Monk Returned to Heaven.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I saw the group perform in support of this album with Eleanor and Scott a few days before we started our senior year in high school. Also, my freshman year at college, the marching band performed a decent arrangement of Why Not! So, to recap my geekiness, I went to a Manhattan Transfer concert when I was 17 and I was in marching band in college. Don't judge me.
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