Why No "Pretty Girls"??!!!
This song proved that when Ms. This CD, although a nice compilation, immediately has three strikes against it because one of her best (and VERY RARE!!) umptempo numbers,
"Pretty Girls" is not included here. Manchester wanted to, she could ROCK with the best of them! Since she is mostly associated with mellow, slow, quite songs it would have been nice to have a little more tunes with some energy to them. Mind you, I also like ballads like "Don't Cry Out Loud", but at the same time I like
variety as well.
"Sigh". Oh well, maybe someday the "Truly" essence of Melissa will come to pass.
Melissa Manchester Review
I often forget how spectacular this artist is. Great CD. My favorite song is "Come in from the rain" which reminds me of a friend going through a horrible mid life crisis. . . I wish I could play this for her and make her life better.
Mellissa Manchester Mania
The songs in this collection are some of my favorites. This is Melissa at her best. Take a listen and thank me later.
An overlooked effort from Manchester
Few, if any, Adult Contemporary radio program directors and consultants have 'tested' this song with their audience. is Just You And I. Holds up very well, like Midnight Blue. Come to think of it, I hear very little Melissa Manchester on the radio.
Respectable collection for 70's MOR singer-songwriter
Her track record or fame wasn't as big as Carly Simon or Joni Mitchell, but she had more charting hits than peers such as Karla Bonoff. Among the introspective female singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1970's was Melissa Manchester. What she did have was a knack for adult contemporary ballads, with soaring vocals and string accompaniment.
As for "If It Feels Good (Let It Ride)" and "Easy" from Home To Myself, both show her sound in the making, be it the upbeat piano in the first, and the leisure melodies of the second, which goes into uptempo bursts in some of the chorus repeats. She cites Laura Nyro as an influence for the catchy piano tune "Bright Eyes"
Her first Top 40 hit was the #6 ballad and #1 adult contemporary hit, "Midnight Blue," from the Melissa album. Co-written with Carole Bayer Sager, who did many other songs with her, this is a smooth, quiet, and relaxing song. The followup single was co-written with Vini Poncia of KISS and Ringo Starr fame. A more upbeat number "Just Too Many People" this #30 single was about lonely people "afraid to take a stand," and "living in a house divided. " As the liner notes say, this song was banned on some stations who perceived it for being pro-abortion, which it wasn't.
The theme of exploring solitude is present in "Home To Myself" and "Alone. " In the first, being alone isn't bad, depending on how one spends it, and that's something I relate to a lot: "Make my own time/it's mine to spend/think to myself/my youngest friend" and "it's not so bad all alone coming back to myself again. " The second, with its lounge jazz inflections, vibes and sax included, calls for a needed time-out, for being in "a place in me, and I have to be there alone. " Nice, leisurely, introspective songs, both of them.
Why the theme from Ice Castles, "Through The Eyes of Love" didn't even dent the Hot 100, is a mystery, as it has the caliber of "Midnight Blue", with great vocals, string orchestration, and arrangements that make for a worthy pop hit. Too overblown, maybe? Not in this writer's opinion. One of my favourites here.
Of interest here is, "Whenever I Call You Friend" the song she wrote with Kenny Loggins, who decided to sing it with Stevie Nicks. It hit #5 in 1978, but Melissa decided to cover it herself, doing a more relaxed string-laden version.
Her second Top Ten hit, the #10 ballad "Don't Cry Out Loud" has a nice sound and vocals from Melissa, yet, given the purpose of singer-songwriters expressing what's in their hearts, the chorus is somewhat repressive: "don't cry out loud/just keep it inside/learn how to hide your feelings. " The song reaches a crescendo with strings and what sounds like a piccolo trumpet. This song renewed my interest after I heard American Idol finalist Diane DeGarmo's cover of this.
With the new decade, Manchester hit #32 with "Fire in The Morning" and her duet with Peabo Bryson, the jazz-pop of "Lovers After All" reached #54 in 1981, showing signs that maybe she was being outdated with the onset of new wave. Odd considering acts like Christopher Cross and Air Supply had staying chart power during the same year.
The only song I heard of hers on the radio but was clueless to who it was turned out to be her last Top 40 hit, the Grammy winner for Best Pop Vocal Performance, "You Should Hear How She Talks About You. " This catchy pop tune, which draws comparison to some of Laura Branigan's early stuff, was also her highest charting Hot 100 hit and third Top Ten, scraping the Top 5 in 1982.
While missing one Top 40 hit, "Pretty Girls," this does justice to Melissa Manchester's role as singer-songwriter and adult contemporary favourite of the 70's.
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You can see a complete list of all Melissa Manchester discography, or go back to the Melissa Manchester tabs
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