It took sixteen years for this release of Chuck Mangione’s late guitarist, Coleman Mellett to be finally in your ears. Having died too soon before his time in 2009, his album presented here through a collection of recordings both casually and in studio, show a talent that deserved more ears.
Sounding like a bit like Michael Franks and Kenny Rankin, vocalist/guitarist Coleman Mellett fills well the gap left by these comfy but hip stylists on this album where he sang as well as played guitar and keyboards. He teamed up with some heavyweights, due to his connections with Mantione, like Will Lee/b, Steve Gadd/dr, Larry Goldings/org, Chuck Mangione/fh himself, and even James Taylor jumps in for a cameo on ‘You Get Me Too” with Mellett returning the favor with a folksy guitar solo of “Fire and Rain”. His tenor’d voice delivers the lyrics avuncularly on “Everymornin’’ and “Honeykiss” with him sounding like a member of the folk rock team America on “Life Goes On”. Mangione glistens on the easy “Morning Line”, and Mellett is cozy and intimate with a Spartan take of “Island Home”. A boy next door on the block that moved away before we got to know him.