The Very Best of the Manhattan Transfer

The Very Best of the Manhattan Transfer



This is an excellent collection of many of the high points of the Manhattan Transfer's first decade, demonstrating both their reach and their grasp as they draw material from swing, modern jazz, and doo-wop into their own distinctive style. There's a tongue-in-cheek cool that connects the swing of Erskine Hawkins's "Tuxedo Junction" to the elemental girl-group harmonies of "Boy from New York City" and the TV themes like "Route 66" and the variations on the "Twilight Zone." More traditional jazz skills, though, are apparent in their renditions of some Jon Hendricks vocal classics. Composer Jimmy Giuffre plays saxophone on their version of his "Four Brothers," a key theme for bandleader Woody Herman, while there are also stellar renditions of Weather Report's "Birdland" and the standard "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square." It's an entertaining collection by a group that's never let itself be confined by the expected. --Adam Rains


Got The SONGS

1. Boy From New York City
2. Trickle Trickle
3. Gloria
4. Operator
5. Tuxedo Junction
6. Four Brothers
7. Ray's Rockhouse
8. Soul Food To Go (Sina)
9. Spice Of Life
10. Baby Come Back To Me (The Morse Code Of Love)
11. Candy Listen Listen
12. A Nightingale Sang In Berkely Square
13. Birdland
14. Java Jive
15. Route 66
16. Twilight Zone, Twilight Tone

They have been around for more than three decades now. This group has earned a reputation as one of the most hard working and versatile acts in show business. The Manhattan Transfer made a decision years ago not to concentrate on any one particular style of music. It was surely the right choice because Manhattan Transfer continues to perform to this day their unique blend of bebop, fusion jazz, pop and doowop to enthusiastic audiences all over the world.
"The Very Best of the Manhattan Transfer" certainly does live up to its moniker. Rhino has done a splendid job in assembling 16 of the groups very finest recordings. It is simply amazing to me that a group of such abundant talent only managed to place a total of 7 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Each and every one of those tunes appear here including as you would expect "Operator", "Trickle Trickle", "Baby Come Back To Me (The Morse Code of Love)" and the groups biggest single release "Boy From New York City" from 1981. At that point it looked as though Manhattan Transfer just might be a fixture on the pop charts for many years to come. But Manhattan Transfer never really fancied itself a Top 40 act. Rather the group appealed to a wide variety of audiences and as such found a great deal of success on the album charts in the ensuing years. Many great tunes from those albums appear on this disc including phenominal renditions of standards like "Candy", "Tuxedo Junction", "Route 66" and "Java Jive". I also loved the groups cover of the doo wop classic "Gloria". I found each and every track on this CD to be an absolute delight. The remastering job is amazing and the 8 page booklet was also very nicely done.
The Manhattan Transfer was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998. They have also won 10 Grammys. This CD should be considered "essential" for serious collectors of American popular music. Very highly recommended.