An unimpressive, directionless effort, Help Is on the Way found Melissa Manchester breaking no new ground as a songwriter. In fact, “Talkin’ to Myself” and “Be Somebody” were artistic backpedaling, markedly inferior to anything she had done before.
“Monkey See, Monkey Do” was the first sign of Manchester’s tendency to cover artists she was either as good as or superior to, in this instance, Michael Franks. Only the lilting calypso “Headlines” stands out in an otherwise characterless collection. The rest is a pretty much forgettable attempt to record another version of Melissa.
Side 1:
1. Talkin’ to Myself (4:23)
2. Be Somebody (3:38)
3. A Fool in Love (3:05)
4. Headlines (4:36)
5. Help is on the Way (4:09)
Side 2:
1. Monkey See, Monkey Do (3:16)
2. Dirty Work (3:10)
3. So’s My Old Man (4:21)
4. There’s More Where that Came From (4:01)
5. Singing from My Soul (1:35)