Customer Reviews

Bodies & Souls

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Following the Pop success of "Boy From New York City" and jazz recognition for the album that spawned that hit, "Mecca For Moderns," Man Tran finally had a bit of breathing space. "Bodies and Souls" was released in 1983, and though it solidified the group's reputation as the pre-eminent vocal quartet in both musical genres, it didn't have the commercial success it deserved. The mixture of oldies, novelty tunes and jazz compositions that marked many of their earlier releases was temporarily set aside, and "Bodies..." presented the group in a more soulful, R&B setting. Of course, there were still plenty of Pop hooks and Jazz-styled vocalizing, but song by song distinctions became less noticeable. New producer Richard Rudolph had the same canny ability to create lush, contemporary-sounding vehicles for Man Tran as Jay Graydon (who helmed "Extensions" and "Mecca..."); yet his production had a more spontaneous groove.

The single, "Spice of Life" is an excellent example of how he helped the group achieve a soulful (yet still Pop-friendly) sound. On other tracks like "This Independence," "Soldier Of Fortune" and "Code of Ethics," he introduced the group to the kind of synthesized settings that were common in "New Wave" records of the period. The group's vocal warmth provided a strange but pleasing counterpoint to the "cold" musical textures of the synths. Current but not quite trendy, this is probably the most "contemporary" record the group ever made.

That's not to say that the rich vocal layers and textures of Man Tran's earlier recordings were totally abandoned. The Grammy-winning "Why Not!" was a potent reminder of the group's jazz chops. Similarly, "Down South Camp Meetin'" gave the group's vocalese fans a fun-filled trip down memory lane, with new lyrics provided by longtime friend/collaborator, Jon Hendricks. (A Swing styled version of this same song appears on the group's most recent studio release, "Swing.") Also, the album's closer, "The Night That Monk Returned To Heaven" paid tribute to the great Thelonius Monk; the airy, other-worldly grace of their vocals is spine-tingling.

Solo standouts include Janis on "Mystery" (later covered by Anita Baker), Tim on "This Independence," and Cheryl on "Goodbye Love." Alan Paul was less successful with "Malaise En Malaisie," a soggy-sweet ballad that brings out the worst in his nasal delivery.

Apart from a muddled lyric here and there (the trite 'rags to riches' tale in "American Pop" and the inexplicably heavy-handed sentiments of "Code of Ethics"), "Bodies and Souls" is a vocal classic, and a pretty spiffy Pop album to boot.

-Mic

So glad to have found this on cd. I wore out my lp a long time ago. Though i have heard only two other Manhattan Transfer releases they did not have the effect this one does on me. There is something about the combination of moods, vocal stylings of each member and the song choices that make this one of my all time favorite albums by ANYONE. There really is some great singing on this cd...understatement! All the cuts are great but start with "mystery", "goodbye love", "why not", "down south"...all. *****

One thing you could never accuse The Manhattan Transfer of being is musically closed minded.The year is 1983 and after the major pop successess of the previous two albums Extensions and Mecca for Moderns the quartet decided to head right for the contemporary pop/R&B sound that many of their contemporaries were into and,while they were leaning very strongly in this direction during the last few years they just go right for it on this-showcasing a musical and production style not too different from the music being produced by Quincy Jones for people like Donna Summer,Patti Austin and Michael Jackson in the same time period. The first song gets things started right with the bouncy "Spice Of Life"-catchy,dancable and a perfect example of the sound they were going for.The group also discovered synthesizers in a much heavier way and "The Independance" pulls plenty of rabbits of out that hat-Tim Hauser's fruity bass vocals tell a very picturesqe tale on this new wavish tune."Mystery" takes the sound to a mellower territory,again a truly wonderful song.Then comes another favorite of mine hear-the festive "American Pop"-a fun story song about triumphant kid from the bad side of the street married to a festive rhythm and it brings out all the best quality of the group-just pulls everything together."Solder Of Fortune" does another great job of mashing the group's distinct vocal style with an even more new wavish tune. One of this albums most suprising moments is the epic "Code Of Ethics".Now I've noticed a lot of other reviewers who are unsure of what the lyrics are about but when I heard it it struck a chord with me-just a very dramatically sung,poetic statement about personal commitment to a relationship that I wholeheartedly agree with.The Manhattan Transfer never stray far from their swinging jazz roots and "Down South Camp Meeting" and the beautiful acappella vocals on "The Night That Monk Returned" really emphasize this."Why Not (Manhattan Carnival" is a really great uptempo latin type tune that's a lot of fun while the soft "Goodbye Love" round out this wonderful album. I highly reccomend 'Body And Souls' to any fan of this group and if your just into early 80's pop/jazz/R&B this will still be a great addition to your collection.

Plenty of variety is found on this recording, from the slower, melancholy "Goodbye, Love" to the uptown swingin' jazz number, "Why Not," whose vocal parts were arranged by Janis Siegel. A highlight of this one for me is, "Down South Camp Meetin'," which uses an established, instrumental recording, and cleverly puts words to it. Check out Cheryl Bentyne's "clarinet" solo on that one! This recording also features at least one pop number that made the charts, "Spice of Life," which includes a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder. I just wish I could understand the words to "Code of Ethics!"

I love this album, it's one of my favorites. Had it for years on cassette until it broke. Bought this CD and it does NOT play correctly. You would think it was recorded by a small child at home on a cheap computer. It is useless. I love the music so much I am re-ordering it. Hopefully it was only one copy. If not I plan to challenge Amazon's "no music returned" policy. Heads up, Amazon!

I hate to throw water on the gushing party for this album, but I don't agree with the reviewers here. Some have said that this album was under rated. If it did get mediocre ratings and have soft sales it was for a good reason.

I just converted my old LP to digital and I'm wondering why I bothered. I didn't listen to the album much when it first came out and now I can see why. It doesn't hold up well.

Yes, it's well produced and the performances are top notch. The songs, however, are bland pop music. I guess they were hoping to cash in with this album going for some middle-of-the-road audience.

Manhattan Transfer has done some great and interesting work, this just isn't part of that. They were far more interesting when they stuck closer to jazz. There's little here that makes me take notice.

Super quality from the Manhattan Transfer. Vocal performances are superior as always. This product was very hard to find but, with tenacity and the services of Amazon.Com it became a reality. Also note this includes the original version of "Mystery" with the stirring and soul baring vocals from member Janis Siegel. Many people are familiar with this song performed by Anita Baker but, they don't realize that she actually covered it. She sings it beautifully but, listen to the original vesion and you decide. I will keep my opinion to myself. Great job on shipping. I am a satisfied customer. Thank you.
JDJ

First I just want to say that I have always been into Vocal Jazz music and groups who sing jazz harmonies. As a hard-core TAKE 6 Admirer I was completely blown away by them in 1988 and have been listening to them ever since, but lets go back *before* TAKE 6.
Before Take 6...To me there was Manhattan Transfer. The type of tight harmonies and rich mix of vocal stylings was off the charts. They made magic.

BODIES and SOULS. I own 6 of Manhattan Transfers CDs and I have to say that BODIES and SOULS is By far my favorite. I used to own this on "Cassette". In fact, I still do. I haven't been able to find this on CD yet.

Each of these songs on "BAS" is so well crafted with my favorite tracks being:
Code of Ethics, Mystery,Spice of life, Why not,Goodbye Love, The night Monk Returned to heaven.. Basically all the tracks :)

I have to make a note here; As much as I *LOVE* Anita Baker, most people think that she made the song "Mystery" popular*(which she did and did a great cover of it), But the simple fact is Janis Siegel sang "Mystery" *First* and I love Janis' version best.

Another note; I was born in the early 70's so I was only around 12 years old during the 1984 OLYMPICS. But during the closing ceremonies I seem to remember Manhattan Transfer singing "CODE OF ETHICS". I think on this CD of Bodies and Souls there might be a note on that track that says "Dedicated to the 1984 Olympians". There is something about that song that give me shivers and charges me when I hear it.

Anyway BODIES and SOULS has such a great mixture of tunes, Jazz, POP, Ballads, etc that there will be something for even the most eclectic listener. A truly underrated CD and BY far one of my Favorite Albums.

Manhattan Tranfer has never really gotten their due. This album (Yes I still say album)was one of their best.

I was the assistant engineer on this album. It was my first major recording session. I remember the first time listening to the board mixes of this record and I was in awe. Each cut on this album was a masterpiece as I remembered it. And to this day, I still recall producer Dick Rudolf telling Kevin to put more "knuckle" on the kick drum. I have fond memories of how this album was mixed. As for Manhattan Transfer's best work? I can say to my taste this album rocked.