[.ca] The Essence of Melissa Manchester

Great Songs And More!:
Melissa Manchester is and always will be the one voice I like to listen to when I need cheering up. I like to refer to her as the "female Barry Manilow" and I mean it in a positive way! Like Manilow, she recorded for Arista for many years. Like Manilow, her style of music is very similar whether you want to label this music as MOR, adult contemporary, and/or easy listening. Like Manilow, she has LOTS of memorable songs! I have lots of respect of similar female artists who I enjoy listening to also (Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Carly Simon, Karen Carpenter, and Carole King), but in my opinion Melissa is the BEST! Listening to this CD will let you know why! Before this collection was available, her "greatest hits" album from 1983 was the best compilation you can find. Thankfully, The Essence Of Melissa Manchester is a better collection! Nineteen wonderful tracks dating from her start in 1973 when her focus was on jazz-flavored songs. All her Top 40 hits are included except for the #39 hit "Pretty Girls" from 1979. The packaging is superb: liner notes to highlight her music career along with comments on each individual songs. There are plenty of pictures with song credits. As a bonus, both Barry Manilow and Carole Bayer Sager have their own personal comments about Melissa. That alone was worth the price of this CD! Finally, this collection works for both the casual fan (who will get her hits and full-portrait of Melissa) and for the Melissa fan (who would appreciate her best work on one CD).

The Essence of Melissa Manchester:
Lots of music on this CD. Over 70+ minutes. Some classic Carol Bayer Sager songs.

Not quite 100% Essence:
The title of the compilation should be "99.9 percent Essence of Melissa Manchester". As a vocalist, Manchester is without peer. She can finesse(or power) the most average song into something special. Only one thing keeps nagging me--why were the two singles from the most underrated LP of all time, "Mathematics", omitted from this collection. The two singles("Energy" and the title track, which would have been a number one hit if sung by Madonna, as radio programmers in the mid 80's ignored the older artists like Manchester, Ross, and Newton-John,even though their music was as fresh as any younger female artist)were on the MCA label, as, of course, was the LP, so this may explain the omission as "Essence" is an Arista release. It is the only plausible reason these important singles would have been omitted, but I have yet to find out why. I highly recommend "Essence" to anyone that enjoys listening to what a true vocalist sounds like, rather than the cookie-cutter mediocrity that saturates today's airwaves.

Not for early fans.:
This is hard to do, because I am a HUGE fan of Melissa Manchester's first two albums "Home to Myself" and "Bright Eyes". These were her brilliant jazz singer-songwriter albums which preceeded her launch into the pop world. I never listened to her after this except what little made the radio, "Midnight Blue" etc.. All the pop things that came from "Melissa" and after were just too disappointing. I always felt that if she'd stayed in her jazz style that, though megafame and adoration might not have developed, she would have easily been considered one of the greats, perhaps in the "You can count all of them on one hand" category. But she didn't produce enough material to be a contender here. Instead, from "Melissa" on, she concentrated on appealing to the pop audience, where she was barely a standout, if at all. To sum up: if you are a fan of her works before "Melissa" then there isn't much here. If you only became aware of her from "Melissa" or later you might like this one. Please whoever is holding back the release of her first two albums on CD - LET THEM OUT!

Melissa...Mediocre:
I guess Melissa Manchester is an acquired taste. Or perhaps you have to be a big fan of MOR, mid-late 70s lite pop by the likes of Carol Bayer Sager, etc.. to truly appreciate what this CD has to offer. The thing is, I've always liked MOR, especially when sung by talented performers like Linda Ronstadt, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick or countless others who have done much better than Manchester can muster on this CD. "Come In From The Rain" and "Don't Cry Out Loud" are the only listenable tracks on this compilation, and they are mostly so because of the songwriting and not the singer. I can hear the strength and the clarity of Manchester's voice, and I understand why she made a wonderful back-up singer for Bette Midler, but I don't hear the emotion or any sort of interpretation that would make me want to listen to her more than 1 time. What is missing is that something that grabs you and makes you listen. Even her 1st hit "Midnight Blue", seems more of a triumph of production and songwriting than performance. As far as this compilation is concerned, Manchester is mediocre at best.

• If It Feels Good (Let It Ride)
• Easy
• Bright Eyes
• Midnight Blue
• Through the Eyes of Grace
• Home to Myself
• Alone
• O Heaven (How You've Changed Me)
• Good News
• Through the Eyes of Love \oTheme from Ice Castles\c
• Just Too Many People
• Lovers After All
• Fire in the Morning
• Whenever I Call You "Friend"
• Don't Cry Out Loud
• You Should Hear How She Talks About You
• Caravan
• Just You and I
• Come in from the Rain