Customer Reviews

Definitive Pop

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

 

 

The tracks listed on Amazon.com currently (Jan. 2007) are not correct -
7 tracks listed here do not actually appear on the CD set. They are:
Ray's Rockhouse, Body And Soul, Helpless, Love For Sale,
Down South Camp Meetin, Sing Moten's Swing, and Stompin at Mahogany Hall.
In their place are 4 newer songs from 1997-2006, along with Popcicle Toes,
So You Say (Esquinas), and Why Not (Manhattan Carnival).
For me, the loss of Body & Soul and Ray's Rockhouse (both among their 15 "Greatest Hits") made this set a throwaway. Hold on to your old 2-CD box "Down In Birdland" from Rhino.

I'm not overly familiar with Manhattan Transfer's catalogue but I've liked a number of their songs over the years. I settled on this collection because it included their 90s song I always liked "The Offbeat of Avenues". However, it's not the album version of the song that I remember but the version from their "Symphony Sessions" album. But it's an interesting interpretation with the orchestra so I wasn't disappointed. The track list Amazon supplies is very off so don't use that to make your final decision. Here's the correct track listing:

DISC 1:

1. Tuxedo Junction
2. Java Jive
3. Candy
4. Gloria
5. Operator
6. Chanson D'Amour
7. Speak Up Mambo, The (Cuentame)
8. Four Brothers
9. Popsicle Toes
10. On A Little Street In Singapore
11. Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square, A
12. Until I Met You (Corner Pocket)
13. Trickle Trickle
14. Twilight Zone/Twilight Zone
15. Birdland

DISC 2:

1. Boy From New York City
2. Smile Again
3. Spice Of Life
4. Route 66
5. Mystery
6. Why Not! (Manhattan Carnival)
7. Baby Come Back To Me (The Morse Code Of Love)
8. Sing Joy Spring
9. Another Night In Tunisia
10. Soul Food To Go (Sina)
11. So You Say (Esquinas)
12. Stomp Of King Porter
13. Clouds
14. Nothing Could Be Hotter Than That
15. The Offbeat Of Avenues

This collection included all the "hits" I was looking for so I'm very satisifed.

This two-disc collection is not so much an extension of Rhino's single-disc 1994 THE BEST OF THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER as it is an expansion of that earlier anthology. After all, only four of THE DEFINITIVE POP COLLECTION's 30 tracks were released after 1994. Instead, this new release digs a little deeper into the group's history. It duplicates all of THE BEST OF (except for "Ray's Rockhouse") and adds 15 songs.

All their Top 40 pop hits ("Operator," "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone," "Boy from New York City," "Spice of Life") are here, along with "Chanson D'Amour," which topped the UK pop charts in 1976. And tracks like "Stomp of King Porter" and "Clouds" from 1997's SWING and "Nothing Could Be Hotter Than That" from 2000's THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS show that a quarter of a century after their debut, The Manhattan Transfer are still churning out terrific music. Even "The Offbeat of Avenues" from 2006's THE SYMPHONY SESSIONS swings.

Whether covering jazz, doo-wop, pop or rock 'n' roll, the Manhattan Transfer are always entertaining. RECOMMENDED [Running Time - 56:53 (disc 1), 68:09 (disc 2)]

I have always enjoyed Manhattan Transfer but haven't purchased a lot of CDs. This collection was right on target for me as it included all of my favorites and is a nice selection of the many varied styles that they do so well. Others have already noted the incorrect listing of tracks on Amazon's site; fortunately the ones I was most interested in getting were included, but if you are looking for something specific, be aware of that.

Although I've been a lifelong fan of that Manhattan Transfer, their innovative style, and their ability to attack any style of music and make it work, another compilation is just boring. Most buyers will buy just because, like me, being a fan. The cuts from other than the original release are not so great (Symphony Sessions was mediocre at best)and I just can't believe that this fantastic group of artists are finished producing fantastic albums. But then again, everything must come to an end. I hope that is not so for the Great Manhattan Transfer.

Not only does the product cover their "pop" hits , as the title implies, but their more classic swing and ballad standards as well...VERY happy with this collection!