Who Did It Better? Pretty Girls

Who Did It Better?

Pretty Girls

Okay, don't get too excited. This is not the Britney Spears/Iggy Azalea song.

This one is coming to us via Wonderland Burlesque's WayBack Machine - from 1978/1979 to be precise.

Written by one of Canada's not-so-hidden treasures, Lisa Dal Bello, Pretty Girls was the titular song of her second album. Dal Bello began her career as a mainstream pop/dance artist, releasing three albums under her given name. She won a Juno Award in 1978 for Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year. She would be nominated in various categories as a vocalist, producer and songwriter seven more times.

Her second album Pretty Girls was released independently on Talisman Records (later issued by Capitol Records), garnering her a second Juno nomination in 1979 in the category of Female Vocalist of the Year. The song was released as the first single from the album in 1978, but only managed to reach #84 on the Canadian charts.

Due to her powerful voice and personality, pop music was didn't feel like the right fit for Dal Bello. After taking time off to reevaluate her career, she came back in 1984 using a single name, DalBello, venturing into more experimental sounds and enjoying even bigger success in Canada, with songs such as Black on Black and Tango.

During her career she has worked with: Boz Scaggs, Heart, Bryan Adams, Mick Ronson, Carole Bayer Sager, Toto, Bruce Roberts, Franne Golde, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Julian Lennon, David Foster, Dan Hill, and Holly Knight.

Although Dal Bello never enjoyed full-fledged success in the US, thanks to acts like Heart, Boz Scaggs and Queensrÿche, she definitely made inroads. In 1979, Melissa Manchester covered her song, Pretty Girls, marking Dal Bello's first international success as a songwriter.

If Clive Davis were to sing a song about Melissa Manchester's time at the label it probably would have started with the line, "How do you solve a problem like Melissa?" The year 1979 found Manchester and Arista Records struggling to figure out how to follow-up the success of her surprise 1978 smash, Don't Cry Out Loud.  Her self-titled album released that year would bare the hallmarks of that indecision. 

Recorded in Atlanta in September 1979 with local producer Steve Buckingham (I Love The Night Life), Manchester's eighth album would yield two Top 40 hits. Dal Bello's composition, Pretty Girls was released as the lead single three weeks in advance of the album. It was the first upbeat single to preview a Melissa Manchester album and would also serve as Manchester's extended dance single debut. Despite this, her first foray into dance pop barely registered on the Top 40, with the single peaking at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

But, as they say, if you wanna make a cake, you gotta break some eggs. Or should that be: if at first you don't succeed...? Her second try at dance pop? 1982's You Should Hear How They Talk About You, which would end up the best selling single of her career, reaching #5 on Billboard's Hot 100, and winning her a Grammy as Best Female Vocalist. 

And there you have the full story. 

Now, on to the competition. 

The Song: Pretty Girls

The Competitors: Dal Bello vs. Manchester

Pretty Girls - Lisa Dal Bello

Pretty Girls - Melissa Manchester

Lisa Dal Bello

That intro reminds me of Rock The Boat by The Hues Corporation. And I love that song, so this is feeling very fun to my ears. Remember... this was a very different time. Cheesy still had some pull when it came to the radio. Also, disco was on it's way out and new wave artists like Blondie, The Cars, and Talking Heads were taking over. This song strands the span between those two worlds while also incorporating standard bits of pop and MOR magic. Given that? This song has always struck me as a bit of a mess; a great idea in need of a bit more fine tuning. 

The lyrics? Fairly edgy for the time. Do they always make sense? Do they need to? This is a song about a horny, somewhat predatory drugstore cosmetic salesman. Also, and I don't know quite sure why this is, but this song reminds me of The Grass Roots classic Sooner Or Later (Love Is Gonna Get You). It has something to do with the prominent piano and certain chord progressions. 

Vocally, this is not the DalBello who would reemerge in 1984. This is Dal Bello light. There's a hint of the snarl that's to be part of her trademark future sound, but she actually sounds like a lot of black female pop singers from this time, such as Maxine Nightingale, who would enjoy a second visit to the US Top Ten that same year. 

I love the piano and the fact that's driving this thing. It's very fresh sounding. I do wish her vocals were higher in the mix and knobbed a bit hotter. I like the tension the piano brings to the bridge leading to the chorus. 

The complete change in vocal tone, going into an alto and then the shouted, "Pretty Girl" feels abrupt. Not necessarily a bad thing, but then why didn't they introduce some new instrumental elements? Synthesizers did, in fact, exist then, and I think, used properly, it could have boosted this chorus. Instrumentally, the chorus ends up sounding disco lite, especially due to those hollow accent bell tones.  

Ooh! I like what she does with "Femme fatale is all he needs..." Very tasty.  

Just when I was thinking there is no C section, as in a true bridge, we get that drop out and spoken word bit. It works, though I think the absence of a true bridge is why I feel this song is undercooked. It could have added an additional musical dimension to the song, and also helped flesh out the narrative.

Dal Bello is doing some very interesting things vocally. Her phrasing is very deft. She takes risks and they pay off, revealing plenty of attitude. I love the way they move back into the chorus. Quite sly and economical. And that "girls, girls, girls!" It's a shame that wasn't used earlier. It could have overstayed it's welcome but it might have been the hook missing from this one. 

Remember! Cheesy ruled the day.

For the time period... this was edgy stuff. First, she tackles predatory male behavior which, thanks to the sexual revolution, cocaine, and disco fever had been allowed to go unchecked for years. Secondly, she tackles a couple topics sure to warm any feminists heart. There's the objectification the beauty industry forces on the female population that's addressed, as well as the fact that it was being force fed to underage girls, or as Dal Bello puts it, "baby girls." Radical stuff for a little slice of disco lite pop in 1978.

So, kudos to Lisa Da Bello.

Melissa Manchester

Remember those synths missing from Da Bello's version? A year later they found their way to Atlanta just in time for Manchester to record this song. That's a fat sounding intro. It practically blats. It's got some swagger. And a melody line by an actual string section. This already sounds more substantial than Dal Bello's take and a lot more polished. Maybe too much so? 

I like Manchester's attack. Plus, with her articulation you know exactly what the words are. It could also have something to do with her vocals riding on top of the mix.  The bridge into the chorus? Ah, cowbell! Vocally, a bit strident. A bit over-pronounced. She's hammering those notes. I dislike those guitar accents. Its a dated sound. Ick. 

She avoids the weird backdraft into the chorus we experienced on Da Bello's version. Those backing vocals compliment Manchester's voice and add just as solid a sound as Manchester's own. There's the piano! I like the ascending strings. Subtly effective. 

Huh. "Reserve the luxury of feline company." That's mixed way too hot and comes across as a bit shrill. Manchester's vocals are very strident. She's doing a hard sell here, working way too hard. Vocally, bit more color would be nice. She should be playing with the dynamics a lot more. 

That little guitar solo after the second chorus works. What is that? A synth, a horn section? It's weird. Kind of blatting. 

"I told you that he'd get you right between the eyes." is unique to Manchester's version. I don't know what it means in relation to the rest of the song. It's very effective. Kind show stopping. And delivered well. 

Huh. Manchester cuts loose on those repeated choruses. "Hey, Mistaaaah!" Too funny. I can picture her jaw dropping as she sang that. Unfortunately, the instrumental section that follows is rather lame. I like Manchester's reentry. Girl is singing tough. Of course, she's also pretty much shouting the chorus with a few vocal flourishes thrown in. 

Huh. 

The Verdict:

Huh.

I remember exactly where I was standing the first time I heard this song play on my local radio station. I stopped what I was doing and moved to the radio and tried to divine what it was that was so familiar about it. I thought it was rather exotic, a bit alien. It definitely caught and held my attention. When they announced it was Melissa Manchester, you could of knocked me over with a feather. 

So, Manchester brings to the table the wicked element I was hoping to hear in the Dal Bello version. Perhaps, too much so? 

Overall, the Manchester version is meatier. Dal Bello's sounds undercooked. Under produced.

This is a weird song and is somewhat unique in Manchester's catalog. Not that she wouldn't try on New Wave - she does a cover of Robert Palmer's Johnny and Mary for her final Arista album. But this isn't something one would expect her to sing about. And that's why it feels like such an odd fit. Intriguing, though. 

Dal Bello was still discovering her powers. The woman who reemerged as DalBello is the wicked queen that I wish would have shown up in 1978 for this number. I wonder if she ever considered rewriting or reworking this song. 

I like them both. I like the piano driven arrangement Dal Bello employs, and her vocals are much slyer and more subtle than Manchester's. 

Manchester vocally chews the scenery on this one. It's very strident. Very forced. But, and I can personally attest to this, it worked well on AM Radio. 

So, the nod goes to Manchester. 

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And that's my two cents' worth.

Okay... your turn. Let me know what you think. Leave your thoughts in the comments section. You know how I love to hear from you. 

If you have a suggestion for a future Who Did It Better?, leave it in the comments section. If it checks out, we'll get to it eventually. Surprisingly, I still have a good dozen to go.

That's all for now.

Thanks reading... and listening!

Pretty Girls - Melissa Manchester