Customer Reviews

Manilow

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Which is, by the way, #9 on the CD. This CD was originally released in 1985, now re-released in 2008/2009. Love the cover, too. Great pix of B with beautiful haunting baby blue eyes. It's a great album with some different B songs. (Numbers 1, 8, and 10 below are not different, but the others are.) #9 is an old song but one you may not have not heard B do before. B was about 42 at this time and did some hot recordings at this time in his life. 10 tracks, lasting about 39 minutes, a little on the short side but a great CD. My favorites on this CD are ALL OF THEM!

1. I'm Your Man - You have likely heard this upbeat song before. It has been on many Barry albums.

2. It's All Behind Us Now - slow and pretty, heavy, emotional--something haunting about the melody--I love it.

3. In Search of Love - Strong heavy beat with another haunting melody. Oh could I wiggle to this one on the dance floor. (I can really get into a good strong beat.) - I love it.

4. He Doesn't Care (But I Do) - Slow song, heavy, emotional--the crescendo B is famous for. Love it.

5. Some Sweet Day - Cha-cha, It is the kind where in the 60s/70s you cha-cha'd and hit every 4th beat with a hard step. Love it. Again, heavy and crescendo. Makes me wanna dance. Reminds me of something Paul Anka might have done in his hey-day.

6. At the Dance - Another cha-cha. I love this one too. A hint of latin. Actually, I'd like to either salsa this one or play it on the drums. B adds a brief doobie doobie jazz vocal in between. A fun song.

7. If You Were Here With Me Tonight - slow, pretty, great crescendo--yes, I love this one, too.

8. Sweet Heaven (I'm In Love Again) - From B's musical "Copacabana" and one of my favorites. This is a beautiful arrangement.

9. Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing [Baby] (Duet with Muffy Hendrix) - old song, Barritized.

10. It's A Long Way Up - you have likely heard this on just a few B albums - about the climb to the top being a long way up when you are coming from nowhere--how you gotta keep on trying. I absolutely LOVE the "there is hope" and "keep going" music that B puts out there.

On a side note, I cannot count the times in the past 3 years where songs like this, I Made It Through The Rain, and others that B has done have kept me going when I felt a bit down. Especially since I know that B has had some hurdles in his life, so they are more than just songs to him too. He means it. Keep on going!

Back to the review, a tri-fold inside includes the words, so you can sing along with Mr. B. I love it when he does that because I ALWAYS sing along with B. (Not that I need the words, because his vocalization is always so clear, but I figure some people may need the words.) A great CD with some different songs on it. I love the emotional feel to Barry's music, the passion. It's all beautiful to me and is the kind of music I grew up with. If I had to blast off to another planet and could take only one thing with me, it would be my ipod (because it has my Barry collection on it). I just hope I would be able to find a plug for the charger somewhere on Venus. (Women are from Venus, men are from Mars--remember?)

A wonderful addition to my collection. I just LOVE this album to pieces!

Update Feb 2009--Gotta tell you this one. I was in the car, windows up, radio up--rockin' with B. "At the Dance" comes on and it is sooo hot, I start dancing in the car at the traffic light. 16-year old granddaughter in the front with me. I mean, I was rollin'--arms were goin'. Everything was movin'. Next thing I hear a HONK. The young couple in the car next to me starts dancin' with me, at the light. COOL! We all had a good laugh on that one.

Stay tuned to this channel for the latest and greatest on B music -- WBAM radio :-)

Update July 2009: Still lovin' this CD. I play it every day and am surprised I haven't worn it out. I cannot believe the price. It is a great inexpensive gift. You can even make up a gift basket with a bunch of little things, and make this one of them.

I bought this album in 1985 when it first came out, and I was surprised by the change in production values that "Manilow" took. Having dumped ARISTA as his long-time label, RCA Records took Manilow on for this one-shot album, and with a new songwriter/producer partner, Howie Rice, created this record which dips its toe into 80s techno-pop. It bombed. Big time.

It's pretty obvious that trying to re-shape Manilow's fading image as a romantic crooner in the cold, synthsized slam-glam of 1980s technology was doomed to failure, but that doesn't mean that this is a bad album, on the contrary, it's one of my favorites of Barry's. Despite the programmed drum tracks and synth loops, this is in every way a Barry Manilow album, with songs that are some of the catchiest and most melodic he's ever written. "It's All Behind Us Now," "Some Sweet Day," "If You Were Here With Me Tonight" and "Sweet Heaven" are all romantic swooners, with all of the sweeping melodrama of the best Manilow ballads. And "In Search of Love" "I'm Your Man" and one of my favorite tracks, "It's A Long Way Up" are driving dance numbers that Barry sings with tremendous power.

Two numbers on the album I generally skip over - one is the goofy "At The Dance" which feels clumsy and out of place, and the other is the needless remake of "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing" which is a bloodless duet with Muffy Hendrix (another *cough* "star" lost to the mists of time.) The latter song is smooth and professional, but give me the original Marvin Gaye/Tammy Terrell version any day.

All in all, this is a strikingly original sounding Barry Manilow album, with strong singing, melodies; dated only by it's 80's production flourishes. I am amazed and SO happy that this album is available again. It received a limited release on CD, [RCA PCD1-7044], but for years was one of Barry's rarest albums. Now if ARISTA would only release 1980's "Barry" - which has NEVER been on CD.

This 'Manilow' CD is great. I bought it when it was first released on CD in the 80's. At this price this is such a bargain! Some Sweet Day, It's all behind us now and If you were here with me tonight will not disappoint Manilow fans who love him for the big ballads with lots of key changes and big drums. My least favourites are He Doesn't Care and In search of love. Way too over-produced - even for Barry!

This CD was also originally released in Japan with 2 extra songs - In search of love (a Japanese/English duet) and Sakura - an old Japanese song.

Incidentally, re: the other review on here, Barry's 1980 album called 'Barry' WAS released on CD in Japan in the late Eighties. I bought a copy and it sounds fantastic. Well overdue for a re-release.

I originally purchased this album on LP in 1985 when I was a senior in high school. At the time, had Amazon been around, I would have given it five stars. What changed?

Judging from all of the techno-drums and synths spread throughout the ten songs, Barry and his producers were trying to update his sound and appeal to a younger audience. Several of the songs sound like imitations of Kenny Loggins or Jack Wagner - remember him? There were catchy melodies and a variety of tunes from latin to fast pop - it had potential.

The problem was that the formula didn't work. I know - I was a teenager and knew what my friends thought about Manilow - he wasn't hip. The Manilow they knew was someone of their parent's generation that sang ballads - heavy, slow ballads. Ballads did sell during the mid-eighties, but you had to be someone else to do it. Manilow wasn't "the one" anymore.

Now, in 2010, I don't view the album in the same light that I did as a youth. When I compare it to "If I Should Love Again," produced just three years earlier, or even any of his first four albums the music is too "era-bound." It's like disco - a fad that came and went. I also think that what I liked best about his earlier albums was their originality, even with the slower songs. I think back to "Sandra" (off of "Manilow II") with it's deep topic of real life or "I Haven't Changed to Room" (from "If I Should Love Again") where it's just Barry and the piano. The album "Manilow" failed at that; it was too formuliac.

Every era has its "sound" and the mid- to late-eighties were very synth-driven. If you like that style of music and Barry Manilow, I believe you'll enjoy this album. If neither applies to you, bypass it altogether! There's far better music of that era available. Happy listening.

For some reason, the MP3 download of this CD features customer reviews for ULTIMATE MANILOW instead of this particular CD, simply called MANILOW. I wonder if Amazon made a mistake by merging reviews of ULTIMATE MANILOW onto the MANILOW product page?

Well, anyway, this 10 song collection is a rare gem of an album. Barry recorded this for RCA Records in 1985 and it's a departure from any album before or since. The songs and their production are all top-notch and the material is decidedly dance-oriented with a lot of mid '80s synthesized enhanced productions. There are no intimate love ballads...unless you count "If You Were Here With Me Tonight", which carries the power ballad feel of a lot of his most famous recordings.

For the most part, MANILOW is dance music...spearheaded by two songs in particular: "I'm Your Man" and "At The Dance". There are a couple of other hard-driving songs on the album: "It's a Long Way Up", "In Search of Love", and "He Doesn't Care, But I Do". A duet partner appears with Barry on "Ain't Nothin' Like the Real Thing" by the name of Muffy Hendrix.

One of the various stand-out tracks is "Sweet Heaven I'm In Love Again". It grabs you from the start and carries you along for the ride...typical big finish on this power ballad. You'll be wanting to kick your legs in rhythm during the song's finale...for those familiar with how the song is performed in concert and on Barry's 1985 made-for-TV movie, COPACABANA, you'll know what I mean.

All in all an excellent effort and although RCA did very little to promote the album it was in this era that Barry dabbled in foreign language projects and did extensive appearances on French and Japanese television programs. MANILOW had been released globally...so RCA did promote the project and it was a Top-50 album here in America...but the promotional effort here in America was next to nothing and that's why you may see a lot of complaints thrown in RCA's direction.

Highlights: "I'm Your Man", "It's All Behind Us Now", "In Search of Love", "Sweet Heaven I'm in Love Again", "At The Dance", and "He Doesn't Care, But I Do".

I have to say that no matter what barry manilow album it is,they are all wonderful. he is a master of his craft and a great musician. he has a style of his own that no one can match. thanks Luanne

This cd is one of Barrys best! Love the upbeat and "rock n roll" sound

If you love Barry Manilow, you'll really enjoy this CD. It was out of print for quite some time. Now, it is available again. Amazon is currently selling it for less than $6. That is a steal. There are many songs on here that you'll be singing to yourself in no time.

Some of my favorites include:

"Some Sweet Day," "If You Were Here With Me Tonight," and "It's All Behind Us Now."

Before somebody got really smart and reissued this CD in Feb. 2009 the original RCA disc was, at times, often selling for over $100 on the big auction site. This was possibly the most collectible of all Manilow albums (more so than the TV soundtrack to "Copacabana") because of the poor promotion and handling of Barry by RCA. After many years with the Arista (and previous Bell) label Barry chose to leave for RCA and this album was his first, and only, release for that label. I have owned this CD since it was originally released and have always been amazed that with the repeated reissue of much of Manilow's music this title was never included. Now, maybe because BMG owns virtually all of the major labels and their catalogs (including RCA, Sony, Columbia & Arista) this album has resurfaced. If you're a Manilow fan you absolutely can't go wrong with the CD, and the price is certainly right.

Manilow is a different type of music than what Barry usually does. The first time I listened to it I wasn't sure how much I liked it, but the more I listen to it, the more I like it. If you're not a big Barry Manilow fan you might not like this cd, but if you like faster more rock type music you might like this cd. There's also Sweet Heaven I'm in Love Again from the movie Copacabana on it and it's worth getting the cd for that song along.