CD Title: 20th Century Masters - The Best of Chuck Mangione
Year: 2002
Record Label: A & M Records
Style: Contemporary Jazz
Review: Chuck Mangione crossed the line from contemporary jazz to pop and easy listening in a big way. On his smash hit “Feels So Good,” his most successful song, he proved that he could enjoy victory on either side of the musical fence. With elements of jazz as a foundation, Mangione combined sweetly toned pop into many songs, allowing a much larger and more accepting audience into his musical sphere of influence. This tact also gave his music more diversity and balance. What made Chuck unique is that he featured the flugelhorn as the main instrument in lieu of the more standard trumpet or saxophone. He also conducted all the orchestrations and played electric piano.
The remastered tracks on “20th Century Masters-The Best of Chuck Mangione” packages 10 of his best pieces to highlight his long and successful solo career. No doubt, there could be much more material included in such a tribute, this compilation chooses to focus on the most productive time of his career, the 70’s. Although 10 tracks may not seem enough, keep in mind the running times of each one. There are tracks that run over nine, 12, and 14 minutes. Therefore, price of admission is well worth it.
I particularly enjoyed some of the guitar breaks in some of the songs, which reminded me of George Benson’s work in that timeframe, and the vocals were a welcome change. The strongest factor that comes into play is that you get a taste of each aspect of a multi-faceted approach that Mangione employed so successfully in every track. It really did feel so good listening to all of this music again.
Tracks: Land of Make Believe
Bellavia
Main Squeeze
Chase the Clouds Away
Feels So Good
Hide and Seek
Hill Where the Lord Hides
Fun and Games
Give It All You Got
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