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1977 was a whirlwind year for Melissa Manchester. The singer-songwriter toured North America's arenas and amphitheaters that summer with Leo Sayer before launching a solo tour in the fall that attracted the attention of none other than Bob Dylan, who attended the Minneapolis date. Melissa played Carnegie Hall, appeared on network television specials, taped a memorable commercial with Ella Fitzgerald, and released her sixth studio album, Singin'. But that wasn't all.
On October 30, 1977 at Gainesville, Florida's Great Southern Music Hall, Melissa recorded her first (and only!) live album. The electrifying double album for Arista Records captured her in front of an audibly appreciative college audience, leading a smoking-hot seven-piece band of rock, R&B, and jazz veterans including two KISS collaborators - saxophonist/keyboardist/musical director Tom Saviano (Dolly Parton, Earth Wind & Fire) and bassist Bill Bodine (Van Morrison, Cher) - plus drummer Art Rodriguez (Rickie Lee Jones, Manhattan Transfer) and Melissa's discovery Lenny Castro, now one of the most-recorded percussionists of all time. Yet Arista shockingly consigned the Gainesville recordings to the shelf, where they've remained completely unheard...until now. On May 6, Melissa Manchester's Live '77 makes its long-overdue debut from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music as a deluxe 2-CD set.
The 21 songs on Live '77 - joyful, sensual, romantic, optimistic, spellbinding, and ultimately empowering - spoke directly to the thoughts and emotions of the young audience in 1977. Moreover, they have proven timeless over the ensuing decades. These include Manchester's hits "Midnight Blue," "Better Days," and the song Bob Dylan admired, "Just You and I," as well as the now-standard "Come in from the Rain," fan favorites "We've Got Time," "Happy Endings," and "Caravan," and spirited covers of such beloved tunes as "I Wanna Be Where You Are," "Rescue Me," and "Monkey See, Monkey Do." In addition to deep cuts such as "O Heaven (How You've Changed Me)" and "Party Music," Live '77 debuts Melissa's only recording anywhere of the blues classic "Hi-Heel Sneakers." With absolutely no overdubbing or studio wizardry, Live '77 represents the artist at her most searingly raw, emotional, soulful, and rocking. From ravishing ballads to danceable grooves and vibrant jams, Manchester and her band commanded the stage - and that powerful connection between artist and audience is palpable on this recording.
This world premiere release has been mastered from the original stereo tapes by Mike Milchner at SonicVision. The 24-page, full-color booklet designed by John Sellards evokes the era and contains in-depth liner notes by TSD's Joe Marchese based on new interviews with Melissa Manchester and Arista founder and music industry legend Clive Davis. The booklet also features a host of rare and previously unpublished photos by David LeShay and Sherry Rayn Barnett.
Melissa's newest studio album, RE:VIEW, is due for release later this year. A number of singles from RE:VIEW are currently streaming on her YouTube channel. She triumphantly closed the joyous Gainesville concert with a showstopping encore of "No One's Ever Seen This Side of Me." Now, in time for its 45th anniversary, you can finally hear this thrilling side of Melissa Manchester. Live '77 arrives from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music on Friday, May 6, and you'll find pre-order links and the full track listing below. The first 200 copies ordered directly through Real Gone Music will receive an exclusive autographed booklet!
Melissa Manchester, Live '77 (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music RGM-1361, 2022) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music)
CD 1
- Let Me Serenade You
- Party Music
- Happy Endings
- Midnight Blue
- Be Somebody
- This Lady's Not Home
- We've Got Time
- Good News
- I Wanna Be Where You Are
- Monkey See, Monkey Do
- Rescue Me
- Hi-Heel Sneakers
CD 2
- Caravan
- Be Happy Now
- Better Days/Come In from the Rain
- O Heaven (How You've Changed Me)
- A Love of Your Own
- If It Feels Good (Let It Ride)
- Just You and I
- Easy
- No One's Ever Seen This Side of Me
All tracks previously unreleased
Release Round-Up: Week of February 23
The Weekend Stream: January 27, 2024
The Weekend Stream: November 11, 2023
Wonderful news. Good job!
I am SO looking forward to this, though, I am surprised that she did not include Just Too Many People in her concert set back then.
Thanks, Zubb! I do love "Just Too Many People," too! Not only wasn't it played in Gainesville, but it didn't turn up in any of the setlists we were able to find for this tour.
That's no doubt because of the controversy with the right wing of that era.
Back in the day that song actually had protests by right wingers thinking Melissa was pushing a pro-abortion stand.
The "Just too many people" was taken completely the wrong way by these idiots.
She's spoken of this over the years.
So arista or Melissa probably didn't want to create more controversy by playing the song live. Hoping the crazies would go away.
I think she was completely shocked that anyone would take her song the wrong way and use it for their own political reasons.
This was the only time her music had any protest like this.
Well except most of her fans hating the cover pics for her 1983 album.
Making her look like some S&M dominatrix.
Really.... What the F were they thinking.
Thankfully her next album Mathematics, the photography was absolutely beautiful.
bc
Wow! Wonder how many other such treasures are tucked away in the record companies' vaults?
Promptly ordered...until recently, I never realized how good MM really is, much more than just an adult contempo singer...I got the 2 SD/RG 2CD deluxes of the Arista 7"s & Mathematics, now ordered this, and will get the upcoming REVIEW too...
Thanks, Larry. I think you'll find the concert as exciting as I do; it's Melissa at her most thrillingly versatile. The concert is R&B, it's soul, it's rock-and-roll, it's pop...there's even funk and jazz in there. Melissa's on fire and the band is smoking, too! Hope you enjoy.
FANTASTIC!!!
Not only do I love Melissa Manchester, but I was at that very concert in Gainesville. In fact, I think she did 2 shows that night, and I stayed for both! This is great news!
Ordered. She's playing here next month at a pretty small club (Tin Pan in Richmond) I haven't gone to many shows during the pandemic but I'm really tempted.
Really wish you would release this live double album on Vinyl for her die-hard fans.
Would love to hear it on 180gram heavy vinyl.
Thanks again for releasing this Live '77 recording for the fans.
And for her own history, she's long been over looked in music history for her amazing voice and talent in that era.
She carried the torch for female talent from the the previous generation of Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, Dusty Springfield, etc. and passed that torch forward to Annie Lennox ,Cyndi Lauper and future strong female talents.
People remember Carly Simon, Benatar, Heart (Ann Wilson), Donna Summer and others from the 70's.
But Melissa is not as remembered for her diverse styles over many years. She could do it all.
And with authenticity. That voice was world class as were the songs she wrote.
But Melissa had to deal with all the arista crap those other women with better major label support did not have. Letting them be free to create. Melissa had to endure for years. As her longtime fans know. Had she been on Warner, Columbia or even Atlantic she would have much more freedom.
arista was ONLY concerned with HITS.
Most of their acts were not serious album acts like the bigger labels were.
So she was really on the wrong label after Bell Records.
But she still gave us amazing music and albums. But I imagine over the years it had to be hard for her being on arista. A non stop pressure cooker.
The pinnacle of that time was clive not believing in her own song and releasing "Whenever I Call You Friend". Massive hit for Kenny Loggins. Should have been "Their" massive duet hit single.
But the label blew it off as a NON HIT.
Great label visionaries they at arista. By comparison Columbia believed in the song and it's on Kenny Loggins highest charting album of his career back in 1978.
This song could have changed everything for Melissa back then.
It may have led to Melissa the songwriter thriving and giving us more albums of her own great songs and not those overproduced albums from 79 and 80.
But again arista didn't have the vision of her as a "artist" just wanted HITS.
And then they couldn't even see a MASSIVE HIT SONG staring them in the face
when she offered it to them.
This live album will help bring her part of music history back to the front page again for music fans.
Especially young women in music to know their heroes of the past era's.
bc
Got my copy today, with an autographed booklet.
Fantastic! Hope you enjoy, Galley!
The Melissa Manchester Live '77 concert is really "Amazing".
She is in peak form in every way.
Her voice is from another planet she is so good.
The control she had and the power, the grit, the soul, the vocal ability.
And it was smokey sexy on top of all that.
To hear her live and well recorded. As Robert Palmer said "Simply Irresistable"!!!
The band is equal to her.
Rocking out and master musicians.
But full of soul.
The songs, the crowd, the cheering, What a night!!!
What a concert.
Many Thanks to your label and all involved in finally getting this out to the world and fans.
This should have happened in 1977 but you finally made it happen.
One small concern is the CD packaging.
CD disc 1 is almost impossible to get out of the case.
And mine got scratched in getting it out.
CD disc 2 was no problem but that CD case design is bad.
If it didn't hold the CD so tight it would have been ok but there is something wrong.
And I'll end on another good note.
What a cool bonus to get 2nd cd booklet and it was signed by Melissa.
Nice touch!!! and a surprise.
Thank You Melissa for the great music and giving such amazing live performance.
This is great that young people can hear how amazing you were live back in the day.
js
Waiting for mine to be delivered today. I was at that very concert in Gainesville for both shows, so this is particularly exciting for me!