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| March 4, 2002 | New York Times | "With a New Album, Barry Manilow Finds Himself Back on the Charts" by Leslie Kaufman |
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| Barry Manilow is ready for his comeback now. In the late 1970's Mr. Manilow could be heard crooning on every top-40 radio station in the country. He recorded 11 No. 1 hits between 1974 and 1983, including "Mandy," "Ready to Take a Chance Again" and "Copacabana." Though melodramatic, love-lost lyrics earned him millions of loyal fans, rock critics reveled in inventing insults for him. In The New York Times alone, his songs have been called "lachrymose" and dismissed as "processed cheese." In retrospect even Mr. Manilow himself says he felt creatively trapped by the 32-bar love song that was his lucrative meal ticket. So in 1984 Mr. Manilow, Brooklyn born and bred, decided to indulge in other creative forms: jazz, swing and Broadway show tunes. Since then he has released more than a dozen albums, continued to tour successfully and been nominated for two Grammys. Yet none of his new work has met with the same popular or financial success of his early recordings. Meanwhile, singer-songwriters like Sting and Billy Joel, to whom Mr. Manilow, 56, compares himself, have seen their defining hits stay in rotation on classic rock stations. Mr. Manilow's synthesized and highly orchestrated works have been consigned to adult contemporary stations and doctor's waiting rooms. Until now. In November Mr. Manilow released Here at the Mayflower - named for a building near his childhood home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn - a pop hybrid album that bears a distinct resemblance to his snappy older style. True to form, one of the singles, a light-as-feathers number called "Turn the Radio Up," is now No. 22 on the adult contemporary charts, right up there with Celine Dion, Enrique Iglesias and Jewel. More astounding perhaps in this post-gangsta rap era, "Ultimate Manilow," a new collection of his greatest hits, made its debut two weeks ago at No. 3 on the Billboard charts. Mr. Manilow's upstart success has Antonio Reid, known as L.A., the president and chief executive of Arista Records, which put out the "Ultimate" album on its new BMG Heritage label, positively tickled. Although Arista has recently cultivated a super-smooth youthful image, with chart-topping hip-hop and R&B artists like Pink, Usher and Toni Braxton, Mr. Reid said the news of the No. 3 ranking made him dance around his office. "Oh, Barry is very cool," Mr. Reid said, chuckling. "Very cool." To make "Mayflower," Mr. Manilow felt compelled to leave Arista last year because the company, both under his old mentor Clive Davis and under Mr. Reid, did not seem excited by the idea of a new Manilow pop album. While Arista retained the right to two more greatest-hits albums, Mr. Manilow signed with a tiny jazz record label, Concord, whose biggest selling album, the improvised jazz set "Life in the Tropics," sold 110,000 copies ("Ultimate" sold more than that in its first week). Mr. Manilow is on a streak, whether or not you call it a full-fledged comeback. After all, this is not the first time he has repackaged his best-known tunes. There was "Greatest Hits" Volumes I, II and III, the remastered versions released in 1989; "Barry Manilow - The Songs 1975-1990," released in 1990; "Barry Manilow All-Time Hits" in 1992; and "Manilow Greatest Hits - The Platinum Collection" in 1993, just to name a few examples. None of those albums rose above No. 10 on the charts. Besides, these days in some postmodern version of Andy Warhol's dictum, every aging rock star seems to get resurrected for a second 15- minutes of fame. Kiss is back, and Burt Bacharach and Tom Jones have both had revivals. Mr. Manilow seems as ripe as anyone to travel the path from hopelessly outdated singer to retro star with, yes, a certain kitschy cool. The first inkling of this transformation came in 2000 when he appeared on "Ally McBeal," serenading the show's heroine with "Even Now" from a toilet stall. The Fox comedy has been a regular stop on the musical comeback trail for everyone from Bon Jovi to Barry White. More recently Mr. Manilow performed at the Super Bowl half-time show, singing "Let Freedom Ring" with Patti LaBelle and Wynona Judd, as children dressed like elfin Statues of Liberty streamed by (Mr. Manilow says he was asked to appear, but his publicity agents say they pitched him). Although Mr. Manilow played down the novelty of the television appearances in an interview - he did "Murphy Brown" in 1993, he explained - it is clear he feels vindicated by the attention. It is as if weathering time is proof enough that his work is not just schmaltz. "A new generation is discovering this wonderful catalog of well-crafted songs," he said with evident satisfaction. Long ago Mr. Manilow developed his own rationale for why he earned such hostile reviews. "I stand for something that most guys don't stand for: honest emotion," he said. "It is easier to like an angry rock 'n' roller than me, who wants to connect with an audience on a gentler level." His remark is a not-so-subtle allusion to the sexism of rock critics, who tend to be male and have quite different tastes from his fans, who are overwhelmingly female. In concert Mr. Manilow bonds with his audience over their shared defiance in loving his music despite the contempt in which others hold it. And whereas a decade ago he seemed to be struggling with his pop standards - in one interview he called them "golden handcuffs" that stopped him from reaching his creative potential - he now seems completely comfortable embracing them. No matter that he has belted out hits like "I Write the Songs" (which he did not write) and "It's a Miracle" (of which he was co-writer) thousands of times, he still enjoys performing them for his audience. Even now, he says, he can conjure up the emotion he felt when he recorded them. "There was a long time spent wincing when I got this or that review," he said. "But it never stopped me. And after I got over the self-pity I would listen to 'Weekend in New England' and say, 'Damn, they are wrong; it is a good song, and I sing it well.'" Yet for all the bravado in his stated indifference to reviews, one senses that the reason he is most enjoying this period in the spotlight again is that it comes with some critical recognition. The reviews for "Here at the Mayflower" have been mixed, and the praise is often doled out grudgingly, but there is no doubt that it is praise. A review in The Dallas Morning News described the album as an "accomplished snapshot of the artist today," and a critic for People magazine said the album showed that Manilow "has learned to blend his earnest emotions with musical subtlety and even occasional wit." Sounding a bit stunned, Mr. Manilow said: "It is nicer to have someone like you than call you an idiot like they did in the past. I really put myself into this album. I programmed all the synthesizers and played most of the instruments, so if you don't like the album, you don't like me." The experience of "Mayflower" has been so good that Mr. Manilow said he might record a pop album again. Next up, however, he wants to stage "Harmony," a musical he has written about the Comedian Harmonists, a German singing group that was disbanded by the Nazis because some its members were Jews. Beyond that, Mr. Manilow expects to continue to go out on tour every two years or so. He goes out from his home in Palm Springs, on weekends to play arenas, performing songs from both albums on the charts and loving every minute of the screaming adulation of his fans. "I was always cool," Mr. Manilow said with a laugh. "Everyone else is just catching up now." |
| March 3, 2002 | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | "Barry Manilow Takes Five": He's the man who writes the songs that make the whole world sing; he writes the songs of love and special things. For over 27 years, BARRY MANILOW, 55, has had a steady career in the music business, and lately the Brooklyn, N.Y., native has been busier than ever. His recently released greatest hits collection, "Ultimate Manilow," debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard sales chart. His current tour, which stopped in Milwaukee Saturday and Sunday at the Riverside Theatre (March 2-3, 2002), promotes his acclaimed concept album on the Concord Jazz label, Here at the Mayflower. He's producing and writing an original album for jazz singer Diane Schuur, has a roll in the film Who Shot Victor Fox, and has written a musical, his second, titled Harmony, which will debut on Broadway in 2003. |
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| March 2, 2002 | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | "He's made it through the rain of barbs", Q&A with Eric LaRose |
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Q. What is the concept behind your CD Here at the Mayflower?
A. The Mayflower is an apartment building and every song on the album is about a different life behind a different door, so each song is a little story.Q. After spending your entire career on Arista Records, why did you recently sign to the independent jazz label Concord Records?
A. After (producer and label founder) Clive Davis was let go from Arista, the artists on Arista, myself included, were in limbo for about six or eight months there, not knowing what Arista was going to become. And during that time, I met the guys from Concord and fell in love with their label and decided that I would like to be on that label. So we negotiated my release, and I went to Concord. Q. You've acted on several television shows, most notably the 1985 TV movie, based on your song "Copacabana." Are you comfortable making the transition from singer to actor?
A. I would be more comfortable making the transition from singer to actor now than I was back then, because I think that after all the years of being on the road I think I am enjoying acting a lyric more than ever before. But I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable pursuing an acting career. It's another kind of craft, and without the music underneath the words, for me, I am very uncomfortable. Q. You have been the butt of a lot of jokes, especially on the 1980s sitcom "Night Court." How did that affect you?
A. Well, I never saw that. I heard about it, but I never saw that. I don't like it. Q. What were your first thoughts when "Ultimate Manilow" debuted so high on the Billboard charts?
A. My first thought was, stunned. Stunned and amazed. My second thought was [laughing] what took everybody so long? |
| March 2, 2002 | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | "Manilow mixes musical styles well: He embraces the songs that made the whole world sing" by Kevin John Bozelka, review of Barry's concert at the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (March 2, 2002) |
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| Before Barry Manilow even got onstage Saturday night for the first of two shows at the Riverside Theatre, his willingness to bang all sorts of music genres off one another was very much in evidence. As the house lights started to dim, a medley of Manilow songs was played over a throbbing house music beat. And what was the source of that beat? "Born Slippy" by famed techno outfit Underworld, a mournful dance track made popular by the heroin chic film "Trainspotting" ... This de facto mega-mix proved that Manilow's musical appetite is so voracious that it exceeds that of his most ravenous fans (and, more important, his most vituperative detractors). From Chopin to the Comedian Harmonists, from Johnny Mercer to electronica, the man digests the songs that made the whole world sing. The show felt like a mega-mix, one exploited with intelligence and characteristic self-deprecating humor. And where most live acts work overtime to maintain a level of authenticity, Manilow deconstructed his own meticulous songs. An "ancient" reel-to-reel tape recorder was wheeled in to demonstrate how Manilow harmonizes with himself. He sang three backup melodies in different registers. Then he put the voices all together and harmonized with those. He was building the song right before our eyes. And he went a step further when he seemed to interact with these invisible singers while singing the title song from his Broadway musical "Harmony." He put his arm around one of the imaginary vocalists and proceeded to dance with it. It is no secret that many acts perform to taped voices or musical accompaniment in a live setting. Most of them want to hide that fact. But Manilow embraced that reality right out in the open, and there was something oddly punkish about this wonderful moment. |
| March 1, 2002 | The Telegraph Online (Nashua and South NH) | "Manilow a crowd-pleaser in Verizon Arena debut" by Sandy Bucknam, review of Barry's concert at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH (February 23, 2002) |
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| Never underestimate the popularity - or power - of good, wholesome music. Want proof? Try Barry Manilow. From his opening sequence of "I'm Comin' Back," "Ready to Take a Chance Again" and "Daybreak" to his second encore, an a cappella version of "One Voice" - the backup musicians were already "on the bus," as Manilow said - the prolific singer-songwriter had his audience cheering in delight and begging for more in his first New Hampshire performance. "We've got a lot of time to make up for," Manilow told the crowd. "Thanks for coming out on a Saturday night to this beautiful new theater. It's a date night, and for you gentlemen who were dragged here tonight, you're going to thank me in the morning. So let's get started, New Hampshire, it looks like we made it!" Which prompted, of course, "Looks Like We Made It." If any of the gentlemen Manilow mentioned - or teens of both genders, or people of any and all ages, for that matter, because all were in attendance - actually were dragged to the performance, it was impossible to tell from the crowd's reaction. Not a single song was met with less than enthusiastic cheers all night. And for good reason. If you were looking for the choreographed dancing and spectacular show characteristic of modern concerts, you were in the wrong place. If you were there for fantastic singing of enjoyable, timeless tunes by a brilliant singer who has been proclaimed the No. 1 adult contemporary artist of all time, this was the place to be, because even at age 55, Manilow hasn't lost his pipes - or his enthusiasm for his craft. "I love singing a well-written song," Manilow said after performing "Mandy" and "Even Now" to lusty cheers. "Well, I would think that - I wrote 'Even Now.' But I didn't write 'Mandy.' But look at your reaction. That's the sign of a well-written song." Reaction? It might've been Manilow's first appearance in New Hampshire, but his fans came prepared. One of his traditions is to choose someone from the audience to help him sing "Can't Smile Without You." At the first notes, the signs rose as one - signs saying, "I'm the One! Pick Me!" and, "I can't smile until you pick me!" There were signs cut into hearts and signs with battery-operated lights. Manilow's choice was Lisa, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Salem who said she aspires to be a singer. She wore an FBI shirt - for Fun, Beautiful and Intelligent - and her singing ability wowed the crowd. "I must've sung it with 5,000 women," Manilow said, "...Lisa, you are in my top five!" Raised in Brooklyn, Manilow's performance included a set of songs dedicated to New York City in wake of the Sept. 11 tragedies. They included "New York City Rhythm"; the love song from Harmony, a musical he wrote that he hopes will open on Broadway next year; and "I Made It Through the Rain." His first encore, which brought the house to its feet, continued his theme of resilience and patriotism as he sang a chorus of "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and "Let Freedom Ring," a heretofore obscure Manilow song that has been increasing in popularity recently because of Manilow's emphasis on dedicating part of his concerts to the tragedies. "After the events of September 11, I don't think I've ever been prouder to be an American," Manilow said. He would've been remiss, of course, had he not sung one of his most popular songs of all, "Weekend in New England." This one includes the line, "When can I touch you," which brought enough squeals of response from the audience - the voices were decidedly female - that Manilow stopped playing it momentarily to tsk-tsk them for their reaction, a wry grin playing on his face all the while. He also included several songs from his new CD, "Here at the Mayflower" - which, 30 years after the release of his first album, has been high on the charts for weeks. A mix of all the styles Manilow has used over the years, the songs represent "a different life behind an apartment door," he said. "It could be a doctor, it could be a lawyer, it could be a sex god." One of those songs, "Turn the Radio Up," is earning individual acclaim as it rises on the singles charts. The Manilow song with arguably the most acclaim is "Copacabana (At The Copa)." It helped win him a Grammy, among other awards, and was the basis for a CBS-TV movie. And when he sang it Saturday, it brought the loudest cheers of the night to that point, the penultimate song before he closed with "I Write the Songs." He didn't write the latter song, but he was the proper choice to sing it, for it's Manilow's songs that the whole world sings - and the audience agreed wholeheartedly. "Sit! Sit! Sit!" Manilow cried as he returned for his first encore. "I don't want to go yet. I've never been here before, but I'll be back. I'm telling all my friends about you. "I don't think I'll ever forget this!" And neither will his legions of fans in attendance Saturday night.
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| March 1, 2002 | Cleveland Jewish News | "In harmony with Barry Manilow: The singer/composer will perform in concert at Playhouse Square March 8-9" by Marvin Glassman, in promotion of Barry's concerts at the Playhouse Square in Cleveland, Ohio (March 8-9, 2002) |
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| Barry Manilow sold more than 60 million records and had 25 consecutive top-40 hits over the past 26 years. However, he wants to be known more as the composer who wrote "Harmony," a musical set during the Holocaust, than as the singer who wrote popular songs the whole world sings. "Harmony," with music by Manilow and book and lyrics by Bruce Sussman, is based on the true story of the Comedian Harmonists. The two-act play covers the rise of the Harmonists' popularity and the effect their success had on their personal lives. "Without a doubt, this is the one piece of work that I want to be remembered for," Manilow said in a phone interview from his home in Palm Springs. The Comedian Harmonists "set out to find harmony in what turned out to be the most discordant chapter in history. The harmony they set out to find was so much more than musical harmony. Writing the music for 'Harmony' has been the most challenging and creative journey of my career." He immersed himself in the musical style of the 1920s and '30s, including listening to klezmer and cantorial songs. Since its run in San Diego in 1997, Manilow and Sussman are working on getting the financial backing to bring "Harmony" to Broadway. Manilow will be giving a preview of "Harmony" to his Cleveland fans by singing two songs from the show - "[Every] Single Day" and "Stars In the Night." Born in Brooklyn as Barry Alan Pincus, Manilow's parents (a Jewish mother, Edna Manilow, and an Irish father, Harold Kelliher) were divorced when he was 2. An only child, Manilow was raised by his mother and grandparents, Esther and Joseph Manilow, immigrants from Russia. He changed his name to Manilow shortly before his bar mitzvah to carry on the maternal surname. The aspiring singer honed his music first on the accordion and refined it on the piano. "When I played the piano, I knew the music would be my passion and my ticket out of Brooklyn," said Manilow in his concert tour. "For a guy who writes romantic songs, I am not known for having a great love life," admits Manilow, who married and divorced his childhood sweetheart by age 25. "I see a lot of unhappiness in my parents' marriage and my own. In the end, my career and fans mean everything to me." Manilow is involved in humanitarian efforts such as the Starlight Foundation for terminally ill children and the Simon Wiesenthal Institute in Los Angeles. Funds from his current concert tour will be donated to the Families for Freedom in New York in the aftermath of the recent terrorist bombings there. |
| February 28, 2002 | Gavin.com - Music | "Barry Manilow Sails Smoothly at A/C Radio: Pop music legend celebrates his 31st volume of work and a new world tour" by Annette M. Lai |
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| Meet some of the inhabitants of Barry Manilow's Here At the Mayflower: Diane is in Apartment 3B and Ken in 5N, both of whom are looking for a change in their lives. What about the woman in 2G and that music she's playing? Then, there are Esther and Joe, they're in their 80s and are the oldest couple who live at the Mayflower. Of course there's the omnipresent elevator operator, who offers us some of his own unique insights about the apartment building's residents, including his own feelings of unrequited love for one of the tenants. Manilow candidly says that yes, he could be the elevator operator, but in truth, there's a bit of him in every one of these characters. "I could play every single character on this album; I know them all inside and out. They aren't real people, but they could be... the essence is there." Their lives are vividly brought to life in the Concord Jazz release - Manilow's 31st volume of work and his first body of original compositions in quite some time. His bio says this project was 20 years in the making. He clarifies, "I didn't really work on it every day for 20 years, but I did jot the title down and the concept of writing an album of songs based on people's lives in an apartment building. I kind of scribbled down some ideas of situations that I could write about, then I put it away for about five years. Now and again, I'd write a song [for the album] or call one of my collaborators and we'd do one together. But every time I'd mention an original album to Clive [Davis], who was my mentor and advisor at Arista, he would say, 'This is not the right time because with an original album you're totally relying on the radio.' And the radio had changed so much that I just took his advice. But these past couple of years, I was getting frustrated about not being able to sing my own things, so I decided I was going to put the album out now. It's not 'Mandy,' and it's not 'Copa,' and it's not 'Ready To Take a Chance Again,' - there's none of those on here - although you can hear where all these new songs come from. You can tell it's the same guy that did those other hits, but I didn't just want to copy what I had done before. So, Here At the Mayflower is a pop album, but I've got a little bit of everything I've learned [through the years] in it." Manilow's intuition has served him well. The first single, "Turn the Radio Up" is steadily climbing the Gavin/Mediabase Mainstream A/C chart. The optimistic song is just what we need right now, but had been written long before the terror we experienced last fall. "The idea came to me one morning and I was done writing the song in about an hour. It was before September 11th, but even back then I was thinking, 'Turn the music up, turn the bulletins down.' I'm so over hearing and seeing all this terrifying news over and over. We were actually in the middle of mixing the song when September 11th happened and the song began to mean even more to everybody than when I first wrote it," he explains. Radio programmers all around the country are welcoming Manilow's current single back with open arms. Thom McGinty, Operations Manager for KUDL-Kansas City tells Gavin, "We love having Barry on the radio again. We know lots of KUDL fans love him and hope that 'Turn Up the Radio' is just the beginning of Barry's second string of a hundred hits or so." KMXZ-Tucson PD and morning co-host Bobby Rich adds, "Not only does it feel good to have Barry back on the radio, but this song is so fun. We adopted it as our unofficial morning show theme song the first time we heard it. What's more positive and happy than a catchy Barry tune that says, 'Turn the Radio Up!'" WAJI-Ft. Wayne, Ind. Program Director Barb Richards recommends, "If you want to make your female listeners feel great about your radio station, play the new song from Barry Manilow. It's a great, up-tempo song, reflective of our feelings at this time and women love him!" Longtime KOST-Los Angeles Station Manager and Director of Programming Jhani Kaye has already seen Manilow perform the new single in concert and says, "You should have heard the reaction to 'Turn the Radio Up' when Barry performed it at the new Kodak Theatre! The applause was as strong as any from the Manilow catalog!" KOST Assistant Program Director Stella Schwartz seconds Kaye's comments, "While all of Barry's new material was well-received, when he sang this song, the audience started clapping, cheering, and even sang along to it! They loved it." Manilow is busy supporting his latest project with a new concert tour, Live 2002!, which once again has the fans screaming, "Barry! We love you." In fact, he just completed a five-night, sold-out run at New York City's Radio City Music Hall and TV show host Rosie O'Donnell even had two staunch Manilow fans on her show one day recently. These two women travelled all the way from London just to see Barry in concert... and they have never missed one of his tours either! Another special quality about Manilow's latest project is that he reunites with longtime collaborators such as Enoch Anderson, Marty Panzer, Adrienne Anderson, Ron Dante, and Bruce Sussman-all of whom helped him pen some of the most memorable songs of his career - songs that helped make him a household name. He says, "I did this on purpose... I wanted to get 'the family' back again. I think everybody feels more comfortable being around family right now and that goes for movies, shows, TV, and records, too. It was a great experience to be able to work with all of them once again. We're all very proud of the album." Manilow also included special guest, Capitol recording star and sax man, Dave Koz on several of the songs, including the catchy "I Hear Her Playing Music," which actually ends up mentioning Koz in the lyrics of the song! Barry says, "I knew there were sax moments throughout this album and frankly, Dave was the only guy since [jazz great] Gerry Mulligan died, that I wanted to work with. So, I brought him into the studio and got this idea right in the middle of the session. I said, 'Dave, play one of your great melodies that people would know' and then I'll change the lyric from 'I hear her playing music' to 'I hear her playing Dave Koz.' When I sent it to him, he flipped out because he didn't think I was really serious about doing that. But it made so much sense since the song is about a girl and this guy who's falling in love with her, and she's keeping him up at night playing Dave Koz music! It was the perfect idea (laughs)!" It's not every day that one gets immortalized in a Barry Manilow song, so Koz returns the compliment and tells Gavin, "It was awesome just to get the call from Barry to be on the record - as I've been a fan for a long time. I had a couple opportunities to visit with him socially before that, but when I finally got to the studio to make music with Barry, that's when I really saw the musical legend come forth. He was amazing in the studio - super creative with tons of ideas - yet at the same time, really open to other things as well. When he came up with the idea of putting my name in the end of 'I Hear Her Playing Music,' I thought he was kidding; so I said, 'Sure Barry, knock yourself out!' Then, two months later, I heard the CD and just about fell over! It was cool just to be playing sax on the song, but to be part of the lyric, too; well, that's a new experience for me. It was indeed an honor to work with Barry. It was especially cool, after so many years in the business with tons of past success, to see him so motivated, and excited about new music - it was a real learning experience for me as an artist. I guess it's that drive and love of creativity that keeps him going so strong... I'm hoping a little of that rubbed off on me!" Among the other important things this album represents for Manilow is his association with his new label Concord Records, who he will not only record for, but also help produce other artists under the Concord banner. Upcoming, Manilow will be working on an original album for jazz singer Diane Schuur. "Diane is a great artist - I think she's our Ella Fitzgerald-and I want to give her something that's tailor-made for her; I love doing that." While Manilow is deeply satisfied with his new Concord family, he has to give praise where praise is due... and that's to his mentor and friend Clive Davis (now head of J Records), the man who started it all for him. Manilow says, "Frankly, without Clive Davis, I wouldn't have a record career - at all - I wouldn't have even aspired to one. All I ever wanted to be was a songwriter, producer, or an arranger. Clive heard the potential in my performing and to this day, I don't know what he saw or heard... hey, I wouldn't have signed me! He is one-of-a-kind; I call him 'Nostra-Davis.' He just has this gift of being able to pick talent and hits that will live and last on the radio. When Clive was booted out of Arista, which I still can't get over, all of us on the label were kind of left in limbo for awhile. During that period, I met the people from Concord at a business meeting and I really loved them. While I didn't have any intention of leaving Arista, I was just kind of waiting to see what would happen there, but I also began to get very excited about my conversations with the folks at Concord... and they were so into music - they never once mentioned Britney Spears! All they kept talking about were people like Billie Holiday and Sinatra, and arrangers like Nelson Riddle. I just wanted to be around these people and I'm very happy I made this choice because I led with my gut and not my brains. I just love them, and they've been so supportive and are going to the wall for me." With all the success over the years and a future still shimmering with potential, the thing Manilow still hopes to conquer professionally is Broadway, which as a native New Yorker, is the place he thought his career initially might have been. He already has some theatrical experience, having created (among other things) a successful touring show in the UK and the U.S. based on his 1978 smash song "Copacabana." Presently, he has a new musical called Harmony in production and if his wish comes true, it will be on Broadway around this time next year. Harmony is an original musical Manilow wrote with Bruce Sussman, about a group of male singers living in Nazi Germany and their attempt to find some harmony in their lives during that dark period in history. Manilow says, "Harmony is the real musical and the one I want to be remembered for the words if anybody says 'Broadway' and 'Barry Manilow' together. That's the one I'm praying and hoping the audiences and critics embrace." With a new album that's seeing acceptance at radio, sold-out shows on his current tour, a Broadway show in the works, and induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame life is pretty good right now for this legendary performer. But what does this award-winning singer-songwriter-performer, want to be most remembered for when all is said and done? He says, "As somebody who made people feel, because I think that ultimately it's not what you do that is remembered... it's how you make people feel." |
| February 25, 2002 | Reading Eagle / Reading Times | "Barry Manilow draws screams of adoration: The man who writes the songs makes a triumphant return to Reading" by Stephanie Caltagirone, review of Barry's concert at the Sovereign Center in Reading, PA (February 24, 2002) |
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| It's been over 20 years since Barry Manilow has performed in Reading. But Reading gave him a hero's welcome Sunday night at the Sovereign Center. During an almost two-hour concert, the noise level rivaled that of the recent Aaron Carter concert as Manilow performed nearly all of his most well-known songs and several from his new album and from a new theatrical show. Dressed in suit and tie, Manilow elicited high-pitched screams from the mature crowd, who yelled "We love you, Barry" throughout the night. Backed by a large brass section, a guitar player, two percussionists and two keyboardists, Manilow opened the night with a new song, "I'm Coming Back," from his new album, "Here at the Mayflower," but promptly headed into familiar territory with 70s staples "Ready To Take a Chance," "Daybreak," "Somewhere in the Night," and "This One's For You," while an updated beat spruced up "Looks Like We Made It." "I'm going to do a lot of romantic songs," Manilow said. "For you gentlemen who were dragged here tonight, you're going to thank me in the morning." When the opening strains of "Can't Smile Without You" began, signs popped up all over the arena, encouraging the singer to pick them to sing with him. The lucky woman Manilow chose was named Flossie, from Philadelphia. Bearing a bouquet of roses wrapped in a pair of panties, she thanked her husband for bringing her and for giving her the panties, which stated "Manilow's #1 Fan." Flossie then got to sing with Manilow and he even signed the videotape made during their performance. After singing "American Bandstand's" theme, "Bandstand Boogie," the gregarious Manilow discussed his first appearance on the show, where he sang his first hit, "Mandy." After a rousing "Even Now," he sat behind a small keyboard to talk about his early career writing advertising jingles, including the ones for Band-Aids and State Farm Insurance. When no one would record his first demo, "Could It Be Magic," he recorded it himself. Manilow reworked "New York City Rhythm" with a Latin beat and then introduced two songs from a musical he hopes to have produced in New York next year, entitled "Harmony," about a 1930s singing group in Germany. He followed those with "I Made It Through the Rain" before performing songs from his new album of original material. Each of the songs, including "Come Monday," "Not What You See" and "They Dance!," deals with the occupants of a New York City apartment building. It was back to classics with "[Weekend In New England]," "Copacabana" and "I Write the Songs," during which he invited the audience to sing along. He was joined by a gospel chorus to end the night with a reworked version of "My Country Tis of Thee," which segued into a new song, "Let Freedom Ring;" he then had the audience on their feet for "Dancin' In the Streets." |
| February 25, 2002 | Newsweek | "Newsmakers: Kitschy Cool" (includes picture of Barry with caption "Sing it, Barry"): If we had bet on which Barry would turn out to be cool in 2002, BARRY MANILOW would've been behind White and Gibb, and not much ahead of Sergeant Sadler. But suddenly the guy's playing the Super Bowl with U2 and debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with "Ultimate Manilow." He writes the songs, we eat the crow. |
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| February 24, 2002 | The Union Leader & New Hampshire News | "Manilow proves he still has 'ultimate' appeal" by Julia Ann Weekes, interview with Barry, and review of Barry's concert at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH (February 23, 2002) |
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| With both a greatest hits release and a CD of new material, sitting high atop billboard charts, Barry Manilow greeted a nearly sold-out crowd at Manchester's Verizon Wireless Arena last night with the appropriate new tune "I'm Comin' Back." "Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this the first time I've played New Hampshire? Well, we have a lot of time to make up for. We're going to be here all night, so lock the doors," he said. Before launching into "Looks Like We Made It," Manilow joked about offering up lots of romantic songs. "For all you gentlemen who were dragged here, you're going to thank me tomorrow," he said ... With a handful of musicians sounding like a full orchestra, Manilow worked the crowd into an frenzy as he took the stage. Manilow ended one medley of hits by saying, "New Hampshire this one's for you." One fan, Cindy Tibert, came prepared with a poster that read in blue letters: "I Can't Smile Til You Pick Me." Tibert said, "He usually picks someone out of the audience to go on stage." As soon as Manilow began the first bars of "I Can't Smile Without You," banners of every color waved across the arena. Manilow choose a 14-year-old audience member who handled a solo verse with gusto. During the concert, a group of teenagers clasped hands, sang along with Manilow and seemed close to swooning. The hitmaker who scored Grammy, Emmy and Tony Awards and made hits of songs such as "Could It Be Magic," "Daybreak," "Copacabana," "This One's for You" and "Tryin' to Get the Feelin' Again" continues to attract fans with his charismatic pop appeal. "I think it's the younger people who don't have copies of all the greatest hits and who go into the record store," said Manilow, now in his mid 50s. "I don't think it's fans of mine that have been with me for all these years. I don't think it's people my age. I honestly think that it's the young people ... Unless I'm nuts, these last six weekends are mostly filled with younger people out there," said Manilow, who expected the same sight at the Verizon Wireless Arena. "I look out at that crowd and I see predominately young people." "At Radio City we just did five nights and it was totally sold out," Manilow said. "I would test it out. I would say, 'Are there any young people in the house?' and there would be this shriek that would go up from half the crowd. Or I would say, 'Does anybody out there remember Bandstand?' and there be this roar that would go out from the people who remember American Bandstand. So I just know it's half and half." But without heavy rotation of his past hits on contemporary music stations and video music shows, Manilow wonders where teenagers and 20-somethings are being exposed to his older music. "I'm as stumped as anybody," Manilow said with a chuckle. "I'm certainly thrilled and excited about it but I'm stumped as to how this happened. But I guess I'm not going to ask very much - I'm just happy that it's happening." The quick success of "Ultimate Manilow" took him by surprise since his current tour was geared toward promoting his first CD of original music for the independent Concord Records label. "Here at the Mayflower," now at No. 12 on Billboard's chart of the top-selling independent albums, centers on fictional tenants living in an apartment building Manilow remembers from his youth in Brooklyn, N.Y. "My cousins, aunts and uncles and a lot of friends lived there," he said. "I lived in a little brownstone about two blocks away. But most of my family lived at this apartment building called the Mayflower." The memories inspired songs written from the perspectives of fictional residents, and the style and tone of each song reflects each character's life and story, from the jump-and-jivin' "Freddie Says," about a nosy elevator operator who winds up dead after blabbing about a murder in a back alley, to the Latin-flavored "The Night That Tito Played." For two poignant songs about an elderly couple, Manilow used his grandparents' names, Esther and Joe, who, like their fictional counterparts, were married for 50 years. In "Not What You See," Joe talks to a young tenant about what it's like to be 80 and not recognized for more than the wrinkled, stooped visage people see when they look at him. "I would say that a wise older guy would say to a young kid, 'Don't look at the outside. We're so much more than what you see,'" Manilow said. "Looking back at one's life always moves me so much. When I look at older people, I imagine what they must have been like when they were young wearing high heels or their hair slicked back. You see all these younger people on the History Channel and you know that they've grown to be in their 60s and 70s. It always moves me so much. I had to write a song called 'Not What You See' because that's what I think a guy like that would say." The first single off the CD, "Turn the Radio Up," is vintage Manilow, a tune that offers a smile and the reassuring message that life still offers reasons to dance. "I wrote that five weeks before September 11th," Manilow said. "While we were mixing it, September 11th happened. So, you know a song I thought was just going to be about turning the negative down, about Gary Condit and all that silly stuff that was going on in radio and television at that time, turned out to be a much more profound. What's happened since this whole September 11th incident happened is that these audiences seem to need to be in this room. I certainly do. My music, it's never really been angry. It's never really wanted to stir up resentment or rebelliousness. It's always been comforting. And I think right now we all need to be in this room more than ever before. So I'm very happy to be on the road doing that now." In an open letter to fans posted Sept. 18 on the Internet site www.barrynethomepage.com, Manilow, who said he has always shirked criticism of his light-hearted fare, wrote, "The horror that we have experienced brings home to me how important every day is and how important loving one another is. Maybe my tour will be of service to our national psyche. Singing 'Daybreak' and 'I Made It Through The Rain' seems trivial at first glance, but maybe by uplifting spirits each night, I can help. It's really the only thing I know how to do during this time of crisis." Initially, when Manilow went out on tour this past December, he had planned to introduce audiences to just a few songs on the "Mayflower" CD. "I started up doing only three of them but the audience seems to be so encouraging that I started to add," he said. "I start the show with a song called 'I'm Coming Back.' In the second act I do 'Turn the Radio Up' and five more from the Mayflower. And, honestly it's a little scary asking my audience to sit through all of this new material, but they don't seem to have any problem with it." Manilow is clearly having fun sharing a project that was two decades in the making. "The idea came to me about 20 years ago. I jotted some ideas down and put it in an envelope and put it away, and kept going with my Arista career with Clive Davis and making records and all," Manilow said. "And then now and again I would pull the thing out and would jot some more ideas down or I would write a song with one of my collaborators or I'd write one by myself. Then I would put it away again. And this happened for about I'd say 18 years. Clive Davis, the president of Arista at the time, wasn't really encouraging for me to do a pop album since the pop music world had changed so much. And so, I just kept piling up songs and ideas until these last couple of years I decided to put it all together and see if it hung together." "All I can tell you is that I believe these songs are well-written," said Manilow, a versatile composer and writer who also credits other well-known lyricists for some of his greatest hits. "If you are known for well-written songs, they will last forever. I mean, I think 'Weekend in New England' is a well-written song, written by Randy Edelman, and I think that I made a wonderful record out of it. I think it transcends all trends." The Verizon crowd roared when Manilow sang the line: Time in New England. "A well-written song will live forever - 20 years later or maybe even more these songs hold up. Even 'Mandy,' the king of the pop records, I think underneath the well-made record is a beautifully written song by Scott English and Richard Kerr. It still affects people's emotions. When you do that, it lasts forever." |
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