The Manhattan Transfer

Spice of Life

Photo: Discogs.com

Good morning! Today we’re listening to Manhattan Transfer’s “Spice of Life.”

This was a new one for me; prior to this I’d only ever heard “Boy From New York City,” and frankly didn’t care for it much (still don’t, really).

Not this, though. Upbeat, and comes with a Stevie Wonder harmonica solo. What’s not to like?

If it sounds vaguely familiar, that may be because it was written by Rod Temperton, the man behind hits like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and “Rock With You.”

Alan Paul on the band’s early days:

In 1972, the Vietnam War was over. We were starting in New York, at the same time there were a lot of the folk clubs with singer/ songwriters protesting the war. When that changed, those clubs became cabarets. There was a new wave with people wanting to move on. There was a recession. People wanted to go out and celebrate and just forget about stuff. It was kind of the beginnings of Glitter Rock. And that is kind of what we came out of in a sense. On the left side, you had the New York Dolls. And on the right side you had us. We were kind of dressing similar, lots of makeup, and a lot of outrageous clothing. But musically we were different.

More: Read the rest of the interview here.

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“Spice of Life” by The Manhattan Transfer | Bodies and Souls, 1983

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What’d you think of this song? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for being here,

Kevin—

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