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| July 22, 2002 | New Haven Register | "New album and old favorites put Barry Manilow's career back on the upswing" by Fran Fried, promoting Barry's concert at the New Haven Coliseum in New Haven, CT (July 25, 2002) |
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| It was a chancy thing for even the most established of recording artists to do -- play a concert where the hits are loaded onto the first set of the show, with the second set devoted to unfamiliar tunes. The chance of losing the audience is immense, especially when there are enough hits to fill a jukebox. Barry Manilow said he had done that in the past, but at his February date at Oakdale Theatre, one could see the pleasure -- and surprise -- in his face as the audience responded warmly to the songs from his latest album, "Here at the Mayflower." Most people weren't familiar with the tunes -- released to little fanfare in November on the Concord Jazz label, where he landed after leaving Arista Records, the major label that was his home for more than a quarter-century. "That was like the beginning of the tour," he said last Wednesday from Los Angeles. "The 'Mayflower' album was then a surprise to a lot of people. I didn't expect the crowd to react that strongly to a bunch of songs they had never heard. It's still surprising for me to hear it. It's a huge surprise." Then again, "The full year's been pretty surprising to me," he said. "Mayflower," a collection of tunes about the lives of people in an apartment building in his native Brooklyn, has now sold 300,000 copies. That was followed in February by Arista's "Ultimate Manilow" anthology, which entered the Billboard album chart at No. 3 and has since gone platinum, selling over a million copies. The release of "Ultimate Manilow" put him in the sometimes-uncomfortable position of having to compete against himself ... But the simultaneous success of both albums has provided a 1-2 punch of affirmation that has made life, appropriately, doubly enjoyable for Manilow. "I don't think it would have been as sweet if it was just the 'Ultimate' collection," he said. "This (success) looks at the past, present and future. That's what makes it so rewarding because 'Mayflower' is so new and original." All this stemmed from an album that, despite seeming like a sudden burst of inspiration that was written in one big rush, took 20 years to finish. Manilow said the idea first came to him while on tour in England in 1982. He would jot down ideas, leaving them in drawers for years, occasionally pulling them out and working on them with his collaborators. When he realized two years ago that he hadn't written an album of originals in a long time, he buckled down. And when he finally finished last year: "I didn't want to release this album," he said. "I know what I had to go through. I've gotta go through the critics hating it; and it's a hip album, so the people looking for 'I Write the Songs' weren't gonna get that; I've gotta do 'The View' and 'Regis and Kelly' ... but when Concord heard the first six songs, they flipped out. It was the first time I had ever played it outside of my family." The fictitious album is still personal -- no more so than "Not What You See," a love story about the oldest couple in the Mayflower. The octogenarian man, away for a minute from tending to his wheelchair-bound wife, tells a stranger how he still sees her "young and beautiful" (The epilogue is "I Miss You," with the man alone after his wife's death). "My grandparents were in their late 70s when they died," Manilow said. "My family all lived around an apartment building called the Mayflower. I know these people. I could write about them forever." The two singles so far also strike strong chords. The first, "Turn the Radio Up," is a tribute. It has classic '70s Manilow -- namely, the sing-song hooks of "Daybreak" and "Can't Smile Without You." But the chord changes also conjure one of the best hits by one of his favorite songwriters -- Laura Nyro's "Wedding Bell Blues." "Laura was one of my heroes when I started in the '70s," he said of Nyro, who lived in Danbury for years before her death in 1997. "'Eli and the Thirteenth Confession,' that album rocked my world to the point where I put my pen down and couldn't write for a couple of years. How do you write something as good as that? I wrote those chord changes as a tribute to her. I did it on purpose." The latest single, "They Dance!" is classic Manilow in another way. A tale of Diane and Ken, a shy young couple who blossom gloriously when they get to the ballroom floor, it's sung in a shining disco setting hermetically sealed since the '70s. "Now and again, I'll flick the channels and see ballroom dancers," he explained. "They're skinny and they're dressed to kill, and they do this very gymnastic ballroom dance. My idea was this couple gets together in the afternoons to dance (In the finished song, it's at night). And what would they dance to? I had them dance to '70s disco. The whole reason was I liked this disco-retro thing." And given the shy nature of the couple, "they wouldn't have danced to Janet Jackson." Next up for Manilow: He should know any day now whether "Harmony" -- the musical he wrote with Bruce Sussman in 1998 about The [Comedian] Harmonists, a 1930s German singing group suppressed by the Nazis for their politics -- will open on Broadway in February (He's been performing songs from the show in his concerts). Also, he wrote the next album by jazz great Diane Schuur and will go into the studio with her in September. "I still consider myself a lyricist," Manilow said, and since the success of the two albums, he has had a third, most cherished affirmation of his work. In May, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. "I think that's the one that meant the most," said the multiple-Grammy Award winner. "In the beginning, I was winning awards every few weeks. It doesn't happen all the time. When I look back, it was a pretty heady time and I was grateful. But the songwriters (award) landed hard for me. The songwriters actually voted for me, as a songwriter. That was the biggest award because in the beginning, I didn't care about being a performer or being famous. It was very emotional." |
| July 22, 2002 | Times-Union
(Albany, NY) | "Manilow mixes the familiar, new" by Greg Haymes, review of Barry's concert at the Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY (7/21/2002) |
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| Yes, Barry Manilow writes the songs that make the whole world sing -- or at least 9,000 of 'em who gathered at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Sunday to sing along and shout their appreciation as Manilow ran through a solid retrospective of his hits. Manilow culled most of his 85-minute show from his long string of pop hits, and the audience couldn't have been happier. "Looks Like We Made It," "Mandy," "Weekend in New England" and, yes, "I Write the Songs" were rattled off with aplomb as Manilow, his six-piece band and nine-piece horn section kept the show moving. As he usually does, he brought up a young woman from the crowd -- Peggy Powers of Altamont -- to duet with him on "Can't Smile Without You," and she did an admirable job under pressure. A master of the desperate key-change, Manilow was at his best with the ballads, and the best of the ballads was the heartfelt "Even Now," with Manilow directing the proceedings from the grand piano. But Manilow wasn't afraid to turn the tempo up, offering the high-energy Latin-flavored "Copacabana (At the Copa)," the throb of disco in all its mirror-balled glory with the new "They Dance!" and the Latin disco of "New York City Rhythm." The horn section shone in the romping "Bandstand Boogie" and Manilow's nod to Frank Sinatra, "Come Fly With Me." And, of course, the Brooklyn crooner showed his patriotic side with the rousing "Let Freedom Ring," accompanied by two dozen members of the Judah Praise Gospel Choir and a huge American flag. Fortunately, Manilow also added several new tunes to his repertoire, including three tunes from his new album, "Here at the Mayflower." The best of the bunch was the unrequited love ballad "She Shoulda' Been Mine." But the most promising selection of the night was also Manilow's biggest risk. "Harmony" is the title song from a new musical that Manilow has written about the Comedian Harmonists, a six-man vocal group in 1930s Berlin. On Sunday, he sang the vocal lead accompanied by the other five vocal parts that he previously recorded. The song had zing and snap, along with an undeniable ominous undercurrent. Opening act Curtis Stigers, a jazz singer-saxman, was ably backed by a trio as he revamped some of his old pop hits ("I Wonder Why" and "I Never Saw a Miracle"), and jazz standards like "My Foolish Heart." |
| July 21, 2002 | Worcester Telegram & Gazette | "Barry Manilow thrills fans with his high-energy show" by Craig S. Semon, review of Barry's concert at Tweeter Center in Boston, MA (July 19, 2002) |
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| Barry Manilow might not actually write the songs that make the whole world sing, but he certainly performed the songs that made the whole crowd sing along Friday night at the Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts. The 56-year-old Brooklyn-born singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and schlockmeister extraordinaire made it through the rain and made the start of a soggy weekend in New England a special, memorable one for his adoring fans in the Bay State. The Grammy, Tony and Emmy award-winning performer opened his 90-minute showcase with a lively medley featuring abbreviated versions of beloved Manilow classics, including the Oscar-nominated "Ready to Take a Chance Again," as well as "Daybreak," "Somewhere in the Night" and "This One's for You." "You gentleman who were dragged here tonight, you're going to thank me in the morning," Manilow said early in the show. Say what you will about Manilow, but the member of the Songwriter Hall of Fame, who was selected the "Top Adult Contemporary Artist of All Time," has sold nearly 60 million records worldwide and has had 38 top-40 hits. Whether you think Manilow is simply a guilty pleasure or a middle-of-the-road musical messiah, he is a funny, personable, all-around entertainer who knows how to belt out a tune, push all the right buttons and give one heck of the show in the bargain. "I Made It Through the Rain" became the unofficial anthem of the night, and Manilow sprinkled impressive, impromptu versions of pop standards with high-precipitation themes into the set, including "Singing in the Rain," "Laughter in the Rain," "Stormy Weather" and "Come Rain or Come Shine." B.J. Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" was a wonderful segue into "I Can't Smile Without You," a tune that caused a frenzy in the audience -- because, as every good Manilow fan knows, this is the number in which he picks a lucky member of the audience to join him for a duet. Manilow hit pay dirt picking a woman, "Kathy from Natick," who two years ago had to use a wheelchair because of a weight problem. But after seeing Manilow perform in 2000 at Foxwoods, she was inspired to lose 327 pounds. During "Bandstand Boogie," Manilow explained what "American Bandstand" was to the younger members of crowd -- "It was like MTV without the belly buttons and curse words." He followed that up with an eye-rolling version of his 1974 breakthrough hit "Mandy." Manilow gave the audience a sneak peek of his Broadway-bound musical "Harmony," based of the real-life story of a six-man singing group that came into prominence during 1930s Germany. The title track had "show tune" written all over it. Manilow also treated the audience to a series of songs from his latest and 31st album, "Here at the Mayflower," which deals with the stories and shenanigans of tenants in a fictitious apartment building ... With its "Tune out the negative" message, "Turn the Radio Up" is a feel-good ditty that comfortably falls into Manilow's niche of bouncy pop. "Do You Know Who's Livin' Next Door?" sounded like a jazzy stage musical opus, especially with guest saxophonist (and opening act) Curtis Stigers on stage. Manilow's latest single, "They Dance!" proved to be a festive, hot-blooded romp and the perfect companion piece to his signature "Copacabana (At the Copa)." Manilow's best romantic ballad, "Weekend in New England," turned out to be the evening's undisputed highlight. Tenderly caressing the lyrics while tickling the ivories, Manilow sang with an urgency and passion that sent most of the female crowd into a frenzy once again. During the rhetorical question, "When can I touch you?" Manilow stopped the song because the screams got so loud he couldn't hear himself sing. Music and passion were certainly in fashion when Manilow delivered a theatrical-driven version of the nasty love triangle between Lola, Rico and Tony, better known as "Copacabana (At the Copa)." This show-stopper was complete with a massive singalong from the audience and glittery disco ball. After telling the crowd that he loves making music for his adoring fans and, since September 11, has never been more proud to be an American, Manilow launched into a patriotic finale that featured a heartfelt "My Country 'Tis of Thee," a rousing "Let Freedom Ring" and an upbeat "It's a Miracle." |
| July 21, 2002 | Boston Herald | "Manilow dazzles with favorites" by Amy Amatangelo, review of Barry's concert at Tweeter Center in Boston, MA (July 19, 2002) |
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| If you thought teenagers were the only shrieking female fans at concerts, you need to see their mothers at a Barry Manilow show. The popular singer, who performed at the Tweeter Center Friday night, drove many mature women to swoon at the sight of Manilow's gyrating hips. When the perennial crooner sang the line "When can I touch you" in his moving rendition of "Weekend in New England", he had to stop singing until the excited screams of the crowd were quelled. Clearly, Manilow savors moments like these. His jovial mugging was evident from his opening number. Dapperly decked out in a three-piece beige suit, he stood on his set's highest platform, arms extended, head up and soaked in the roar of the audience. Amusingly deprecating to himself (he referenced his "catalog of songs ruined in elevators") and to his supporters ("I know it hasn't been easy being a Barry Manilow fan"), Manilow was the consummate performer. He also demonstrated an affable ability to respond to the current conditions. "I'm feeling such Jewish guilt about this rain thing," he said referring to the torrential downpours that had preceded his set and continued on and off during the night. Inspired by the weather, he intermittently worked in snippets of songs including "Stormy Weather" and "Singing in the Rain." During "Can't Smile Without You," he called Kathy from Natick on stage to duet with him ... Kathy had lost 327 pounds since she attended a Manilow concert two years ago. Her sheer bliss as she strolled around the stage with her idol was palpable. Manilow moved, looked, and sounded like a man 20 years younger ... He effortlessly hit and held all the notes. Whether it was crowd pleasers such as "Mandy" or "Copacabana" or songs from his new album "Here at the Mayflower," he brought the same fierce determination and salesmanship to all his numbers. Even his new songs had a familiar and comfortable feel ... Opener Curtis Stigers, who joined Manilow on saxophone during his "Mayflower" numbers, had a lovely and lackadaisical charm. His swanky, lanky demeanor and his soulful, raspy voice served him well on numbers including "My Foolish Heart." |
| July 18, 2002 | Boston Herald | "Manilow enjoys fans and success 'Even Now'" by Sarah Rodman, promoting Barry's appearance at Tweeter Center in Mansfield, MA (July 19, 2002) |
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| "The writer E.B. White said, 'In order to have success you must not look up and sniff the trend machine.' And I never have. My instinct has never been to try and follow what's on the radio. I just have to do what feels good and then send it out there and, with a little luck, people like it. Or they don't, and I've had it happen both ways, believe me." Barry Manilow knows whereof he speaks. In 30 years and 30 records, the 56-year-old, Brooklyn-born songwriter has been on the receiving end of both overwhelming fan adoration and barbed critical dismissals for his populist adult contemporary fare. He has had 38 top-40 hits and sold almost 60 million records while being labeled maudlin and vanilla. Whether singing about Lola and Rico at the "Copacabana," trying his hand at Broadway show tunes or writing jingles for McDonald's and State Farm Insurance, Manilow declares, "I have never, ever been trendy." "Take 'Weekend in New England,' for example," he says. The ballad, which he recently sang at the Boston Pops Fourth of July celebration and undoubtedly will sing at his show tomorrow night at the Tweeter Center, was a surprise hit for Manilow. "What was so odd about that one was that it made it high on the charts, and it was a waltz, and it never mentioned the song title in the song. It was competing with all that junk on the radio, like 'Kung Fu Fighting' and 'Boogie Oogie Oogie,' and here came old Manilow with 'Weekend in New England,' it didn't make any sense, but it was quite a time," he says with fondness. February's frankly astonishing No. 3 debut (a personal best) of the "Ultimate Manilow" collection - Right behind J.Lo! - reminds Manilow of those days of incongruous popularity. "It's the story of my career," he says. "I have this little slice of the pie and it doesn't seem to matter what's surrounding me." What's even more gratifying to the Grammy-, Tony- and Emmy-award winning singer-songwriter is that the spotlight on "Ultimate Manilow" is spilling over onto 2001's "Here at the Mayflower," his first album of all new original material in 15 years and 31st overall. Easily his strongest record in some time, "Mayflower" is a concept album. The 16 tunes tell the tales of the tenants of the fictional Mayflower apartment building with disparate styles, from the splashy sounds of Broadway anthems to the sleek but simple melodicism of his '70s pop. The comic story of a low-level Mafioso is told with snappy flair on the swinging "Freddie Said." The blue moods of lonely neighbors seep into the melancholy jazz grooves of "I Hear Her Playing Music" and bouncy, inspirational refrains blare from the radio-friendly "Turn the Radio Up." "I just didn't want to make yet another album of 12 love songs that sounded just like everybody else's 12 love songs, that sounded like you did them in the studio in one afternoon with the same band," says Manilow of "Mayflower" 's diverse palette. "What I was trying to do on this album was just to shake it up a little bit, make it interesting for the listener, and people have really been enjoying this album." Manilow says this enthusiasm is even catching on at his live shows, where fans tend to prefer the hits. "You know the most dreaded words for any audience, are 'and now I'd like to do some cuts from my new album,'" says Manilow with a laugh. "With this 'Mayflower' stuff they don't feel that way. As a matter of fact, I get the distinct impression that they're a little disappointed when I go back to the hits, they're so invested in the album, they love these story songs. Out of all the albums I've debuted this is the one they'd like to hear more of." Which doesn't mean that they don't want to hear "Mandy" or "Even Now" or "Can't Smile Without You," or that Manilow isn't perfectly happy to play those songs for them. He's extremely grateful to his exceptionally committed fans. "I'm very fortunate that I have these people who've supported me through thick and through thin, on the roller coaster of this crazy career," says Manilow, who these days personally prefers electronica and eschews "the kindergarten music" of the top 40. "They've always been there when it's been high, they've always been there when it's been low and now that I have been having this ridiculous comeback of some sort over the last year, they're the ones that are shouting the loudest and rooting for me the most. I'm a very fortunate guy." Barry Manilow plays the Tweeter Center tomorrow night.
Tickets are $30-$90.
Call 617-931-2000.
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| July 6, 2002 | The Dallas Morning News | "Looks like he made it" by Mario Tarradell, review of Barry's concert at Smirnoff Music Centre in Dallas, TX (July 5, 2002) |
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| Barry Manilow's opening song Friday night at Smirnoff Music Centre, a new cut titled "I'm Comin' Back," seemed like a good metaphor for his hot-again career. With two new albums in stores, the critically acclaimed studio effort Here at the Mayflower and the million-selling 20-hit compilation Ultimate Manilow, he's the pop veteran of the hour. And after watching the Brooklyn native perform before 5,500 fans, it's easy to see why this singer-songwriter and his music remain timeless. The naysayers can complain all they want about Mr. Manilow's repertoire -- too schmaltzy, too formulaic -- the truth of the matter is he crafted tuneful tracks that were instantly memorable. He wrote songs with strong melodies, sing-along choruses, dramatic flair and feel-good abandon. This is the kind of stuff you don't hear on pop radio anymore. And that's a shame, considering all the disposable pablum in its place. Mr. Manilow is also the type of concert performer you don't see anymore. He comes from the "you sing, you dance, you entertain" school: no bells and whistles, no elaborate props and pyrotechnics, just musicians and a singer who doubles as a good host. The show Friday night was packed with the classics, songs folks paid money to hear. From the get-go, Mr. Manilow and his stage full of players delivered a bunch of them almost nonstop. We're talking "Ready to Take a Chance Again," "Daybreak," "Somewhere in the Night," "This One's for You," "Looks Like We Made It" and "Mandy," which made some audience members emotional. He's still in strong voice, if a bit raspy on the edges every now and then. And he still has that endearing, eager-to-please demeanor that sometimes comes off corny but is always honest. He's quite the showman, commanding attention while playing the piano, telling stories about his early songwriting days and offering humorous quips about today's pop-culture celebrities as artists. But the show was about the music. Highlights included the poignant "Even Now" followed by his pop masterpiece "Could It Be Magic," which is based on a Chopin prelude. And his run through tunes from Mayflower was triumphant. A cool concept album about the disparate lives of tenants of a New York apartment building, the disc showcases Mr. Manilow at the top of his creative game. So when he unleashed great numbers such as the sultry "Do You Know Who's Living Next Door?" and the bebop gem "Freddie Said," it was so gratifying to hear him dive into fresh material. Singer-saxophonist Curtis Stigers, who put on an impressive 30-minute opening show filled with his melodic brand of jazzy pop, played the sax during two of the Mayflower cuts. The crowd seemed to enjoy the new tunes just as much as the old ones. That's the ultimate testament to Barry Manilow's longevity. |
| July 2002 | D Magazine On-line
(Dallas/Fort Worth) | "D Magazine's Pick of the Month: Red, White, and Barry", promoting Barry's concert at Smirnoff Music Centre in Dallas, TX (July 5, 2002): Barry Manilow ... Simply saying his name evokes memories of turned-up collars and teased hair. Frankly, you either love him or you hate him -- but if record sales are any indication, then most of you love him. For more than three decades, Barry Manilow's creamy voice and beautiful ballads have topped the charts. So forget that oh-so-cool facade -- you know you want tickets. |
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| July 3, 2002 | Boston Herald | "Pops ready to let freedom sing on Esplanade" by T.J. Medrek |
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| Boston's grand Fourth of July celebration on the Esplanade is filled with familiar patriotic tradition. But this year the celebratory music from the Boston Pops and its special guests and the spectacular fireworks display proving that our flag does indeed still wave will have special significance. It is, after all, the first celebration of America's birthday since the attacks of Sept. 11. Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart said, "People's sensibilities in that direction have been awakened, even for those of us who are fairly cynical about too much flag waving. You just don't take things for granted that people did nine months ago." Certainly Grammy Award-winning vocalist Barry Manilow, who - along with Maureen McGovern and Miss America Katie Marie Harman - joins Lockhart and the Pops for tomorrow's concert at the Hatch Shell, doesn't. He said this extra significance was behind his decision to appear at this special event. "I just do what my gut tells me to do. And this felt like the right place to be singing 'Let Freedom Ring.' It's what I'm supposed to be doing." Manilow wrote "Let Freedom Ring" for the Constitution Celebration in 1987 and performed it at the inauguration of former President Bill Clinton. He also sang it with Lockhart and the Pops at Super Bowl XXXVI. "(The Pops) said it would be a perfect way to end the July Fourth festivities, right before the '1812' Overture," Manilow said ... The Boston Pops Fourth of July concert is free at the Hatch Shell tomorrow at 8 p.m. |
| June 2002 | Songwriters Hall of Fame | "Barry Manilow" - inductee to the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2002) |
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| Barry Manilow's unparalleled career is made up of virtually every facet of music, including performing, composing, arranging and producing. He has triumphed in every medium of entertainment. He has received Grammy, Emmy and Tony Awards and has been nominated for an Academy Award. In December 2001, Manilow began his Live 2002! tour after ringing in the New Year at L.A.s newest venue, the Kodak Theatre. He has performed for sold-out audiences across the nation, with three recent appearances including Radio City Music Hall, landing in Billboard's top 10 list of Concert Grosses. The tour follows the release of his latest album, Here At The Mayflower, which was released on November 13, 2001. The universal message of Barry's music has always been to inspire, to uplift, and to make it through. For so many of us, it has done just that. Here At The Mayflower is an original addition to Manilow's catalog. Twenty years in the making, the Number One Adult Contemporary Artist of All-Time (Radio & Records Magazine) wanted to be sure "that it was everything I wanted it to be." Manilow explains, "It's enabled my collaborators and me to write songs about people of all ages and walks of life. This album is all about people, and friendships and the cycles in life that we all go through."(Billboard 2001). Here At The Mayflower is Manilow's 31st album. Among his 31 albums are such diverse recordings as Manilow Sings Sinatra (1998), Singin' With The Big Bands (1994), Showstoppers (1991), Swing Street (1987), 2:00 A.M. Paradise Caf� (1984), Because It's Christmas (1990), and many others, including 38 Top 40 Hits. In addition to his own recordings, every album he has produced for other artists has been nominated for Grammy Awards, including Bette Midler, Nancy Wilson and Dionne Warwick. His film credits include the Oscar-nominated "Ready To Take A Chance Again" (from Foul Play), a song for the soundtrack of Walt Disney's Oliver and Company, and the soundtracks for the animated features Thumbelina and The Pebble and the Penguin. His television appearances have been well received; in 2000 alone, he taped "Manilow Live!" for DirecTV, followed by a Manilow Country special on TNN. A two-hour A&E special, "Barry Manilow: Live by Request" aired in 1996 as the highest-rated music show in the network's history. Manilow also appeared on the TV comedy Murphy Brown and most recently on the popular series Ally McBeal. Manilow's career in the theater ranges from his Tony Award-winning Broadway debut in 1977 to the June 2001 opening of "Could It Be Magic? The Barry Manilow Songbook." Manilow worked with Ken & Mitzi Welch to create a show that has "something for everyone." The music is brought to life by an ensemble of five very talented performers and a six-piece band. "From pop to hip-hop to gospel and rock, the talented cast delivers it all!" (Chicago Sun-Times). The world premiere of his musical, Harmony (with book and lyrics by Bruce Sussman) enjoyed a successful run at the La Jolla Playhouse and is heading to Broadway. The musical is based on the true story of The Comedian Harmonists, a singing group of six young men who attempted to find harmony during the discordant times that led to the rise of Nazi Germany. His collaboration with Sussman also created the debut of Barry Manilow's Copacabana - The Musical in the U.K. a few years ago. Inspired by his hit single, "Copacabana," the elaborate two-act musical spectacular ran to packed houses on London's West End for 18 months and a national company toured the U.S. He made his literary debut in 1987 with the publication of his autobiographical Sweet Life: Adventures on the Way to Paradise. Manilow is involved with worthwhile charities and humanitarian efforts around the world, including The Prince's Trust, United Way, the Starlight Foundation, numerous organizations fighting the battle against AIDS, and many others. He is a member of the National Academy of Jazz Board of Governors and the Music Center of Los Angeles. |
| June 27, 2002 | Dallas Jewish Week | "Manilow appears in concert July 5: Finds his Jewish soul in his new Holocaust-era musical, 'Harmony'" by Marvin Glassman, promoting Barry's appearance at the Smirnoff Music Centre in Dallas, TX (July 5): "Harmony," with music by Barry Manilow and book and lyrics by Bruce Sussman [had] a successful debut in 1997 at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego ... "Harmony" achieved box office and critical success and Manilow expects it to hit Broadway by January. [Barry] will be giving a preview of "Harmony" to his fans by singing two songs from the show, "Every Single Day" and the title song "Harmony," in his Dallas concert. In addition to Manilow's singing his hit songs, a highlight of the concert is Manilow singing "Not What You See," a song named after his grandparents, Esther and Joe Manilow, from his latest CD, "Here At The Mayflower." Manilow becomes an elderly man, with a hat and scarf, in a moving song about growing old with dignity. [ For more, see June 19, 2002, article from Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona ("Manilow's Tucson concert will preview Jewish-themed musical") ] |
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| June 25, 2002 | Orange County Register | "Manilow keeps his fans wowed: The veteran singer delivers hit after hit to the faithful and his new converts at Verizon" by Ben Wener, review of Barry's concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, CA (June 23, 2002) |
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| The question to Barry Manilow: How come there aren't more people doing what you do? "You know, it takes courage to do what I do. That's what I think. Because you've got to put your emotions smack on the line. Without a net, man, without a net! I'm out there screaming my head off on 'This One's for You.' ... You have to be out there naked in order to do what I do. There are no fireworks, there are no dancers, there are no drum machines. There is just a guy and music." As Manilow began his 90-minute set Sunday night at Irvine's Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - with a wow-'em medley that spanned from "Ready to Take a Chance Again" to "Somewhere in the Night" and on and on - you could sense that those recently converted via his unexpected "Ultimate Manilow" comeback were surprised by his show-stopping abilities. Many 20-somethings could be seen leaping to their feet as if at a Britney Spears gig, eager to scream approval and sing along, clearly impressed that, at 56, Manilow has more vocal prowess than several fluff peddlers combined. To say that he performs without a net is a slight stretch. Only during an abbreviated "Could It Be Magic" did Manilow really scale back to basics. The rest of the time he was aided by a highly professional 18-piece band, which expanded to include an 18-member choir during his patriotic finale, a moving rendition of "Let Freedom Ring" that brought the crowd of 8,000 or so instantly to its feet and which culminated in a dazzling display of red, white and blue streamers. What I think he means, however, is that although his shows are mapped by such details - and must overcome the same technical glitches Madonna encounters, as he had to here - they never obscure the saccharine song craft that has made him equally adored and reviled. Sunday night [included] a magnificent reading of "Weekend in New England" [and] more fan favorites ("Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?") The result: pure romance dotted by some disco. "For all you gentlemen who were dragged here tonight," he said at the outset, "you are gonna thank me in the morning." If you came looking for a break-up-to-make-up soundtrack, you got it and more - songs about brokenhearted dreamers who wake up crying in the middle of the night resolved by chipper, everything's-gonna-be-OK pieces like "Daybreak" and its latter-day cousin "Turn the Radio Up." In between were bits attached to Sinatra ("That's Life") and Mercer ("When October Goes"), five from his solid new album "Here at the Mayflower" and a pair of booty shakers for the boomer set, a salsa-fied "New York City Rhythm" and a rousing "Copacabana (At the Copa)." All of which thrilled the crowd, which doled out standing ovations by the dozen ... he seems to be hitting a stride he hasn't come near since "I Write the Songs" topped the charts ... What remains undeniable is that Manilow is one of a dying breed, a gifted composer who also is a master showman. |
| June 23, 2002 | Orange County Register | "Looks like he made it - again: A quarter-century after he last topped the charts, Barry Manilow is suddenly popular again" by Ben Wener, promoting Barry's appearance at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, CA (June 23, 2002) |
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| There are, of course, dozens of famous figures in popular music as unhip as Barry Manilow. You know who they are. Neil Diamond. The Carpenters. Lionel Richie. John Denver. All of them giants, in their way, adored by millions. All of them routinely derided - by critics, by comics, by someone in your family - as nothing more than cheesy schlockmeisters. But were this rare club to elect a president, Manilow surely would be in the running - and probably leading. Not that he deserves the title. A Tony, Emmy and two-time Grammy Award winner, the high-drama songwriter has sold more than 60 million records worldwide, and in his heyday enjoyed a staggering run of 18 consecutive Top 40 singles, from "Mandy" in '74 (his first No. 1) to his fitting anthem of surviving against all odds, "I Made It Through the Rain" in '80.
Yet though musicians always admired him - he's well-regarded by jazzbos and Broadway composers and has earned praise from unlikely sources such as Bob Dylan and Axl Rose - Manilow has been the recipient of heaps of scorn over the years. "But it didn't stop me," he says, "because frankly there was no other road to take. I do what I do, and I like it." As do, apparently, millions more than imagined, all of whom are tumbling out of the closet to confess their love for the guy who writes the songs that make the whole world sing - even if he didn't write "I Write the Songs." Suddenly Manilow is not only shaking off the incessant ridicule, he's becoming downright hot again. His umpteenth retrospective, "Ultimate Manilow," shocked the industry recently when it debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard album chart. It has since gone platinum, and its good luck has rubbed off on Manilow's first collection of new material in nearly a decade, the concept album "Here at the Mayflower." His first for the jazz label Concord, the album has gone on to sell 300,000-plus copies, incredible numbers for a small label. His new deal also seems to have re-energized him because it lets him work on efforts for the label's roster of notables (he's writing and producing a '50s-style jazz album for Diane Schuur) while allowing him room to pursue other projects, such as landing his musical "Harmony" on Broadway. Based on the lives and times of Germany's Comedian Harmonists, the play should open in New York in spring, Manilow says. Still, this resurgence centers almost entirely on his classics - and demand is so strong that less than six months after selling out four nights at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, he's back this weekend to play the considerably larger Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. All of which has Manilow, who turned 56 this week, pleasantly baffled. "I've asked my people, and nobody seems to have the same answer at all. My take on it is that there's a new generation that is discovering this wonderful catalog of music that I've stood for over the last 27 years. They are the people who are going into the record stores." Couple that with an inescapable television campaign, he says, "and I just think it exploded. I've had other greatest-hits albums out, and none of them have behaved like this. So I've got to attribute it to a new generation. I mean, I look out at the audience (now) and I see a lot of young people - younger than I've ever played for." Despite (often because of) Manilow's multiplatinum sales and ubiquitous presence on radio and television, he became many critic's favorite punching bag at a time when punk was revitalizing rock's viciousness. "There were rough mornings when I'd pick up the newspaper," he recalls,
"and I was always surprised, after a concert or after an album came out, how mean-spirited all these guys felt they needed to be at the expense of someone they didn't even know. But, you know, I would go under for about an hour. I'd pull the covers over my head. I'd go into self-pity." Those days are long gone. That could be the heart of the matter - that a younger generation has outgrown kid-pop mush and discovered Manilow's lushness. Add to that a post-Sept. 11 syndrome in which many have turned away from darker, uglier sounds and this phenomenon begins to make sense. But Manilow isn't sure that explains it. "I've thought of that, too. But you know, the kid-pop and the angry stuff has always been there. Even when I was doing it, I was in between 'Kung Fu Fighting' and 'Disco Duck' on one side and the latest Dylan album and punk rock on the other. I've always just had my teeny share of the pie, and either you liked it or you didn't." That piece of the pop pie, however, has become more substantial as people realize how undeniably unique his work is. Incorporating sounds he craved while coming of age as Barry Alan Pincus - Gershwin and Irving Berlin and Cole Porter, the performance chops of Sinatra, the grandiose pop arranging of the Beatles, Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears - Manilow devised an unabashedly melodramatic style, launching it first as Bette Midler's music director, then carrying it forward on his own and spawning countless imitators in the process. Imitators, however, who vanished from the charts faster than you can say Melissa Manchester. Which may be the bottom line: Perhaps his renewed popularity stems from the public's sudden awareness that Manilow may be the last of his kind. No one seems to be following in his footsteps. And Manilow is acutely aware of it. "Listen, I'm not the greatest. I know who the greatest were, and I'm not that. I'm not Sinatra, I'm not Garland, I'm not Bennett. But you know, I ain't bad. And I'm the only one out there who's doing it. I really don't think there's anybody else out there who even cares to. So, you know, I'll take the job. 'Cause someone should do this." |
| June 23, 2002 | Tucson Citizen | "Manilow feels love: Manilow entertains a 90-percent capacity crowd with a mix of the old, the new, and the red, white and blue" by Polly Higgins (Photos by Tricia McInroy), review of Barry's concert at Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater in Tucson, AZ (June 22, 2002) |
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| Barry Manilow jumps to his perch on the piano, kicking his feet like a kid because he can't, no he can't, smile without you. Bathed in tangerine lights, his eyes widen as he portrays a first-time performer on "American Bandstand." He thrusts his fist upward while singing an emphatic "Oh!" to further dramatize "Mandy." The oracle of the lovelorn, a tanned Manilow guided a 90-percent capacity crowd at the Casino del Sol AVA through the story songs that once ruled the AM airwaves. Last night approximately 4,100 Tucsonans, many with their Baby Boomer carrying cards in tow, enthusiastically jumped into the performer's earnest world of heartaches and hip shakes. Though the singer preached to the converted, what a loyal flock he has. When he requested we sing along to "I Write the Songs," we loudly proclaimed to be the one "who makes the young girls cry." When he commanded we rise to move our collective groove things to "Copacabana," we felt silly that we hadn't immediately jumped up in the first place. Manilow emerged in a suit - Vegas-classy in black pants and shirt and square-shouldered white jacket - with "Ready to Take a Chance," spreading his arms wide to beckon those not battered down by irony. For 110 minutes, he grinned his way through 25 songs, stopping after most to work the crowd with a mix of self-effacing humor and pure bliss. He nodded to the many males in the crowd ("for all the guys who were dragged here tonight, you are gonna thank me in the morning"), referenced his seemingly perpetual unhipness ("I know it hasn't been easy being a Barry Manilow fan") and gave props to his catalogue ("I really love these songs"). And there aren't many better salesmen than Manilow. With nearly the same voice that recorded those early hits, he acted out the range of emotions swaddled by his tunes - a grimace here, a forlorn look there. While at the "Copa" he swirled his hips beneath the restless shimmer of a disco ball; at the end of "If Tomorrow Never Comes," he sighed before uttering the last word, then smiled with reassurance. The majority of the old favorites he played were offered in shortened versions. This, at times, lent an anxious pacing to the show, but the crooner rarely edited out emotive endings. The master of the big finish, the singer frequently threw his arms into the air as if swept into the swell of music, then reached out, as if cupping the orb of love emanated from the crowd. His energy gathered momentum as he offered up the title track from "Harmony," a musical he scored that he said he hopes will soon hit Broadway. Though a routine showtune, Manilow performed it as if bounding through the crossroads of Happy to Be Me Street and It's Great to Be Alive Avenue. The bouncy "Turn the Radio Up," from Manilow's latest album of originals, "Here at the Mayflower," spawned a consistent theme of the night. "Out with the negative," Manilow sang-spoke. "You find the positive!" This positivity linked Manilow's unabashed verve for the power of music with his occasional references to September 11. He closed the performance with "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and, with members of the UA choir joining his 16-piece band onstage, "Let Freedom Ring." Was ending the show with an explosion of red, white and blue streamers over the top? Perhaps, unless you believe, as Manilow surely does, that "music moves your heart/and that's a very fine place to start" ("I Write the Songs").
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| June 23, 2002 | Arizona Daily Star | "'Coolest man' Manilow sends shivers through AVA crowd" by Cathalena E. Burch, review of Barry's concert at Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater in Tucson, AZ (June 22, 2002) |
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| Barry Manilow put a dramatic finishing touch on his classic song "Somewhere in the Night," and up popped the female-heavy front three rows in standing ovation. At 56 and well past the prime of his almost 30-year career, the Brooklyn, N.Y.-accented king of the 32-bar love song is cool again. Just ask the ladies five rows back. With arms raised in triumph, emotion etched on his face, Manilow put a Broadway-style finish on another classic, "This One's For You," and up came those ladies. Clapping, screaming, whistling, yelling out "We love you Barry!" while their husbands/boyfriends who tagged along reluctantly shrank even lower in their seats. Yep, Barry Manilow is cool again. "Don't worry about the heat because I am the coolest man on the planet," Manilow boasted a few songs into his 90-minute show at Casino del Sol's AVA Saturday night. From their thunderous applause and cheers, the nearly 4,500 fans - whose ages ranged from early 20s to early twilight - couldn't agree more. [Dressed] all in black with a stark white dinner coat, Manilow looked the part of disco king, sans the schmaltz. His performance borrowed a little from that time - complete with disco lights dancing off the stage backdrop - and heavily from Broadway. The audience indulged Manilow a couple showtunes he penned for his play "Harmony," which he hopes to launch on Broadway in February. And they allowed him a couple songs off his latest album, "Here At the Mayflower" ... Afterwards, the gals in the front row and several rows back jumped to their feet, which inspired a whole lot of other people to join them for a full-fledged standing ovation. "There's no place I'd rather be on a Saturday night than making music for you guys ... Thanks for all the years. We've known each other a long time. I know it hasn't been easy being a Barry Manilow fan, so you guys get the prize." And they jumped to their feet again, giving the coolest man on the planet a cool sendoff on a hot summer night. |
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