Customer Reviews

Tonin

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In this CD, the golden voiced Manhattan Transfer turn their attention to the world of Pop music. Combining their talents with such giants as Frankie Valli, Bette Midler, Smokey Robinson and Phil Collins (among others!), they give twelve hits their own wonderful spin.

Overall, I did not think that this was their best works; the songs did not show them at their best. However, that said, it is a good CD, one giving hours of listening pleasure. I highly recommend this CD.

By the way, the paperwork includes the words to the songs, plus one black-and-white picture of each of the four members. I love extras!

This Top Notch vocal group puts their "spin" on some classic R & B recordings. They are great at taking something already wonderful and making it even better!!

To make it even MORE fun they work really well with the guest artists! I think this was probably one of the, if not THE last recording that Laura Nyro made before she passed away. It's a great rendition of La-La Means I Love You.

Chaka Kahn and Janis Siegel really belt out a great version of "Hot Fun in the Summertime". As strong a presence as Chakka is... Janis Siegel holds her own with no problem!!

Speaking of summertime, I LOVE to listen to this CD while riding with windows all the way down on the way to the beach!!

You'll like this CD!

There are so many wonderful pieces on this album, but for my money the song 'La La Means I Love You' with Laura Nyro is absolutely breathtaking. The song itself if probably one of the best R&B masterpieces ever written, and Laura's voice backed by the Transfer never fails to send chills up and down my spine. It's well worth the price of the album alone!

This has fast become the favorite CD in my collection. From "Tonin" with Frankie Vallie on a remake of Let's Hang on, to James Taylor and Dream Lover, all of the collaborations are top notch. Additionally, the two songs Manhattan Transfer sings themselves are great as well. I can't recommend this album enough to people of all ages and music likes.

This was a great CD, with some really good remakes of some classic songs. The Manhattan Transfer are always a really good group. Enjoy the CD!

At first, I didn't like this album. Where was the Manhattan Transfer? With the exception of the last piece, all they were doing was singing backup to a bunch of other folks. What a letdown.
Once I got over my disappointment at hearing too little of the Manhattan transfer and started to listen to the album on its merits, it grew on me. For one thing, the musicianship is very fine. The instrumentalists are first class, the arrangements are well done, and of course the Manhattan Transfer are beyond compare. I don't know what the guest artists sound like on their own records, but on this one they sing, and for the most part, quite well.
The choice of numbers is good. They remind me that there were plenty of tuneful songs around in the 60s during the time of Soul and Motown. They sure beat the viciousness of rap!
The album is a lot different from most Manhattan Transfer work, but it has considerable merit.

There's been many, many a time I had searched for a CD in which I really, really dug evvything on it. My search ended when I ran into this. It's got evvything from Frankie "high part" Valli, and Handyman James Taylor to Sassy Ruthie Brown in monologue overdrive on a remake of BB King's "Thrill is Gone" to a fabulous remake of "La La Means I Love You" with the late great Laura Nyro...it's got a jahmmin' redux of "Second That Emotion" with Miracleman Smokey Bill and a compelling version of Brian Wilson's "God Only Knows"--why, even my favorite diva Chaka Khan shows up in these sessions!(That alone gets pluses from me!) Plus those SSssmokin' Manhattan Transfer vocals. Uhmmmm-hummm! Five stars, plus five more stars and two enthusiastic thumbs up!

The line-up of songs on this album is impressive, and this set of oldies just seems to go together. But...the whole thing needs a shot of Geritol. While the performances are clear and upfront, the close up miking and lack of reverb and other effects that make a recording sound finished are lacking here. It's just too dry! The excitement of usual MT vocal arrangements is missing. The guest artists don't really seem to blend with MT. Nor do they seem to standout. Phil Collins vocals are barely recognizable. Instead of using an acoustic piano on some of the tunes, we get treated to a Bob James kind of electric piano that really never quite works and makes the material sound dated. Technically this is a good recording, just a tired one. The original arrangements and recordings are far superior to the ones here.

The highlights on the disc are "Dream Lover," with James Taylor and the "Thrill is Gone," with B.B. King. "Along Comes Mary" is laughable. I guess it would have been a bad marketing move to use that title for the whole album, no matter how descriptive of the content. But after their track record, the Manhattan Transfer is allowed one miss now and then.

A complete change from the usual Manhattan Transfer but it is really great! I would recommend it if you like all the good old classic numbers.

Tonin'I loved this when it first came out and now am buying it on CD. This cd is one you will listen to over and over especially if you love the 'oldies", the voices and harmonies are beautiful.