Rate-O-Rama: Come in From the Rain

Welcome to Rate-O-Rama!

If you wish to receive a notice when the next Rate-O-Rama post is published please mention that you would like a notification in the comments section

Rate-O-Rama is a reader participation game.

Every Thursday evening I will publish a Rate-O-Rama article which will feature three versions of a popular song.

The object is to listen to each of the music videos provided within the post.

After listening to each video you can rate each song in the comments section below.

(You must be a member to comment. If you are not a member you can join Vocal Media for FREE. You don’t ever have to pay for membership unless you choose to upgrade your membership)

🎸🎹🥁🎺🎼

The rating method is easy. Simply give each song a rating of 1 to 100.

(The more you like the song the higher the rating).

If possible, please provide a brief comment to let us now what you think of each song.

After a week (Wednesday evening) I will tally the ratings and in the next Rate-O-Rama post, I will announce the average rating each song received.

🎸🎹🥁🎺🎼

Last week we featured the Folk Rock classic: "Knocking On Heaven's Door" as recorded by Bob Dylan (1973), Eric Clapton (1975), and The Guns 'N Roses (1990 / 1992).

The following are the average ratings for each song as a result of the votes:

🥇 Bob Dylan: 95.9

🥈 Guns 'N Roses: 71.1

🥉 Eric Clapton: 67.6

🎸🎹🥁🎺🎼

The Twenty-Seventh Edition of Rate-O-Rama features three renditions of the Adult Contemporary classic: “Come in From the Rain."

🎸🎹🥁🎺🎼

Melissa Manchester (1976)

Melissa Manchester co-wrote with Carole Bayer Sager. Both women became renowned for their songwriting abilities.Manchester had hits with several of her own compositions in court including the 1975 top 10 hit “Midnight Blue.” In 1978 she teamed with Kenny Loggins to write the song "Whenever I Call You Friend” which was a hit for Loggins and Stevie Nicks. Bayer Sager became hugely successful as a songwriter and her songs were recorded by many artists. Her most popular compositions include the mega-hit “That's What Friends Are For,”which went to number one for Dionne Warwick and Friends in 1986.

“Come in From the Rain” was recorded by many other artists and has gone on to become an Adult Contemporary classic.

Melissa Manchester did not release the song as a single but she did receive substantial airplay with the song on Adult Contemporary radio stations in the 1970s.

🎸🎹🥁🎺🎼

Captain & Tennille (1977)

Daryl Dragon (The Captain) produced and arranged Captain & Tennille's (C&T) rendition of “Come in From the Rain,” he had quite a bit of confidence in the song and placed it as the opening track of their third studio album which was named after the song.

The song was released as the second single from the album and it reached #61 in the US. It was their first single to not reach the top 15 after six consecutive hits. However it did make it to #8 on the US Adult Contemporary charts and was that #45 in Canada.

🎸🎹🥁🎺🎼

Diana Ross (1977)

Ross used the song as the closer on her 1977 album Baby Is t's Me which also includes another Melissa Manchester composition “Confide in Me,” which she wrote with Stanley Schwartz.

Popular jazz guitarist, Lee Ritenour, played guitar on Ross's rendition.

🎸🎹🥁🎺🎼

My Thoughts

🎸🎹🥁🎺🎼

Melissa Manchester:

Melissa Manchester is a powerful and versatile vocalist yet is rarely recognized for her abilities as a singer (or a songwriter). She is a belter and displays her abilities very well in this song.

The straight forward orchestral arrangement gives Melissa the opportunity to show off her powerful voice.

While the musical arrangement is nice, it really doesn't go into what I consider extraordinary. I give Melissa Manchester a 95.

🎸🎹🥁🎺🎼

Captain & Tennille:

Toni Tennille is another underrated singer. This is probably due to the overall material C&T recorded. But when C&T recorded a classic piece like “Come in From the Rain” Toni Tennille could belt with the best and she did it with style and grace. She sings her notes to completion and holds them with perfect tone and pitch. It really is time to re-evaluate Toni as a singer. Her voice is soulful and emotive.

Daryl Dragon as a musician and producer was also underrated. His arrangements had that extra kick and depth which oftentimes escalated C&T's work into excellence. “Come in From the Rain” is one such example.

I like the sound of the rain effect at the beginning and end, it sets the mood of the song. Toni's opening piano parts add a sparkle to the rain sound. The full orchestra coupled with Daryl's Fender bass and Toni's acoustic piano pull this song into a heavenly realm.

I think the issue a lot of music listeners (and critics) have with C&T is their image and their choice of songs, both can be a bit too contrived and overly cute (remember “Muskrat Love?). However, because they are (were) top-notch musicians, with the right song, they are dynamite. I give C&T a 100 all the way for their recording of “Come in From the Rain.”

🎸🎹🥁🎺🎼

Diana Ross:

Diana Ross is certainly an icon in popular music and is loved by millions. She takes a softer vocal approach with “Come in From the Rain.” Ross sings that song with an effective range of emotion. She does a good middle-of-the-road performance of the song. The musical arrangement is also a nice middle-of-the-road composition. I give Diana Ross an 82 for this effort.

🎸🎹🥁🎺🎼

I will be back next week with the results of this Rate-O-Rama Edition.

Last Week's Rate-O-Rama:

🎸🎹🥁🎺🎼

With Love, RHC ❤️