Records; Melissa Manchester & Eric Anderson

Melissa Manchester, Melissa, Arista AL 4031

Eric Anderson, Be True To You, Arista AL 4033

Clive Davis' new label is not reserved for jazz rereleases and Barry Manilow's burgermusic. Two top grade pop artists are beautifully showcased on new albums. Melissa Manchester, a former Harlette backing up the divine Miss M, is the best new white soul singer since Carole King gave that up. Eric Anderson is a venerable, if overlooked, artist.

Melissa is an album with dues all paid up. She makes no bones about who has influenced her - there is more than a hint of Stevie Wonder's sound and soul here. Not only does she record the song "Love Havin' You Around" from Wonder's Music of My Mind, deliver the word in a blatant paean called "Stevie's Wonder" (What would it be like, she wonders, to make love to a genius?), but the vocals and keyboards are designed as Stevie would have done so. It is still fresh, mind you, because Ms. Manchester is so exuberant when she moves, and so assertive when she sighs. A good example of the former is the rocker "It's Gonna Be Alright," which leaves this reviewer breathless. The second category is best represented by "This Lady's Not At Home," and the Randy Newman song "I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore." The album is well produced, balanced without being blase, and the lyrics, by Carole Bayer Sager and Melissa, consistently interesting.

Eric Anderson's new release, his first in almost two years, is a welcome return for this most neglected talent. The writer of such folk classics as "Violets of Dawn" and "Thirsty Boots" made the mistake of signing with Warner Brothers who wanted to make a country pop singer out of him. Disastrous. He went underground, only to reappear on Epic with Blue River, which is one of the great albums of the 70s.

Be True To You falls down in places, notably the over-long "Time Run Like a Freight Train," but overall will relax and refresh you. Anderson is very close in personal outlook to Jackson Browne (who, along with Joni Mitchell, and Maria Muldaur appear as backup vocalists) and his voice is clear and low and sweet. Standout cuts include the title cut, "01 55," and "Woman, She Was Gentle." The album notes give special thanks to "the sweet inspiration of Stevie Wonder." While not as obvious as Melissa's, there are subtle debts owed to that man of wide influence, notably in its sincerity and energy. A fine comeback.

Paul J. Grant