"Please, don't let this feeling end..."
The sentiment of that famous lyric is one shared by listeners every time Melissa Manchester begins to sing. From her earliest pop hits through her recent triumphs on the jazz charts, Manchester's voice has always resonated with warmth and power. In 1975, she was one of a handful of select talents chosen by Clive Davis to inaugurate his Arista Records label, and during her near-decade on the label, the fiercely independent artist established herself as both a singer and songwriter nonpareil. TOMORROW, the most comprehensive anthology of Melissa's recordings arrives from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music - and that's not all. Melissa is also launching her joyous new studio album, The Fellas!
Through the Eyes of Love: The Complete Arista 7″ Singles brings together every one of Manchester's Arista 45 RPM releases, all in their original single versions featuring 23 unique single mixes/edits, for a total of 43 tracks on two discs. Inspired by the trailblazing Laura Nyro (and following our release of Nyro's A Little Magic, A Little Kindness: The Complete Mono Albums Collection), the onetime student of Paul Simon scored a crossover smash with the beautifully intimate "Midnight Blue," her debut single on Arista. She then established such songs as "Don't Cry Out Loud," "Come in from the Rain," and the Oscar-nominated "Theme from Ice Castles (Through the Eyes of Love)" as standards, and reinvented herself as a contemporary dance diva with the Grammy-winning "You Should Hear How She Talks About You." All of those songs and many more-including over fifteen chart hits-can be heard on Through the Eyes of Love-The Complete Arista 7″ Singles. Melissa's richly varied collaborations with renowned songwriters and producers including Carole Bayer Sager, Marvin Hamlisch, Peter Allen, Bernie Taupin, Leon Ware, Arif Mardin, Vini Poncia, and Harry Maslin can all be savored here.
These timeless recordings fusing pop, rock, soul, R&B, new wave, dance, jazz, and plenty of heart have been newly remastered from the original tapes by Mike Piacentini at Sony's Battery Studios, and present Melissa's hits on CD as they were first heard on the radio between 1975 and 1984. Through the Eyes of Love boasts several worldwide CD premieres as well as rarities, such as the hard-to-find single version of "My Boyfriend's Back" (heard as part of a medley in its album version), and as a special bonus, the extended 12-inch mix of "You Should Hear How She Talks About You." Melissa herself has generously shared her memories in an exclusive interview, which is featured in a deluxe 24-page booklet beautifully designed by John Sellards with rare photographs and memorabilia.
Clocking in at a whopping 157 minutes, Through the Eyes of Love: The Complete Arista 7″ Singles features songs which remain inspiring, empowering, romantic, reflective, and joyful. It reveals just why Melissa Manchester became the cherished voice of a generation. It's joined by The Fellas, Melissa's newly-recorded tribute to the classic men of American popular song who inspired her, such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Nat "King" Cole, Johnny Mathis, and more! Barry Manilow even drops by for a duet on "For Me and My Gal." The Fellas is a belated follow-up to Melissa's classic 1989 album Tribute, on which she paid homage to the female artists who came before. It's one swinging, big-band tribute from a timeless voice you won't want to miss!
Order links for both titles, DUE TOMORROW, can be found below!
Melissa Manchester, Through the Eyes of Love: The Complete Arista 7″ Singles (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
CD 1
- Midnight Blue (Arista single AS-0116, 5/75)
- I Got Eyes (Arista single AS-0116, 5/75)
- Just Too Many People (Arista single AS-0146, 8/75)
- The Lady's Not Home (Arista single AS-0146, 8/75)
- Just You and I (Arista single AS-0168, 1/76)
- My Sweet Thing (Arista single AS-0168, 1/76)
- Better Days (Arista single AS-0183, 4/76)
- Sing Sing Sing (Arista single AS-0183, 4/76)
- Rescue Me (Arista single AS-0196, 7/76)
- Happy Endings (Arista single AS-0196, 7/76)
- Monkey See, Monkey Do (Arista single AS-0218, 12/76)
- So's My Old Man (Arista single AS-0218, 12/76)
- Be Somebody (Arista single AS-0237, 1977)
- Dirty Work (Arista single AS-0237, 1977)
- I Wanna Be Where You Are (Arista single AS-0267, 9/77)
- No One's Ever Seen This Side of Me (Arista single AS-0267, 9/77)
- Don't Cry Out Loud (Arista single AS-0373, 11/78)
- We Had This Time (Arista single AS-0373, 11/78)
- Theme from Ice Castles (Through the Eyes of Love) (Arista single AS-0405, 4/79)
- Such a Morning (Arista single AS-0405, 4/79)
- Pretty Girls (Arista single AS-0456, 9/79)
- Fire in the Morning (Arista single AS-0485, 2/80)
CD 2
- It's All in the Sky Above (Arista single AS-0456, 9/79)
- Lights of Dawn (Arista single AS-0485, 2/80)
- If This Is Love (Arista single AS-0551, 8/80)
- Talk (Arista single AS-0551, 8/80)
- Without You (Arista single AS-0579, 1980)
- Boys in the Back Room (Arista single AS-0579, 1980)
- Lovers After All - with Peabo Bryson (Arista single AS-0587, 2/81)
- Happier Than I've Ever Been (Arista single AS-0587, 2/81)
- Race to the End (Theme from Chariots of Fire) (Arista single AS-0657, 2/82)
- Long Goodbyes (Arista single AS-0657, 2/82)
- You Should Hear How She Talks About You (Arista single AS-0676, 5/82)
- Hey Ricky (You're a Lowdown Heel) (Arista single AS-1028, 1982)
- Come in from the Rain (Arista single AS-1028, 1982)
- Nice Girls (Arista single AS-1045, 1/83)
- My Boyfriend's Back (Arista single AS 1-9014, 6/83)
- Looking for the Perfect Ahh (Arista single AS 1-9014, 6/83)
- No One Can Love You More Than Me (Arista single AS 1-9087, 9/83)
- White Rose (Arista single AS 1-9087, 9/83)
- I Don't Care What People Say (Arista single AS 1-9162, 3/84)
- Emergency (Arista single AS 1-9162, 3/84)
- You Should Hear How She Talks About You (Special Extended Version) (Bonus Track) (Arista 12-inch single SP 141, 1982)
Melissa Manchester, The Fellas (Long Run, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
- Ain't That a Kick in the Head
- Chances Are
- They Say It's Wonderful
- For Me and My Gal (with Barry Manilow)
- Love is Just Around the Corner
- Smile
- Night and Day
- How Do You Keep the Music Playing?
Galley says
I pre-ordered both. The singles collection should be fantastic!
Galley says
Once I imported it into iTunes, I swapped "Fire In The Morning" with "It's All In The Sky Above", to retain the A-side/B-side order. That resulted with Disc 1 having a playing time of 80:13, so I see why it was necessary.
Zubb says
Picked up my copy of Through The Eyes of Love. The Melissa Manchester collection I have been waiting for! It is just as good as I thought it would be.
Joe Marchese says
Thank you, Zubb! I'm so thrilled you're enjoying it! It was a true privilege and a pleasure for everyone involved to work with Melissa to make it a reality.
Bellenger1981 says
I got my copy in the mail the other day and have been enjoying it very much! Very nice work on this compilation! Thank you!