The Manhattan Transfer (1975)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD.

Man-oh-man I love this group's vocals and tight harmonies, but this album lacks some focus. Then again, that could be said of most of their albums prior to 1985's Vocalese. There's a little bit of vocalese on this album, along with jazz, pop, doo-wop, disco, and some NOLA funk. It's hit-or-miss so I don't pull this one from the shelves very often, but when I do, it brings back good memories of my life in the early to mid-'80s.

Press of the time:

• CashBox: "Every cut is pure joy as you journey through this musical treat."
• Record World: "especially attractive"
• Billboard: "Some of the finest singing heard in a long while and one of the few records that lives up to its advance hype."
• High Fidelity: "Talent this good and chemistry this hot always rise to the top."
• Stereo Review: "This is a silky salon job that will probably be most appreciated by the 'in' group in pop social circles."
• Rolling Stone: "Of this album's 12 selections, only four seem worthy of more than one audition." (Spoiler: those 4 tracks, in descending order, are 1) Clap Your Hands, 2) Blue Champagne, 3) Operator, and 4) That Cat Is High. I respectfully disagree.) 

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #33
• CashBox: #45

Tracks:

1. Tuxedo Junction - cover of a 1939 Erskine Hawkins and His Orchestra tune, fairly faithful to the Glenn Miller version, complete with big band backing.
2. Sweet Talking Guy - cover of a 1966 tune by The Chiffons.
3. Operator - cover of a 1959 tune by The Friendly Brothers, peaked on the Hot 100 at #22. One of the best tracks on the album; gospelish with a tasty sax solo from Michael Brecker.
4. Candy - cover of a popular 1944 standard
5. Gloria - cover of a 1954 tune by The Cadillacs. Yawner with a organ part that sounds like it was lifted straight from a sitcom funeral scene.
6. Clap Your Hands - original by Ira Newborn & The Manhattan Transfer. This disco-lite pop ditty was issued as a single, but did not chart.
7. That Cat Is High - cover of a 1938 tune by The Ink Spots. Swinging big band tune and a drunkard certainly delivers.
8. You Can Depend On Me - cover of a 1931 Louis Armstrong tune.
9. Blue Champagne - cover of a 1941 Jimmy Dorsey #1 hit. A beautiful ballad, well done.  
10. Java Jive - cover of a 1940 tune by The Ink Spots. Another one of the better album cuts, just the quartet with subtle guitar accompaniment. 
11. Occapella - cover of a 1970 Lee Dorsey tune. Slow funk tune written by Allen Toussaint and the only thing that could make it better would be The Meters as a backing band. Ironically, the tune is not performed a capella. Don't mean it ain't good, though.
12. Heart's Desire - cover of a 1958 tune by The Avalons.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I discovered the group with the purchase of their '79 album, Extensions, but never delved into the back catalog. Then my good friend Scott came home from summer drama camp in 1982 all abuzz about the group and this 1975 album (I'm guessing it was popular with the college drama kids he idolized). I listened to Scott's copy of the album (he was particularly fond of track 3, Operator) and eventually picked up my own.

A few years later, I moved from the university dorm into a local 3 bedroom house for my junior and senior years of college. Music majors had long rented the property and it was one of those places where as one guy graduated and moved out, another music major renter was on deck, ready to rent the open room. In any case, at some point before I moved in, someone much more talented than I had used the cover art of this album as inspiration for a painting on the living room wall:

The above photo was taken around February 1988 at one of the numerous parties that took place at our house (see also). Your humble blogger is in the center of two good friends. I was 21 at the time, so sobriety at the time the photo was taken is highly doubtful. But what a nice wall painting, huh? This is the only pic I could find of it; doubt it's still on the wall. Actually, I'd be surprised if the house is still standing.

Previously revisited for the blog:

An Acapella Christmas (2006)	Vocalese (1985)
Man-Tora! Live In Tokyo (1996)	Bop Doo-Wopp (1984)
Tonin' (1994)	Bodies and Souls (1983)
The Christmas Album (1992)	Mecca For Moderns (1981)
The Offbeat of Avenues (1991)	Extensions (1979)
Brasil (1987)

The Manhattan Transfer - An Acapella Christmas (2006)

First, the good news: this album is better than the quartet's earlier entry in the holiday market, 1992's The Christmas Album. However, like that earlier album, the arrangements are generally slow and plodding. On top of that, the quartet get their grandkids to sing along on a couple of tunes. As one Amazon reviewer wrote, "I thought I was buying a CD by the Manhattan Transfer, not a family get-together." On the plus side, it is almost entirely acapella, which allows the music to feature the group's skill for tight vocal arrangements.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: 10 tracks clocking in at only 30 minutes. The cuts that work for me are Jingle Bells, Christmas Time Is Here, and a properly swingin' take on Winter Wonderland. The second tier consists of Toyland, I'll Be Home For Christmas, Christmas Is Coming (The Goose Is Getting Fat), and a bossa attempt at White Christmas. Kids appear on Good King Wenceslas and Grown Up Christmas List, so skip those two along with what could be the slowest version of Merry Christmas Baby ever recorded.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:

Man-Tora! Live In Tokyo (1996)	Vocalese (1985)
Tonin' (1994)	Bop Doo-Wopp (1984)
The Christmas Album (1992)	Bodies and Souls (1983)
The Offbeat of Avenues (1991)	Mecca For Moderns (1981)
Brasil (1987)	Extensions (1979)

The Manhattan Transfer - Bop Doo-Wopp (1984)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by a CD.

Atlantic Records threw together a covers album with some live cuts alongside a few studio leftovers. 10 cuts clocking in at under 30 minutes. Sounds like a recipe for mediocrity (and it is), but there are a few good tunes here, Billboard chart entries, and a live version of a Grammy award winner. Go figure.

Billboard, December 15, 1984, p. 62

Described by the folks over at allmusic as "a peculiar, disjointed collection that only a Transfer collector would love." I don't love it, but I don't exactly hate it, either. Purchased primarily for nostalgia's sake and the tracks checked below.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #127
• Billboard Jazz: #11
• CashBox jazz: #8
• CashBox: #75

Tracks:

1. Route 66 (✔) - live version of the 1946 standard recorded in Tokyo, November 1983. Same recording later appeared on the 1996 release Man-Tora! Live In Tokyo. A studio version of this song by the quartet appeared on the 1981 soundtrack album to the Burt Reynolds feature Sharky's Machine. That earlier studio version reached #78 on the Hot 100, #22 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group in 1983. 
2. Jeannine - live version of the 1960 Duke Pearson standard recorded in Tokyo, November 1983. Same recording later appeared on the 1996 release Man-Tora! Live In Tokyo.
3. My Cat Fell In The Well (Well! Well! Well!) - a novelty tune originally released in 1939 by The Merry Macs. Backing tracks recorded in 1976 (maybe for their Coming Out album?), vocals in 1984. See memory below.
4. The Duke Of Dubuque - live version of a tune originally released by The Four Vagabonds in 1941. Recorded in Boston for PBS's Evening At The Pops series.
5. How High The Moon (✔) - live version of the 1940 standard recorded in Tokyo, November 1983. Same recording later appeared on the 1996 release Man-Tora! Live In Tokyo. Best known as Ella Fitzgerald's signature tune.
6. Baby Come Back To Me (The Morse Code Of Love) - doo wop tune originally released in 1962 by The Capris. Reached #83 on the Hot 100 and #14 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
7. Safronia B - originally released in 1950 by the songwriter, Calvin Boze.
8. Heart's Desire - live version of a song originally released by The Avalons in 1958. Recorded in Tokyo, November 1983. Studio version by The Manhattan Transfer was previously released on the group's 1975 self-titled album.
9. That's The Way It Goes - live version of a song originally released by The Harptones in 1956. Recorded in Tokyo, November 1983.
10. Unchained Melody (✘) - studio version of the 1955 standard. Bears little resemblance to the popular version originally released in 1965 by The Righteous Brothers.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I must have picked this up around the time of its release in late '84 because I have a memory of riding around Houston with my girlfriend as she was visiting me during our college's Christmas break. (You may remember this girlfriend from this earlier tale.) Track 3 of this album, My Cat Fell In The Well, has the vocal quartet singing the lines, "I woke up this morning with a feeling of despair. I looked for my pussy but my pussy wasn't there" and so on throughout, which this woman found hysterical. I mean, I caught the juvenile humor of the double entendres, but I didn't think it was worth laughing hysterically every time those lyrics came around.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Man-Tora! Live In Tokyo (1996)
Tonin' (1994)
The Christmas Album (1992)
The Offbeat of Avenues (1991)
Brasil (1987)
Vocalese (1985)
Bodies and Souls (1983)
Mecca For Moderns (1981)
Extensions (1979)

The Manhattan Transfer - Tonin' (1994)

An uncontentious covers album. From Allmusic:

The idea on Tonin' was to turn the Manhattan Transfer loose on a baker's dozen* of good old 1960s pop and R&B hits in league either with the original artists or prominent guests from that period and beyond. And yes, it's a stellar list, guaranteed to stir warm and fuzzy memories, and the tunes echo the old lament of an earlier age, "They don't write songs like they used to."

*[sic] the CD contains 12, not 13 tracks.

So there's no complaint about the material, but I will complain about some questionable arranging choices. The dated arranging and production leave no doubt about the fact this was a mid-'90s release. It's not exactly a waste of the group's vocal talents, but it ain't no showcase, neither. Makes me long for the scattershot variety of the group's early albums. And, like most covers albums, this CD leaves you wanting to hear the original tunes.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #123

Tracks: The better cuts are Groovin' with Felix Cavaliere, La-La Means I Love You with Laura Nyro, and an a capella version of God Only Knows. You'll want to skip I Second That Emotion with Smokey Robinson, Save The Last Dance For Me with Ben E. King, and the cover of The Association's Along Comes Mary. The other tracks contain strong contributions from the likes of B.B. King and Chaka Khan, but their efforts are sadly wasted.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Bought it. Sold it. Then it returned again in a lot of used CDs. Guess I'm stuck with it now.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Man-Tora! Live In Tokyo (1996)
The Christmas Album (1992)
The Offbeat of Avenues (1991)
Brasil (1987)
Vocalese (1985)
Bodies and Souls (1983)
Mecca For Moderns (1981)
Extensions (1979)

The Manhattan Transfer - The Offbeat of Avenues (1991)

A desperate attempt to remain somewhat relevant? I was big fan in the early '80s, I began to lose interest in the this vocal quartet with the release of their Brasil album in 1987. With good reason, it turns out. While the group members are undeniably talented singers, they're not strong writers; the pop material presented here is weak and the drum machines are many. Even though there's some recognizable guest artists (Lew Soloff, Jerry Hey, Jeff Lorber, Richard Elliot, Mark Isham, Dirty Dozen Brass Band), jazz aficionados need not apply.

Billboard, August 24, 1991, p. 64

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #179
• Billboard Contemporary Jazz: #2

Tracks: Most tracks are forgettable, save for A World Apart (with help from David Pack, Michael McDonald, and an actual acoustic piano) and Confide In Me (written by Donald Fagen). Track 3, 10 Minutes Till The Savages Come, has promise but would have benefited with the use of real musicians and not programming. Their attempts to sound like Madonna (Women In Love) and at New Jack Swing (What Goes Around Comes Around) are downright laughable. This album yielded the group a Grammy Award, in the category of Best Contemporary Jazz Performance for the song Sassy (track 2). Put me down for a dissenting vote on that count. The final track, a vocalese cover of Miles Davis/Gil Evans track, Blues for Pablo, I'd describe as interesting but not enjoyable. Too bad.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Man-Tora! Live In Tokyo (1996)
The Christmas Album (1992)
Brasil (1987)
Vocalese (1985)
Bodies and Souls (1983)
Mecca For Moderns (1981)
Extensions (1979)

The Manhattan Transfer - Vocalese (1985)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD.

After a few jazz-pop/adult contemporary albums, the Manhattan Transfer made an album of straight-ahead jazz/bebop pieces which were originally recorded in the '50s and '60s. These songs were originally instrumentals, so the group had lyricist/singer Jon Hendricks (of the vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks and Ross) write lyrics for the pieces. Hendricks is often given credit for creating "vocalese," in which lyrics are added to existing instrumental songs, including the solos. In other words, voices take the places of other instruments.

This is one of the group's best works; it's certainly one their most focused. And there's guest artists aplenty: Philly Joe Jones, The Four Freshmen, Bobby McFerrin, Ron Carter, McCoy Tyner, and Dizzy Gillespie. At the 28th Grammy Awards, the album won the award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo Or Group while the group's work on the track Another Night In Tunisia with Bobby McFerrin won two awards: Best Arrangement For Voices and Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male. You don't hear many albums like this, probably because they'd be measured up against this one.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #74
• Billboard Jazz: #2
• Billboard Pop CD: #24
• CashBox: #67
• CashBox Jazz: #5
• CashBox CD: #24
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #1
• Rolling Stone: #48

Tracks:  I prefer the up-tempo pieces: That's Killer Joe, Rambo, Airegin, Ray's Rockhouse, Blee Blop Blues, Sing Joy Spring, and Move. If I skip any songs, it's usually the slower pieces, but that rarely happens. The Count Basie Orchestra backs up the band on Rambo and Blee Blop Blues and they are cookin'.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  In the summer of 1985, I had my first full-time job working at a local plumbing supply and I took night classes. I was supposed to be saving my hard-earned money for college, but I usually spent my weekends blowing it all away in Houston. Good times. Carefree times. This album was originally purchased on a trip to Sound Warehouse on the Southwest Freeway.

Also, while MTV wasn't playing Manhattan Transfer videos at the time, you could catch them occasionally on HBO. The one that I remember is the I Love Lucy homage for Blee Blop Blues:

Previously revisited for the blog:
Man-Tora! Live In Tokyo (1996)
The Christmas Album (1992)
Brasil (1987)
Bodies and Souls (1983)
Mecca For Moderns (1981)
Extensions (1979)

The Manhattan Transfer - Man-Tora! Live In Tokyo (1996)

Recorded in Tokyo, Japan, November 22 & 23, 1983.

Recorded by FM Toyko for airplay in Japan; broadcast in the US on Westwood One. The term “Man-Tora” is a popular nick-name for the group in Japan. Considering the technology available back then, the sound isn't bad at all. It's certainly a mixed bag of jazz vocalese, street corner doo-wop, West Coast pop, ballads, and R&B, but the group's repertoire has always been eclectic.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: 187

Tracks:  My favorites are Route 66, Trickle Trickle, How High The Moon, and Operator. Unfortunately, since the band was touring to promote their Bodies and Souls album, the set list is heavy on songs from that release, which isn't their best effort.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  I saw the group on this tour, three months before this was recorded. The setlist represented on this release is slightly different from what I remember hearing, but not much. So while I had lost interest in the band by the time this was finally released, it brings back some memories of that show.

3 of the live recordings (tracks 2, 3, & 11) were released in 1984 on the group's album, Bop Doo Wopp, which I owned on LP.

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Christmas Album (1992)
Brasil (1987)
Bodies and Souls (1983)
Mecca For Moderns (1981)
Extensions (1979)

The Manhattan Transfer - Mecca For Moderns (1981)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD.

The group's follow-up to 1979's Extensions album, this covers much of the same ground with many of the same session musicians (Graydon, David Foster, Steve Lukather, Jerry Hey, Abe Laboriel). There's pop, jazz, vocalese, ballads, and standards - this was the formula that I liked best from this band and really lost interest not long after they had moved on to Brazilian music. However, I will praise this release because it looks to the future while acknowledging the past and does it well, which isn't easy to do. This isn't my favorite Transfer album (that would be either Extensions or Vocalese), but this album does contain some of my favorite Transfer songs.

According to the group's website, here's the story on the title: Tim Hauser was at Janis Siegel’s home one afternoon and he picked up a Duke Ellington album entitled Live At The Blue Note 1952. While reading the cover, he noticed it said “The Blue Note was a haven for the smart set, in fact, the real mecca for moderns.” The group liked the phrase, and it fit well with the album concept. However, there's no explanation given for the horrid album cover.

Press of the time:

• DownBeat (★★★★): "another winner"
• Stereo Review: "yet another overproduced, gimmicky, leadenly cute album by this tiresome group."
• Rolling Stone (★★★): "the pop and jazz have edged closer to each other"
• Billboard: "excellent harmonies, tight production and energetic sound"
• CashBox: "wildly inventive"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #22
• Billboard Jazz: #6
• CashBox: #26
• CashBox jazz: #11
• Rolling Stone: #11

Tracks: My two favorite tracks are On The Boulevard and Kafka which are great not only because of the singing (this could be any group, really), but because of the production/lead guitar of Graydon and incredible drumming of Steve Gadd. Also good are Smile Again, the vocalese of Until I Met You (Corner Pocket) and the beautiful a capella closing track, A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square which couldn't be performed like this by any other group - I recommend listening loud on headphones (how often do you hear that about this kind of music?). Skippable are the cheesy (Wanted) Dead Or Alive and Spies In The Night. The hit single from this album was Boy From New York City, a cover of a 1965 do-wop song by The Ad-Libs. The cover peaked at #7 on the pop charts and #4 on the Adult contemporary chart, but I've never cared much for it.

Two Grammy award winning tracks here: Boy From New York City won for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal and Until I Met You (Corner Pocket) won for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo Or Group - the first group to win Grammy Awards in both the pop and jazz categories in the same year.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I enjoyed listening to the album at home when I was in high school, but most of my friends had no idea I was listening to this pop goodness because I was always cultivating a New Wave hipster image back then. When I saw the group in concert in 1983, I was so excited when they performed On The Boulevard and was very disappointed they didn't sing Kafka.

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Christmas Album (1992)
Brasil (1987)
Bodies and Souls (1983)
Extensions (1979)

The Manhattan Transfer - Extensions (1979)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD.

I don't listen to this much these days, but it got a lot of play when I was in high school (I think my LP was obtained through one of those Columbia House record club scams). At the time I thought this music was jazz fusion-ish, but really it's just adult contemporary. The inconsistency of styles didn't bother me back then, but now I can see what a mixed bag it is: some jazz vocalese, some pop tunes, an avant garde track, a doo-wop number, an attempt at electronic big band music, and the interesting inclusion of a Tom Waits song. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy listening to this, if only for the memories.

Press of the time:

• CashBox: "with the aid of the Toto gang and producer Jay Graydon they move forward into a kind of space-bop groove."
• Billboard: "its most well-balanced album"
• Stereo Review: "trendies without a trend"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #55
• CashBox: #63
• Rolling Stone: #50

Tracks: The best tracks are the covers of Weather Report's Birdland and Spyro Gyra's Shaker Song. Birdland, now considered a jazz standard, was a minor hit for the group and has become their signature song. When I had the LP, I'd skip the last two tracks on side one (Coo Coo U and Body And Soul) and the last track on side two (Foreign Affair). 30+ years later, I still want to skip the same tracks.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This was my introduction to the quartet, which became one of my favorite groups in high school and college. In high school jazz band, we played arrangements of both Birdland and Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone.

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Christmas Album (1992)
Brasil (1987)
Bodies and Souls (1983)

The Manhattan Transfer - The Christmas Album (1992)

I don't love it. While the group's trademark tight harmonies are enjoyable here and the quartet sounds great, the arrangements, for the most part, are just too slow and schmaltzy. Who wants a maudlin arrangement of Let It Snow? I was hoping for something a little more lively. When the group sings the lyrics "sleep in heavenly peace," you want to take them up on the offer.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #120 (Dec 26, 1992)

Tracks: There are a couple of swinging big band medleys that are enjoyable: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town/Santa Man and Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season. The remainder of the 11 tracks are just boring. Even guests like Tony Bennett, Pete Christleib, and Jack Sheldon can't save them. The sole original tune here, A Christmas Love Song, written by songsmiths Alan & Merilyn Bergman, sounds like something from the soundtrack to An American Tail #18: The Christmas Treasure. And, you guessed it, it's slow.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. Except for the two medleys mentioned above, this disc gets absolutely no playing time 'round here.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Brasil (1987)
Bodies and Souls (1983)

The Manhattan Transfer - Brasil (1987)

I was a big Manhattan Transfer in the '80s and probably would have purchased this album immediately and without question if I hadn't first heard the single Soul Food To Go on the radio. It didn't sound like a Transfer song to me and I was couldn't quite figure out what the group was trying to do. I didn't (and still don't) care for it. After hearing that one song, I was immediately done with the group. I know that sounds harsh; who knows why we have thoughts like that? Fast forward a few decades: I've come to terms with the group's wacky sense of musical direction when I see this disc sitting in a used CD bin. I decide to risk a couple of bucks and finally check it out. Again.

I'm still trying to figure out what this group is trying to do here. I'm guessing they thought they could take Brazilian pop music (Música Popular Brasileira or MPB) and make it more accessible to American audiences. While that might sound promising to a record company executive, musicians know that MPB is accessible to American audiences as is. It certainly doesn't need the bad "updated" arrangements that plague this release. Of the nine tracks here, only one is sung in Portuguese, the rest in English as if American audiences can't appreciate the beauty of the Portuguese language. Still, they bring out the big guns here, including Stan Getz, David Sanborn, Jeff Lorber, Ivan Lins, etc. One of the biggest crimes here is that the group's vocal talents are pretty much wasted, their trademark tight harmonies almost absent in favor of traditional pop harmonies. In other words, almost anyone could have done this album. That's a shame.

In any case, this album won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals.

Reviews/ratings:

• CashBox: "stunning vocal arrangements and performances"
• Billboard: "Jazzy in a vocal context only - and then just some of the time"
• Musician: "Maybe it's not a cheap laugh, but it sure is a good one."
• DownBeat (★★★): "seems an act of true fascination with the tropical sounds rather than a shrugged Ok-let's-try-this commercial move."
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #96
• Billboard Contemporary Jazz: #2
• CashBox Jazz: #5
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #4

Tracks: The songs that come closest to what I would consider Brazilian pop music are Capim, Metropolis, Hear The Voices, and maybe The Jungle Pioneer. I have heard at least five different arrangements of Ivan Lins' Antes Que Seja Tarde and the plodding attempt on this CD is by far the worse. I don't need to hear the other tracks ever again.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Bodies and Souls (1983)

The Manhattan Transfer - Bodies and Souls (1983)

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.