Straight-up and bittersweet, five men from New Jersey found their name overlooking a million lights across the river in Manhattan. For decades on the cummerbund circuit, they performed the score for the hungry-hearted over sweating glasses and cocktail peanuts before “Kiss” skewered the cherry at the top of the charts. Tight harmonies and alternating leads were doo-wop relics in a disco-dominated era, but The Manhattans’ rich vocals, dramatic strings and Blue Lovett’s deep indigo narrative shot up like a belt of smoky bourbon.