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Manhattans VibeZ

Ten tracks from a New Jersey vocal group who specialised in a very specific thing: the song that opens with a man talking.

The Manhattans - In Session 1968 - Nights At The Roundtable ...

The Manhattans

The Manhattans formed in Jersey City in the early sixties and worked for more than a decade before their commercial breakthrough. The classic line-up paired the smooth lead of Gerald Alston with the deep spoken introductions of Winfred "Blue" Lovett, and that contrast became their signature.

The spoken intro was not an affectation. It is a device from gospel and from the doo-wop era, and in their hands it does something specific: it establishes a situation before the singing begins, so that the song arrives as a response rather than a performance. A remarkable number of their records are effectively short plays.

They also had one of the smoothest group blends of the seventies, which is why they thrived on the quiet-storm format that emerged just as they peaked.

What to listen for

"Kiss and Say Goodbye" is the enormous one — a record that sold in the millions, opens with forty seconds of Lovett talking, and is one of the saddest hit singles of the seventies.

"Shining Star" is the other big one and won them a Grammy; it is the most straightforwardly beautiful thing here.

"It Feels So Good to Be Loved So Bad" is the best title and one of the great quiet-storm staples.

"I Kinda Miss You" is the deep cut most worth hearing and the one where Alston's phrasing is at its finest.

"Don't Take Your Love" opens the set and is the most uptempo thing on it.

"We Never Danced to a Love Song" and "Am I Losing You" are the ballads the devoted listeners name, and "Hurt" is the standard, given the full group treatment.

"The Way We Were / Memories" is the medley, which is exactly the sort of thing this group did better than anyone.

Go deeper

The Manhattans (1976) is the album with both of the big hits on it and the place to start.

For the wider world of seventies vocal groups who worked this register: The Dramatics, Blue Magic, The Chi-Lites and The Moments — the last of whom were also from New Jersey and later became Ray, Goodman & Brown.

Listening note: the spoken introductions are not an affectation but a device inherited from gospel and doo-wop, and they do real work — they establish a situation so the singing arrives as a response rather than a performance. A surprising number of these records are effectively short plays with a sung second act.

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