1. Free Samba
2. Prelude
3. Spain (I Can Recall)
4. One Step Closer (The One Step)
5. Children's Song No.15
6. 500 Miles High
7. Another Roadside Attraction (Space Circus)
8. Time's Lie
9. La Chanson Du Bébé (Children's Song No. 1)
10. Ragtime in Pixiland (Pixiland Rag)
11. The Story of Anna & Armando (Armando's Rhumba)
12. Free Samba (Extended version)
Collective personnel
Cheryl Bentyne, Tim Hauser, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel - Vocals
Chick Corea - Yamaha Motif XS8
Airto - Percussion
Alex Acuna - Percussion;
Bais Haus - Synthesizer, drum programming
Billy Drummond - Drums
Christian McBride - Acoustic bass
Conrad Herwig - Trombone
Don Shelton - Whistle solo
Edsel Gomez - Piano
Fred Hersch - Piano
Gary Novak - Drums
Gary Wicks - Electric bass, fretless bass
Janet Vrudney, Jack Wylie Bryant, Scott Gilmore - Handbells
Jimmy Earl - Electric bass
Joe Passaro - Marimba
John Benitez - Electric bass
John Hebert - Acoustic bass
Lou Marini - Flute, alto flute
Luisito Quintero - Percussion, congas, timbales
Mike Pinella, Robert Rodriguez - Trumpets
Ramon Stagnero - Acoustic guitar
Ronnie Cuber - Baritone sax
Scott Kinsey - Keyboards
Steve Hass - Drums..
Steve Tavaglione - Soprano sax, EWI
Vince Cherico - Drums
Yaron Gershovsky - Fender Rhodes, keyboards, programming
Chick Corea is famous primarily for his instrumental music rather
than any songs he has written with lyrics. So why is a vocal group
taking on his compositions? Don't worry - Manhattan Transfer can tackle
the most difficult tasks and make them look easy. This quartet is
in the line of many preceding vocal groups - for example, the Mills
Brothers and the Four Freshmen - who brought a jazz sensibility to
vocal harmonising. Although most of the pieces on this album were
originally instrumentals, lyrics have been supplied by a variety of
people, including Chick Corea himself.
The result is a pleasurable album, thanks not only to the vocal dexterity
of Man Tran but also to Chick's melodic inventiveness. Most of his
compositions have a warm, joyful feel which is captured in these vocal
renditions. The opening Free Samba (specially composed by Corea
for this album) is immediately appealing, particularly because Chick
brings his trademark Yamaha keyboard sound to the mix, bending notes
and driving the music forwards.
Having tried to play Spain myself, I know how difficult it
is to get it right. Manhattan Transfer wisely take the tune at a slowish
tempo to help them negotiate its complexity. The group also seems
to add more of Rodriguez's original Concierto de Aranjuez, upon
which Spain is based. For contrast, Man Tran perform two of
Chick's gentle Children's Songs (the latter being entitled
La Chanson du Bébé).
The only thing that lets this album down is the repetition of vocal
phrases in some tracks - such as Another Roadside Attraction,
where the chanted riffs tend to conflict with the appeal of the original
melody (Space Circus). The same tendency affects La Chanson
du Bébé and Ragtime in Pixiland, with the chirping voices
eventually getting on one's nerves. The sound is much more attractive
in songs like 500 Miles High and The Story of Anna &
Armando, where a solo voice is backed by a heavenly chorus.
Experiments in vocalese like this sometimes fail because the words
have to be gabbled to fit the music but this is avoided on such tracks
as Spain (I Can Recall), where the lyrics are delivered with
admirable clarity. Manhattan Transfer comprises four superb singers,
as you can hear when they take solos as well as when they harmonise
togther. So overall this album is a success, achieving a difficult
task through the combined efforts of excellent vocalists and musicians.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Four Quarters Entertainment 
