Customer Reviews

Barry Manilow's The Greatest Songs of the Fifties

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

It all started in the used record bin... As our son had recently discovered the wonders of vinyl, we bought him a nice turntable for Christmas. One of his cousins gave him a stack of used records, some of them classics, some of them silly and one of them a treasure for me. Buried among the albums was one of Barry Manilow's first efforts. I probably squealed like a school girl as I gave it a play. Suddenly, I was seventeen again and listening to these wonderful songs on the record player (the kind with a handle so you could carry it around!) in my room. Before the night was through, I was on Amazon ordering the Ultimate Manilow and was not disappointed. My husband, however, thought I was nuts. I think that's a pretty fair reflection of most people's reaction to Barry Manilow's music- you LOVE him or you DON"T, not much in between. While I'm not a weird, rabid fan, I do love his music and have especially enjoyed "The Greatest Songs of the Fifties." His more mature voice fits the genre and by giving the songs a little Manilow style he makes them both fresh and his. My favorites are Unchained Melody (makes me melt), All I Have To Do Is Dream, Venus and Young At Heart. If you like/love this man's music, then you'll like/love this CD.
In response to some of the critics:
1. If I wanted to hear Elvis or any other of the original artists do this material I would buy the original recordings- but I don't- I wanted to hear what Barry could do with these songs.
2. You're right, at 60+, he doesn't sound like he did when he was 32, neither did Sinatra, neither does Rod Stewart or any other singer, but that doesn't stop it from being a rich musical experience.

Five Stars? This CD deserves more. How many stars in the sky? Thank you Barry Manilow from all of us Seniors.This CD has us singing along and yes dancing to the fabulous songs of the 50's! As one of the tracks says...we are once again.."Young at Heart". Hats off to Rod Stewart(Great American Song Book) and Carly Simon{Moonlight Seranade}for starting this trend of bringing back these great oldies!My favorite track is the duet with Phyliss McGuire..."Sincerely-Teach Me Tonite" Buy this CD!! Then get yourself wonderfully lost once again in the 50's!!

Good for Barry to be back on top. Like the young singer (and fellow Las Vegas Hilton Hotel Headliner) Michael Buble, Manilow knows how to inject himself into the music and make it sweet.
Talented beyond words as a song writer and gifted as a singer in his own right Manilow makes marvelous music!! Great buy!!!

This is another great album by Barry Manilow. These songs were all #1 hits in the 1950's, and Barry does a great job of reinventing them once again. Someone said these songs sound "strained"? I don't think so. This is a soothing album worth listening to over and over. "Unchained Melody" may not top the Righteous Brothers version, but it's a well-done song beaatifully arranged. Other notables are "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing", "All I Have To Do Is Dream", and "Beyond the Sea". Barry always puts 100% effort into his music, and he does so again on this CD. I look forward to hearing some of these songs performed LIVE at his show in Vegas.

For those of us too young to remember these timless classics .Barry Manilow
Recreates the great old songs for everyone to enjoy. I have liked Barry for years
and each time he gets even better. If you are ever in Las Vegas Check out his live
show If you were not a fan before you will be now.
Barry you are the best!!!!

Pamela Farris

Songs of the Fifties: A Pop Artist Gives Them New Life Fifty-Five Years Later

In every era there is always room for nostalgia. This is especially true about music. As a product of the post World War II baby boomer generation, I grew up with the music of the 1950's. Many of these great popular vocal ballads and soft rock romantic tunes stayed with me through high school graduation (1968) and long afterwards.

Perry Como gave us "Moments to Remember" (1955) That's why "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" (1955) according to the Four Aces. In song, Tony Bennett likened love to going from "Rags to Riches" (1953). Frank Sinatra believed that love definitely makes one "Young At Heart" (1954). Then and now, love has its ups and downs but "It's All In The Game" (1958) according to vocalist Tommy Edwards. Will this love last? "It's Not For Me to Say" (1957) sings Johnny Mathis. But "What A Difference A Day Made" (1959) when romance is on your menu according to Diana Washington.

The wildly popular Elvis asked "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" (1959) to which the Everly Brothers replied "All I have To Do Is Dream" (1958). So what's the riddle of this thing called love? Bobby Darin tells us it's "Beyond The Sea" (1959) So you might say "Sincerely" (1955) as did the Skyliners, "Teach Me Tonight" (1955) performed by the DeCastro Sisters.

No one individual can equal this parade of unique and unforgettable talent. But it is possible for a maga-talented person to come close by evoking the spirit of these times through a skillful re-making of some the greatest songs of the fifties in a manner that makes them come alive again. Barry Manilow has accomplished exactly that with the release of The Greatest Songs of the Fifties on the Arista label.

Manilow debuted as a top forties pop singer in the early 1970's with diverse talent as a pianist, arranger, song writer and excellent vocalist. This versatility has allowed Mr. Manilow to triumph in every medium of the music industry. 44 albums later has established Manilow as the number one adult contemporary artist of all time with sales exceeding 65 million discs along the way.

A skeptic might legitimately ask whether a contemporary pop singer can transition to what we would now call "Oldies" and "Standards". Carly Simon did it with success. Rod Stewart did it with disastrous results. We have suffered through three volumes of decent playing and orchestration but awful singing. Some singers such as Stewart are just too one-dimensional to make the required transition-especially if you do so suddenly without preparation as did Mr. Stewart.

By contrast Barry Manilow was in a much stronger position to make the leap from pop to oldies and standards. It all starts with musical training which Manilow got at New York's Julliard School. More importantly, Manilow made the turn gradually even as he was on top as a premier pop singer. He brought out Swing Street in 1987. Manilow Sings Sinatra (1998) was a solid effort but Sinatra is Sinatra. Showstoppers came out in 1991 and Singing With the Big Bands (1994) went gold and demonstrated anew his ability to reach all audiences. Scores Songs From Copacabana and Harmony was released in 2004.

The Greatest Songs of the Fifties was released at the end of January of 2006 and includes all of the classic fifties tunes mentioned earlier plus "Venus" (1959) and "unchained Melody". How did Mr. Manilow do? If "re-creation" is the criterion, that's an impossible measure because no one can be expected to duplicate this range of talent in a single voice and talent.

But it is possible according to Clive Davis, Manilow's producer to "reinvent the great classics of the 1950's" by evoking the spirit of their time and giving them a new vitality for a new generation to appreciate. On this scale, Manilow is hugely successful. "Moments to Remember" immediately reminds us of the great Perry Como. "It's All In The Game" calls forth the memory of the talented Tommy Edwards and the arrangement is both interesting and tailored to Manilow's unique voice. "It's Not For Me To Say" follows the classic lines of the Mathis original but is every bit the equal of the original in its freshness. The duet of Manilow and Phyllis McGuire singing "Sincerely" and "Teach Me Tonight" is simply marvelous. The blending of voices and songs in this duet is superb. Only "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" seems to miss the mark a bit and "Beyond the Sea" doesn't quite evoke the flavor of the great Bobby Darin but the arrangement is perfect for Manilow's voice. I also appreciated Manilow's presentation of "What A Difference A Day Made" because few men have performed this Diana Washington classic well.

If you're a fan of fifties music as I am, add this album to your collection and enjoy the listening for hours.

After listening to this album, all I can say is "WOW!" Barry continues to sound just great. I really enjoy his music (after 25 years as a fan) and find his renditions are even better than the originals, although I've always been a fan of Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, and Frankie Avalon. Barry always has just the right touch on every song. The feeling he puts into the words and his phrasing are super. A must CD for every Manilow fan!

Barry is good at Barry; leave the 50's to the people that did the original recordings.

The music on both sides are great, I'll concur with most of the previous reviews. The video side of the disk is disappointing, with one big exception. Simple titled slides accompany each song, and the only video is the usual "watch him sing in the studio" footage. However, skip to the part where Phyllis McGuire comes in! She's still going strong, but was quite a knockout in her day! About 30 good seconds on the video side, and the sound is enhanced for surround-sound. Good thing Dual-Disk doesn't cost much more than CD!

I just loved this CD on first play. On second, third etc. I cried
and loved it more. Hopefully Barry does a few more of the classics in another CD. Baby Boomers are uniting and telling the music industry by buying this CD that we LONG for good music without any gimmicks!
These songs are timeless and yes Barry's voice is a little weaker than 25 years ago but his renditions are spectacular and true to the originals. He has a real gift for knowing what makes a recording special. Glad I ordered this in advance-I wasn't disappointed AND since I have most of Barry Manilow's work I may just go looking for some Johnny Mathis CD's to replace my LP's, I have forgotten how moving the music of the fifties is!