Fifty

by The Manhattan Transfer, WDR Funkhausorchester

Overview

With 2022's Fifty, Grammy-winning vocal quartet the Manhattan Transfer celebrate their 50th birthday in illustrious fashion, collaborating with Germany's WDR Funkhausorchester. Founded in the 1960s by the late Tim Hauser, the Manhattan Transfer helped repopularize '40s-style vocal harmony jazz, swing, and traditional pop, all while incorporating contemporary pop and dance elements. Here, original members Janis Siegel and Alan Paul, along with longtime member Cheryl Bentyne and Trist Curless (who joined after Hauser's passing in 2014), look back on the group's albums and revisit some of their favorite songs. Helping them achieve this time-traveling journey is producer and Take 6-member David Thomas as well as musical arrangers Jorge Callandrelli and Vince Mendoza and vocal arranger Amanda Taylor. While there's certainly a sense of warm familiarity about many of the songs included here, the group smartly eschew many of their obvious hits, like "Birdland" or "Tuxedo Junction," that became staples of their live shows. Instead, they favor equally memorable songs that represent the many genres and styles they've incorporated into their sound over the decades. There's a widescreen, Technicolor vibe to the album that feels like a classic Hollywood film where the main characters travel the globe to far-off exotic locales. Emblematic of this is the opening "Agua," a cinematic and moody MPB ballad by Djavan and Brock Walsh off 1987's Brasil that evokes the expansive harmonies of '60s groups like Free Design. Similarly, "Paradise Within" is a dreamy tropical number off 2018's The Junction that conjures the romantic big band vibe of the 1940s that remains so redolent of the Manhattan Transfer sound. Also bringing to mind the group's swinging, big band-inspired style is their lush rendition of the Artie Shaw standard "The Man I Love" -- a never-before-recorded arrangement. In classic decade-mashing fashion, they also dive into some of their more adventurous choices, including their surprising update of XTC's '80s classic "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" from The Junction and the hip-hop-infused "What Goes Around, Comes Around" off 1991's The Offbeat of Avenues. They even revisit their campy reworking of Bernard Herrmann's Twilight Zone theme off 1979's Extensions. These are lush, orchestral productions that add even more textural colors to the quartet's already vibrant vocal harmonies. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	10/21/2022
Label:	Craft Recordings
UPC:	0888072464032
Rank:	47092

Tracks

1. Agua
2. The Man I Love
3. Paradise Within
4. On a Little Street in Singapore
5. The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul
6. Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone
7. Blues for Harry Bosch
8. Chanson D'Amour
9. What Goes Around, Comes Around
10. God Only Knows

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Manhattan Transfer   Primary Artist
Cliff Almond   Primary Artist,Drums
WDR Funkhausorchester   Primary Artist
Anguelina Abadjieva   Violin
Christian Atannasiu   Viola
Christine Beimel   Violin
Elvira Stanciu   Violin
Esther Peristerakis   Harp
Federico Bresciani   Viola
Florian Kimer   Trumpet
Gisele Blondeau   Contrabass
Henricus Poulissen   Horn
Igor Sagan   Violin
Jan Michels   Cello
Laura Wiek   Cello
Linus Fehn   Trumpet
Karl-Zoltan Oppelcz   Violin
Katharina Schulte   Violin
Louisa Van Dessel   Horn
Martin Langgartner   Contrabass
Mateusz Szczygiel   Viola
Matthias Haakh   Trombone
Norbert Schmeiber   Trombone
Rafael Sars   Percussion
Rebekka Low   Oboe
Renate Bosbach   Contrabass
Ricardo Caraceni   Violin
Ryan Camiaux   Trumpet
Sara Domjanic   Violin
Zbigniew Szustak   Violin
Egmont Kraus   Percussion
Ingo Luis   Trombone
Joerg Achim Keller   Conductor
Gilda Razani   Theremin
Georg Niehusmann   Orchestra
Thorsten Blumberg   Percussion
Karina Buschinger   Violin
Paulo Ferreira   Bassoon
Juraj Cizmarovic   Violin
Marcel Sobol   Horn
Dirk Schultheis   Clarinet
Juergen Hinz   Viola
Andy Miles   Clarinet
Jan Schneider   Trumpet
Piotr Skweres   Cello
Iryna Bayeva   Viola
Robin van Gemert   Horn
Oliver Wenhold   Cello
Gero Koerner   Piano
Alfonso Garrido   Percussion
Brendan Conway   Violin
Felix Eberle   Bassoon
Hyunjin Kim   Violin
Trist Curless   Vocals
James Chirillo   Guitar (Rhythm),Guitar
Janis Siegel   Vocals
Jay Graydon   Guitar,Soloist,Guitar (Rhythm)
Les Pierce   Rap
Pina Mohs   Oboe
Alberto Menchen   Violin
Amrei Collmer   Violin
Boris Kozlov   Guitar (Bass),Bass (Acoustic),Bass (Electric)
Cheryl Bentyne   Vocals
Tony Shepperd   Orchestra
Ross Pederson   Drums,Shaker,Percussion
Ryan Carniaux   Trumpet
Alan Paul   Vocals
Yaron Gershovsky   Piano,Piano (Electric)
Georg Mertens   Flute
Bobby Sanabria   Bongos,Congas,Cymbals,Timbales,Percussion
David Thomas   Orchestra
Andre Schmid   Clarinet
Michael Schmidt   Percussion
Helen Kim   Violin
Brigitte Schreiner   Flute

Technical Credits

Cliff Almond   Loop,Musician,Drum Programming
F. Scott Schafer   Photography
Amanda Taylor   Vocal Arrangement
David Thomas   Producer,Mixing Engineer,Recording Producer,Producer,Vocal Mixing
Andrew Kessler   Arranger
Georg Niehusmann   Engineer,Producer,Vocal Mixing,Mixing Engineer,Recording Producer
Catherine Meyer   Project Coordinator
Dave Thomas   Vocal Producer
Tony Asher   Composer
Reiner Kuhl   Engineer,Recording
Gabriel De Santanna   Recording,Vocal Engineer
Grace Kelly   Composer
Tommy Steele   Design
Corinna Rottschy   Orchestra Manager
Callum Au   Arranger
Andrew Kesler   Arranger
Trist Curless   Recording,Group Member,Vocal Engineer
Ed Keane   Producer,Recording Producer
Djavan   Composer
Janis Siegel   Composer,Producer,Group Member,Vocal Arrangement,Recording Producer
Vince Mendoza   Arranger,Co-Arranger
George Gershwin   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
Wayne Shanklin   Composer
Jay Graydon   Composer,Recording,Guitar Overdubs
Les Pierce   Composer,Engineer,Recording
Les Baxter   Composer
Peter Doell   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Blake Morgan   Vocal Arrangement
Lutz Rameisel   Engineer
Brandon Loulias   Recording,Vocal Engineer
Ted Perlman   Producer,Vocal Engineer,Vocal Producer,Recording Producer
Andy Partridge   Composer
Marius Constant   Composer
Cheryl Bentyne   Composer,Lyricist,Group Member
Tony Shepperd   Engineer,Recording,Vocal Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Mervyn Warren   Vocal Arrangement
Alan Paul   Composer,Lyricist,Liner Notes,Group Member,Vocal Arrangement
Brock Walsh   Composer,Lyricist
Brian Wilson   Composer
Mervin Warren   Vocal Arrangement
The Manhattan Transfer   Producer,Recording Producer
William Hill   Composer
Dave Darlington   Engineer,Recording
Yaron Gershovsky   Arranger,Producer,Rhythm Production,Recording Producer
Billy Hill   Composer
Peter DeRose   Composer
Jorge Calandrelli   Arranger
Chris Sulit   Engineer,Recording