🎵 AotW AOTW: Chuck Mangione - Feels So Good (SP-4658)

[Captain Bacardi]

Chuck Mangione
FEELS SO GOOD
A&M SP-4658

Released 1977

Format: Vinyl(including MSFL)/Cassette/8-Track/CD

Produced by Chuck Mangione

Songs:

• 1. Feels So Good - 9:40
  2. Maui-Waui - 10:11
  3. Theme From "Side Street" - 2:03
  4. Hide & Seek (Ready Or Not Here I Come) - 6:25
  5. Last Dance - 10:53
  6. The XIth Commandment - 6:36
  
  All selections written and arranged by Chuck Mangione and published by Gates Music, Inc. (BMI)

Musicians:
Chuck Mangione - Flugelhorn, Electric Piano
Chris Vadala - Soprano, Tenor and Baritone Saxes, Piccolo, Flute and Alto Flute
Grant Geissman - Electric, Acoustic, 12-String and Classical Guitars
Charles Meeks - Bass
James Bradley, Jr. - Drums, Congas and Timbales

Recorded and Mixed at Kendun Recorders, Burbank, California
Engineer: Mick Guzauski
Assistant Engineer: Stillman Kelly
Mastering Engineer: Rick Collins

Art Direction: Roland Young
Design: Junie Osaki
Photography: Benno Friedman
Management: Tom Iannaccone



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Dave]

Hmmmm...other than "Feels So Good", which radio stations generally play a "shorter version" of--shortening the intro--and an "even SHORTER one", which eliminates the intro and cuts-off a lot of the outro--I'm not much of a fan of this, but it's an improvement over Bellavia, just to name one example, though also a bit short of what I thought of Mainsqueeze...

That said, the other tracks like 'The Last Waltz' of "Last Dance", the 'Aloha-Jazz' of "Maui-Waui", and the ...Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie--you were young and so was I... of "Hide & Seek (Ready Or Not Here I Come)", as well as the 'Cinematic Avenue' of "Theme from SIDE STREET" and the 'Though Shall Not' of "The XIth Commandment" are at least passible... With a bit of "serious" listening, I'm sure I'll appreciate this more and know a lot more of "what this is about"...!


Dave

 

[alpertfan]

I've never heard the album, but I have heard the actual track, "Feels So Good". They play it from time to time on WQCD. One of the best songs ever recorded, in my opinion.

 

[Mike]

I have the album on CD (Japanese release) and I enjoy it. I think "Feels So Good" is a masterpiece. The rest of the tracks are good, but the first track is a tough act to follow.

 

[Rudy]

A decent album all the way around, IMHO. Aside from the title track, I like "The XIth Commandment" and "Hide & Seek (Ready Or Not Here I Come)". The others are sort of like pleasant filler. It is a well recorded album, although the wah-wah on the title track dates it a little.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

While this was Mangione's most popular album it's clearly not his best. The tunes are pleasant enough - "Feels So Good" is a catchy song and Grant Geissman's guitar solo is incredible. "Hide And Seek" is pretty much a rocker, again with Geissman's help. But the main problem is how long some of these songs go on. Was it really necessary to have 3 different solos on most tunes? It seems even the band got a little tired of this, especially on "Last Dance", where the tempo at the end of the song is much faster than it started out (check it out for yourself!). Mangione seemed more intent on making a romantic album than a jazz album, and he did succeed at that. Unfortunately, this album's popularity seemed to have doomed Mangione, since most of his remaining recordings got to be formulaic at best. I give this 3 & 1/2 stars.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Captain Bacardi]

One other note about this album: drummer James Bradley, Jr. was only 19 when this album was made. He also has a bit of TV history behind him. As a 4-year old he appeared on The Jack Benny Show as a kid who would show up Benny. Nick At Night used to show this old show quite a bit in the 80's and I saw this particular episode a few times.

I first saw Mangione in concert about a month after this album's release and got to meet him and the band afterwards. He was very approachable, but he was feelin' pretty good himself - and so was everybody else in the band. It was a very good concert.



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Dave]

...Mangione seemed more intent on making a 'romantic album', than a Jazz album... ...He did succeed at that...

Capt. Bacardi

Mainsqueeze was also a "Romantic Album", as opposed to a Jazz Album... But it had a "Unified-Concept" and it helped that the musicians were a good bunch of New York Studio Cats--seasoned in this sort of stuff, as opposed to Mangione's (Let's Face It...!) "Band of UNKNOWNS..."

Feels So Good just really seemed like a "random collective of songs" with at least a Radio-Ready Hit-Bound Title-Track and little else... The songs are long and wearing as opposed to at least "inspiring" as on this LP's Predecessor...

Yes, "Last Dance" does start-off "petered-out", and perhaps it was a bit of a "device" to put that gimmick into boosting up the tempo towards the end of the song... Maybe a "Long-Overdue" Idea he had for one of the tracks on Bellavia...

As Mangione said, "Thanks to all of you who bought this, I was able to put my two daughters through college...!", when introducing the Famous Title-Tune and why those "Many Copies" frequently show up for the Bottom-Most amount at Used Record Stores...

Anyway, to me, it didn't "Feel So Good", or "Feel So Bad"... It just "Feel NOT So Good", which is why I gave it 3..., Three..., ***-Stars... (Almost 3 and 1/4...!)


Dave


...Finally giving this a more serious listen and ...Look Out! ...'Cause Fun And Games is NEXT!

 

[Murray]

I gave this album four stars, because I love the title track (I agree with Mike in thinking that it's "genius"), and I enjoy listening to the rest. There are very few albums where I don't skip over at least one of the tracks, and this is one of them.

When I babysat my niece (she was around six months old at the time), I would play this album, because it put her to sleep in short order. I often put it in my CD clock radio, because it relaxes me, and helps me to drift to sleep. It's cheaper than sleeping pills, and more effective!

 

[alonely bull in paradise]

For me, the highlights of this album are "Maui-Waui", "Last Dance","The XIth Commandment" and the album version of the title track (I'd pick that over the radio edit any day of the week). But now I'm interested in his non-commercial material.

 

[Rudy]

For me, the highlights of this album are "Maui-Waui", "Last Dance","The XIth Commandment" and the album version of the title track (I'd pick that over the radio edit any day of the week). But now I'm interested in his non-commercial material.

His Mercury recordings featured his (for lack of a better description) jazz-orchestral arrangements behind his flugel playing. His earlier A&M albums may be worth seeking out as well, as he hadn't yet broken through like he did with this AOTW we've been discussing here. A couple of his post A&M albums were dogs (the ones on Columbia, IIRC), but he's recorded in recent years for smaller labels.

 

[Ed Bishop]

The operative word for me is 'pleasant.' I'm also tempted to add 'lazy' to that, given his more ambitious, earlier work. Like George Benson's BREEZIN', or Wes' A DAY IN THE LIFE, a surprisingly popular but very modest work from someone you know had considerably more talent and ambition than that. These 'crossover' albums tend to be jazz/MOR lite, kind of precursors to the crap Kenny G would later perpetrate. Definitely a nod to commercialism(though that isn't necessarily a bad thing)and easy to take, but nothing to get excited about, either. Good for playing in the van on a sunny day, but doesn't exactly challenge the senses.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

I agree with Ed. I had this album on cassette and used to play it a lot, it was definitely MOR jazz. I also have CHILDREN OF SANCHEZ on LP, and I played the daylights out of it, too...then after a while, I just put the albums away and that was that...I really prefer Mangione's earlier work on Mercury. It was different from anything else I'd ever heard at the time...was on vacation in Buffalo, and saw the concert on PBS in June of '73. It was MUCH more exciting music.


Dan

 

[Ed Bishop]

What turned me on to Mangione was "Hill Where The Lord Hides," a 1971 Mercury 45 that charted in July of that year(eventually peaking at #7 nationally). Liked it, but forgot about him until LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE, which for some reason I thought worth investigating. Still fond of it, though like much of Chuck's work with the Rochester(NY)and Hamilton(Ontario)orchestras, a bit overblown and pretentious. Even so, obviously ambitious, and not the sort of thing I'd really heard before--a mixture of jazz with classical elements like a full orchestral backup in this kind of setting.

His A&M material is decidedly mainstream. CHASE THE CLOUDS AWAY is probably my fave of that period. I don't think any of his stuff for A&M was 'bad,' just seemed unambitious, perhaps.

 

[Vinylalbumcovers]

I, Ed, agree with Ed also. This is "smooth jazz" before the term was coined. It's not that it's simple, mind you. It's just got such a "pop" sheen to it. Chuck is infinitely better than releases like this would lead one to believe.

Ed

 

[Dave]

Having seen Chuck Mangione in Concert, I can tell you that the Musicianship was a lot more than ANY Recorded Product could ever capture...

"Inifinitely better than any Albums" would lead you to believe is true... The Live Concert experience just seemed to be the real vehicle, in which Mangione could really even blow his own recordings away...



Dave

 

[Joe Cool]

What always amazed me was how much he sounded like he was on trumpet. Of course he was on Flugelhorn, but when you compare Chuck's sound to say Chris Botti who actually is on a trumpet.

 

[audiofile]

Forget about all the commercial aspects of Chuck Mangione. When you get right down to it, this IS a JAZZ album. I don't think there's a dud in the mix. All the songs are beautiful, (some make me cry) and show why Mangione is one of the most gifted song writers of all time. Everyone in the Mangione group was a gifted musician. This wasn't the last good Mangione album. His albums started to go south after Journey To A Rainbow.