Old School Journeymen

"Kiss and Say Goodbye" may be the last of the Old School soul songs to top both the R&B and Pop charts. Dave Marsh once said that, I believe, and its held true some 30 years after it charted. The Manhattans weren't thought of as top tier Soul group icons until that release. And truth be told, after it, they weren't recognized either. If you could name the greatest Old School vocal groups you think of the Spinners, Stylistics, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Temptations, but you never mention the Manhattans. In fact, even after a listen to the Sweet Talking Soul (Shout), I'm still not convinced that they belong on top, but I still rank them on the 2nd level with Tavares, the Dramatics and the Chi-Lites. That's no knock on them. The Manhattans are the like the Jeffrey Osborne of Soul vocal groups, good, reliable journeymen who had only a few crossover hits but a bunch of R&B charters.

Sweet Talking Soul covers 1963-1990, but it really doesn't get going until 1973 when they signed to Columbia. Their Columbia years are neatly summarized on one disc comps, but here things dig a little deeper. The first disc covers their pre-Columbia years and is the least satisfying. You got Motown and Isley knockoffs and the Manhattans are still searching for their sound. But at Columbia, and especially with the underrated Gerald Alston, they hit a stride.
I'm still not ready to give them top tier, and this 45 song set could be cut in half and been stronger. But the Manhattans deserve to be remembered for more than their 2 crossover's, even if those 2 still define their legacy.