Search - Melissa Manchester :: Don't Cry Out Loud

A classic back in print

DVD buff | Austin, TX USA | 03/31/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This Wounded Bird Records reissue of DON'T CRY OUT LOUD marks the third time this album has been issued on CD. It was first issued on CD in Japan in the 1990's, and then reissued in the U.S. in 2002 with a bonus track. This latest reissue contains two bonus tracks, which are completely different from the bonus track on the previous edition.



DON'T CRY OUT LOUD is a classic, containing mostly songs written or co-written by Melissa Manchester herself. Blending her pop-singer/songwriter style with R&B, jazz and gospel influences, this was one of her most successful albums of the 1970's.



The sound quality of this issue is OK -- the volume was bumped up a bit from the previous issue, which increases the level of tape hiss you can hear, but overall it sounds a bit crisper. Unfortunately, the LP master from which it was made sounds fairly worn, but it has sounded this way on all the CD reissues, so without going back to the original multi-track masters, this is probably as good as we're going to hear.



The inclusion of "Through the Eyes of Love" (from the film ICE CASTLES) and "My Boyfriend's Back/Runaway" doesn't really make any sense -- neither track is from the era of this album, and both were included on GREATEST HITS in 1983. The previous U.S. CD issue contained "We Had This Time" as a bonus track, which was the b-side to "Don't Cry Out Loud" and made perfect sense as a bonus track. Why it was left off here is a mystery (it was included on the latest CD reissue of 1979's MELISSA MANCHESTER, though).



So for fans of this album who already have the 2002 reissue, this latest version is not a necessary purchase. If you don't already have this album on CD, then by all means grab this one while you can -- who knows how long it will be in print this time..."