Not only did he provide a Google-Play link where you can sample bits and pieces of Brian's latest work ("No Pier Pressure" ... due out April 7th) ... but he also sent along a video of the lead single from this new release.
It is VERY encouraging listening to all these tracks ... sounds to me like Brian has created his most commercial work since his "Imagination" album several years ago ... and I can't wait to hear the whole thing!
Links to the sample site ... and David Beard's complete article ... are below.
MY FRIEND AND YOURS, TOM CUDDY, SAID IT ALL ABOUT YOUR BLOG EVERY DAY AND SUNDAY.
THANK YOU, KENT, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK.
BY THE WAY, I AM FEELIN' GREAT!
This is GREAT news ... and SO weird!!! I was just about to email you this afternoon to see how you were doing ... heard you're already booked to do a cruise show! Going through a bit of "near pneumonia" myself right now so I've been sidelined at home for the week and catching up on old mail and thought, "Man, I haven't talked to Freddy in a long time ... I should check in with him to see how he's doing" ... and then your email appeared!!!
GREAT news ... just take it easy and take care of yourself ... work back into it ... the fans understand. We want you with us for a long time to come!
I just wanted to thank you one more time. I got my copy Tuesday of the Comparison Book and I've yet to put the book down. It is great having all the chart information there in the one volume. This might be the most important release ever for Record Research. I still can't believe I was Joel's lucky contest winner.
Upcoming release on March 27 of Herman’s Hermits “Best Of Herman’s Hermits – the 50th Anniversary Anthology”. This is a 2 CD set assembled by Ron Furmanek that will contain 66 tracks, 56 of which appear in true stereo for the very first time along with a terrific book. To avoid licensing control in the U.S. by ABKCO, the CD is being released as an import on the Bear Family label.
All true stereo and all new fresh mixes. Even Peter Noone has reportedly listened to several of the tracks and couldn't believe how good they sound.
The Monkees' Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork will be taking off to the Great White North for two exclusive concert dates at Casino Rama in Ontario on April 24 and 25. This announcement comes almost thirteen years to the day of The Monkees' last dates in Canada on 2002's Monkeemania tour. To mark this special occasion, Dolenz and Tork will be digging back into The Monkees' songbook to perform a special show comprised of their Canadian hit singles - "Last Train To Clarksville," "I'm A Believer," "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You," "She Hangs Out," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "That Was Then, This Is Now," "Daydream Believer" - many of which hit #1.
Monkee Micky Dolenz joined in with a stellar cast last weekend for SketchFest in San Francisco. The yearly fete is a combination of sketch, improv, stand-up, film, music and alternative comedy. There'll be another one in L. A. this Valentine’s weekend.
Janeane Garofalo, Jennifer Tilly, and, producer Eugene Pack.
Here's a great clip from Tommy James ... takes you behind the scenes of a proposed television series that simply never happened. Watch and enjoy ... more episodes to follow!
Some may not know that Bobby Fuller appeared twice on The Dating Game TV show as one of the three eligible bachelors. He was not chosen either time.
Speaking of interesting TV, I must confess that in twelve years I have NEVER seen an episode of Two And A Half Men ... just not my thing ... but I DID watch the one hour finale last night out of curiosity's sakes and I've got to tell you that I cannot imagine a more SATISFYING conclusion to this program. Long-time fans must have been delighted and I have to admit I laughed more during that hour than all 3 1/2 hours combined of Saturday Night Live's 40th Anniversary Special the other night. The writing was spot-on and perfectly scripted ... kudos to Chuck Lorre for going out with the upper hand. The hour had a good time poking fun at itself and was THOROUGHLY enjoyable, even for a newbie like me.
I listened to "Miracles" last night by Jefferson Starship. It is - point blank - the single most underrated song of the 70's. Marty Balin's lead combined with Grace Slick and Paul Kanter singing background vocals makes for an ethereal classic. It may well be the most under appreciated rock song of all time. I know the right wingers and other purists were disturbed by one line of Balin's lyrics but it doesn't diminish the genius of this song. Did I mention that the band track is just haunting yet inspiring?
Registering a song for performance rights with B.M.I. or ASCAP is not copyrighting a song. To copyright a song, you have to do it in Washington D.C. at the Library of Congress.
Berry Gordy probably checked to see if the song had been officially copyrighted, found it wasn't and proceeded to do so in his name and publishing company and credited Gwen Gordy, Billy Davis and himself as the writers. Very underhanded and crooked ... but legal. A lot R&B songs were never copyrighted or even registered for performance rights.
Andrew is referring to article about "You Got What It Takes", a song apparently written by (but never credited to) Bobby Parker. Sadly, Bobby died a few years ago after we brought his story to the public. He never did receive acknowledged credit for his efforts.
I have been on your site before. You had a link to a chart on an Edmonton or Calgary radio station that had Thank You Girl as number 1 for a week, on an old survey.
I always liked the mono single version of Thank You Girl ... but not the stereo The Beatles Second Album version, because of the extra harmonica.
I lived in Greater Vancouver from 1950 to 2012.
bought a single of From Me To You to get Thank You Girl in the fall of 1964. None of the three Canadian albums had it. Not Beatlemania, Not Twist And Shout. It should have been on the Long Tall Sally album.
Are you still linked to that? Please direct me to it. My eyes get tired fast if I stare at my computer screen too long.
Just a couple of quick comments about this year's Grammys show.
First, one of the more enjoyable ones with actual melodic songs taking up most of the show this time. Not sure WHY ELO was on there, but Jeff Lynne did an excellent job with the shortened versions of "Evil Woman" and "Mr. Blue Sky." I asked a few people if they ever had heard "Mr. Blue Sky" and most said no. A big UK hit, but being the last 45 from "Out of the Blue" here in the US, it failed to even chart, despite its' greatness. It was funny to see McCartney and the young stars singing along with "Evil Woman" or AC/DC's "Highway to Hell."
Do you ever have someone in a concert or football game who just HAS to stand while everyone is sitting? How funny to see Sir Paul doing just that for ELO until the camera got on him and he realized he was the only one standing and then sat down quickly. BTW, did they ever turn his mic on when he performed, because he WAS singing and you NEVER heard him. No big deal, he was just there for guitar anyway. Still, a bit odd.
The Roger Miller commercial was cool to see. I sure miss him on TV. He was funny in song and spirit.
I'm not quite sure what Macca's contribution is to Rihanna's "Four Five Seconds" ... it's certainly a catchy enough tune (which would imply McCartney right off the bat) ... but I never heard him sing a note during the broadcast OR on the record. A pretty stripped down arrangement but musically and vocally a very nice tune ... and Paul's first Top Ten Record in a long, long time.
EVERYBODY loves the Roger Miller commercial ... people can't stop talking about it. Two days after it first aired it had over 2 1/2 million hits on YouTube ... yet surprisingly this track is available for downloading on iTunes. BIG mistake in my opinion ... I'll betcha just as many people would download it for their own personal keepsake!
On my first solo CD "Shoreline" this song was dedicated to the great Charlie Gracie, who has been a huge inspiration to me. We jammed a while ago, at a Bar-B-Q held by DJ Corky Warren, and Charlie blew me away. Here's a photo of that jam.
Also, next week we are performing in Ft. Pierce, Florida on a great show at the Sunrise Theater. Here's a poster of that event, which also stars Ron Dante and a few other greats. Stay warm!
Lots of press lately for "Wages Of Spin 2" ... and Character Films in general.
We happened to see this in our AAA magazine,and it looks fabulous! Lesley Gore - Bowzer and The Stingrays with Johnny Contardo, formally of Sha Na Na - The Lovin Spoonful - Gary US Bonds - Johnny Tillotson - Freddy Boom Boom Cannon - The Legendary Teenagers - Chris Montez - The Chiffons - Joey Dee - Tommy Mara and The Crests - DJ Emcee Al Brady from Little Darlins and Wolfman Jacks Rock and Roll Palace and your hosts - Rocky and The Rollers - all on board for entertainment nightly, dancing and meet and greets!
They have them frequently. This is the one we had originally looked at, but the dates are not working with us this month. I am going to try to find one in March or April. I believe they are run through AAA, so people could contact them.
The lineup I sent you is for February 7th, 2016 and February 14th, 2016 on The Rockin' The Caribbean Cruise on Royal Caribbean's Freedom Of The Seas ... six dances, eight shows, Rock and Roll Trivia contests, Meet and Greets with all the headlining acts.
SO many great shows at The Arcada Theatre last year ... and this year's line-up is already chock-full of winners! DEEPEST Thanks to Ron Onesti for keeping this great music going for all these years ... we love ya! Check out this video of acts who appeared at The Arcada in 2014 ... I can think of at least another dozen who didn't make the cut ... this place has become THE venue to see classic, baby-boomer rock and roll ... and we love it!
With separate benefit concerts coming up at The Arcada, Chicagoland '60's Music Fans are in for a real treat this spring ... The New Colony Six will headline The Rhythmic Arts Project on April 19th, a concert raising money for a multitude of organizations with disabilities ... followed by The Benefit Concert for Marty Grebb, which will feature a who's who of '60's music artists including The Cryan' Shames, The Shadows Of Knight, Ronnie Rice and Nick Fortuna, Carl Giammarese, Marty Grebb and Dennis Tufano performing the hits of The Buckinghams ... many other surprise guests are planned.
We've got the whole town talkin' about BOTH of these exciting events!
Actually, Larry, KOMA did list several Chicago hits on their charts. My memory of my KOMA charts reminds me of "Love You So Much," "Sugar & Spice" and "It Could be We're in Love" all making their top 30 (or higher) of the KOMA Sing-a-Long top 40 chart.
I would pay to get a copy of this, too!!! My search for 60's Shames video is unending and always fruitless, it would seem. Even 1970's Ides / Shames Union stuff would be awesome to see!
You must be referring to a VHS tape I bought at a record convention. It was a live concert in Michigan with the New Colony Six, Shadows of Knight and Cryan Shames and maybe another group. Circa 1989.
I once sent it to you and you let Ray Graffia play it and he said it was a "train wreck" ... he autographed the VHS cover box! And then sent it back to me.
I will have to find it in my "archives" and play it to see how it plays and find out all the groups who are on it.
Can't get over all the good entertainers Ron Onesti is having. I have never been there since it is far away but I would like to, especially the Chicago Concert for Marty Grebb. I have the Buckinghams LP with Marty on the cover with them hanging up in my basement with other LPs. I also like Randy Bachman. I have seen him a couple of times.
Keep up the GREAT work and I will email you with further info once I find the tape and play it ... maybe this weekend.
Wow, I STILL don't remember it ... but several years ago I was working with Ray Graffia's brother Ron, trying to assemble sort of a "best of" video collection of The New Colony Six performing live. We had DOZENS of tapes to work from and were trying to find the best version of each song, all to be edited into a final "best of" tape that could be used both for audition purposes and be sold to the fans at their shows. The whole thing ultimately fell apart and even I don't have a copy of what we deemed "the best of the lot".
Talk about a couple of Oldies & Goodies from WLS of the 1960’s. Lyle Dean, Dex Card and yours truly having lunch yesterday in Ft Myers. Dex reports he had a stroke last year, Lyle remarried last year and I’ve just gotten a hell of a lot older since last year!!!!
So sad to hear about the passing of Lesley Gore this past week.
I can still hear the Golden Hits Of Lesley Gore album coming from my older sister’s bedroom every time I hear a Lesley tune. In many ways this was a concept album and after all the trials and tribulations with Judy and Johnny, etc., the last cut on this album should have been the triumphant coming of age, “You Don’t Own Me”.
I’ve read many a comment about Quincy Jones over-producing and double tracking on this album. I have also watched many live clips like The T.A.M.M.I. Show and old Mike Douglas appearances and know that her talent didn’t disappear when she stepped out of the recording studio Besides, if beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, then beauty is also in the ears of the listener regardless of what means were used to arrive at it.
My favorite all time Lesley tune is “All Of My Life,” regardless if I hear it in stereo, mono, double track or single track.
Setting talent aside for a moment, let’s celebrate the passing of a young lady who at such an early age brought so much joy to so many.
The Vinyl Arkhives will be back on the air for another three-some hours Wednesday Night (2/18), beginning at 9 PM Mountain at www.kafmradio.org -- click LISTEN LIVE after clicking on the link. In addition to a lot of the lost and forgotten hits from the First 25 Years of Rock & Roll, we will be paying tribute throughout the night to Lesley Gore, who passed away earlier this week.
Spread the word, and if you have a fave you want to hear, call the show at 970-241-8801 ext.1 Wednesday night.
Just stumbled across your site and wanted to let you know that the picture below Jimi Hendrix is not (bassist) Noel Redding but (drummer) Mitch Mitchell.
Then again I also found THIS photo, flip-flopping the two ... so now I'm REALLY confused!!!
Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell and Jimi Hendrix.
Meanwhile, I found this old Rolling Stone article (from 1969) when Redding had left The Jimi Hendrix Experience to form Fat Mattress ... which would indicate that our photo has been misidentified for all these years!
I don’t hear any noise or distortion of feedback in Little Wing, or The Wind Cries Mary, or Angel, do you?
Maybe the problem is with you (no offense) if ALL these other smart and respectable people find Hendrix so amazing?
You might consider that. Not trying to start an argument but I did want to comment.
PS Jimmy Page said he never saw Jimi live, so I don’t think he was in attendance wherever you said he was.
It seems that every new reader who discovers our Jimi Hendrix piece feels it necessary to take a swipe at me for being the ignorant SOB who wrote it ... when, in fact, I acknowledge all along that for so many others to feel differently about the music of Hendrix, the problem must be on MY end because I just never really "felt it".
As for "Little Wing", "The Wind Cries Mary" or "Angel", I suppose we can find exceptions to ANY rule. Fair to say The Beatles weren't only about "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" or "You Know My Name", right? They DID do some other music, too ... that most of the world felt important enough to make them the musical gods that they became.
As for the Jimmy Page comment, I don't remember specifically what you're referring to (and clearly you don't either since you brush it off with simply "wherever you said he was") ... but the research that went into this piece came from reading and referencing SIX Hendrix biographies (also mentioned in the piece) so all I can tell you is that it must have been documented SOMEWHERE in one of those volumes.
February 18, 2015 – New York, NY - Experience Hendrix L.L.C. and Legacy Recordings are releasing You Can’t Use My Name: Curtis Knight & The Squires (Featuring Jimi Hendrix) The RSVP / PPX Sessions – the first in a series that presents these recordings in their original context. The specially priced fourteen-track collection, taken from sessions in 1965 and 1966 [plus one July, 1967 recording], will be available on CD and 150 gram LP on March 24.
Ed Chalpin was an entrepreneur and record producer who founded PPX International, Inc. in 1960. He had created a lucrative business by recording cover versions of top US hits for foreign record companies, who then overdubbed translated lyrics. In addition to creating remakes for foreign markets, Chalpin had begun to produce original material at his New York recording facility Studio 76 that he would license to various record labels. Chalpin auditioned Curtis Knight in 1965 and agreed to manage and produce him.
In October 1965, Knight introduced Jimmy Hendrix to Chalpin. After their initial recording session yielded Knight’s “How Would You Feel,” Chalpin signed Jimi Hendrix to a notorious three-year recording contract for $1.00 and a 1% royalty. Hendrix had thought he was signing a release as a backing musician, later noting, “I took it as an insure of getting paid for the session…” In 1966, Chalpin licensed two singles from Hendrix’s sessions with Curtis Knight to RSVP Records, a New York based independent label owned by Jerry Simon. “How Would You Feel” b/w “Welcome Home” and “Hornet’s Nest” b/w “Knock Yourself Out.” The latter two instrumentals were composed by Hendrix and stand as the first ever commercial release of his own music. Both of these efforts missed the charts entirely and, as a result, Simon’s interest in the group waned and RSVP did not issue a third single.
Hendrix would continue to intermittently perform as a member of Curtis Knight & The Squires in 1966. He had also formed his own group Jimmy James & The Blue Flames in Greenwich Village. It was there where Animals bassist Chas Chandler spotted Hendrix performing “Hey Joe” at the Café Wha?. He offered to take Hendrix to London to record a version of the song and serve as his producer.
In September, 1966, Chandler escorted Hendrix from New York to London to make good on his promise. Under his guidance, Hendrix formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience with drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding. Chandler rushed them into the recording studio, pawning his bass guitar to help fund the group. Chandler’s faith was rewarded in December, 1966 when “Hey Joe” became a hit in England and soon throughout Europe. “Purple Haze” and “The Wind Cries Mary” followed in quick succession and were even more successful. In a matter of months, Hendrix had transformed from a struggling, little known sideman to the brightest new star in popular music.
Ed Chalpin had learned of Hendrix’s international success via reports in industry trade journals. Beginning in May, 1967, Chalpin had begun notifying every company he could identify as doing business with Hendrix that his company PPX had previously signed the guitarist to an exclusive three year contract covering the term between October 1965 and October 1968.
Beginning with December 1967’s Get That Feeling, Chalpin began to compile and license albums featuring the master recordings Hendrix had recorded as a sideman to Knight. Get That Feeling was followed by October, 1968’s Flashing. Hendrix’s burgeoning fan base was confused by the lack of liner notes or accurate cover imagery [Get That Feeling featured a photograph of Hendrix performing at the Monterey Pop Festival] as these albums gave full artist billing to Jimi Hendrix.
Jimi Hendrix was hamstrung throughout his career by litigation over these recordings in the US and UK and these fights continued until his family ultimately prevailed in litigation against Ed Chalpin and PPX in 2003. Experience Hendrix has since acquired all of the recordings controlled by Chalpin and PPX and this compilation stands as their first attempt to present this music in its original context.
You Can’t Use My Name kicks off with “How Would You Feel,” a 1966 single based in part on Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.” “How Would You Feel” tackles sensitive race issues, pre-dating by a few years the explosion of popular R&B acts latching onto the thriving Black Power movement. Its B-side “Welcome Home” is also featured on the collection. These tracks represent a musical touchstone, as Hendrix (listed as “Jimmy Hendrix”) received his first ever label credit as an arranger of both songs. Also included is the instrumental “Hornet’s Nest” and its B-side “Knock Yourself Out [Flying On Instruments],” both of which were composed by Hendrix.
Capping off You Can’t Use My Name is the August, 1967 track that spawned its namesake. Heard for the first time is the fascinating section of studio chatter that precedes a take of “Gloomy Monday,” wherein Hendrix repeatedly requests that Chalpin not use his name in the marketing of the recording, and Chalpin agrees, albeit, ambiguously. Already months deep into litigation, it can only be theorized that Hendrix continued to participate in sessions with Chalpin as a gesture of goodwill in the hope that all would be forgiven. It didn’t pan out that way, and the dialog is an interesting footnote to the complicated history between the two parties.
Original Jimi Hendrix Experience recording engineer Eddie Kramer recently went to pain-staking lengths to maximize the audio quality on the collection. “We’ve taken every single performance as far back as we could go in terms of source and we came up with the best original performances, stripped them back and re-mixed them and made what we feel is the best representation of those recordings,” says Kramer. “It’s a continuing archeological sound dig which is to say you sweep away the dirt with a fine brush and find the gem hidden therein. It’s what I call ‘forensic audio’ where we use every available piece of outboard gear and plug-ins and whatever tools are available to us. It’s been hours and hours of intensive work but it’s truly been fun to find the best performances and to make sense out of them."
These recordings made for PPX and RSVP are part of Jimi Hendrix’s extraordinary legacy. They neatly align with those other sessions Hendrix participated in during this same era as a sideman for other acts. Absent the confusion as to Hendrix’s true involvement, these recordings provide a snapshot of his development immediately prior to his discovery by Chas Chandler. “I was a backing musician playing guitar,” Hendrix explained in a 1967 interview. “I was always kept in the background, but I was thinking all the time about what I wanted to do.” Enjoyed in this context, these Curtis Knight sessions showcase his evolving technique and emerging brilliance.
I truly enjoyed this review. The fact that a reluctant fan gives Barry a thumbs up and the audience a thumbs down shows the review was given in an honest frame. Barry IS quite the entertainer and performer. I feel the pain that a deserved standing ovation was lost. Sometimes people cannot release their "proper" and just be grateful for the freedom allowed in music.
First time I saw Barry Manilow was way back in the 70's. I was working at the Auditorium Theatre. He was the pianist for Bette Midler and she appeared for three consecutive nights. She introduced him to the audience and said that he was going to be a big star some day. He soloed by playing a few commercial jingles that he had written at that time. Who would have ever guessed what he would soon become? I sure didn't. I remember thinking, "This guy will never be a star unless he gets that nose fixed!"
Aside from that, on the second of the three nights, a strange looking group walked in. It was eight young guys, all wearing trench coats. They had tickets in the very center of the front row. Early in Bette's performance, they dropped their pants while sitting down. They then stood up, all at the same time, and they peeled off their trench coats. They shouted in unison, "We love you, Bette," while standing totally naked. This was a tribute to Bette's beginnings as a singer in New York's famous gay bath houses. She saw and heard the men and totally broke up, stopping right in the middle of her number. She was laughing so hard she couldn't go on. She said, "I love you, too," regained her composure and carried on.
Here's my favorite story about Barry Manilow, and some of you in Chicago might remember this. I was working for his show a few years ago. He had broken his foot or something, so he was brought out on stage in a wheelchair. Well, the music started, then suddenly transitioned into something more lively, and Barry threw off the lap blanket and jumped up out of the chair and began to sing - 'It's a Miracle'! It was pretty funny, and definitely got the show off to a great start! Regardless of whether or not you like his music, he's definitely a great entertainer!
You gotta wonder how long it took ... and how many bottles had to be consumed ... to come up with THIS one!!! Pretty cool actually.
Between computer problems and health problems I probably should have just stayed in bed this morning!!!
Fortunately FH Reader Scott Schultz sent us a review of the Barry Manilow Concert he saw on Valentine's Day ... so we've got something to run for you this morning!
Ah, Valentine’s Day ... a perfect night to take your favorite Valentine to a concert.
This year there were at least three choices in the Chicagoland area: Loverboy and the Romantics at my favorite venue, The Arcada Theatre in St Charles, Fleetwood Mac at the Allstate Arena and, last but not least, Barry Manilow performing his One Last Time tour at the United Center. This is where we spent our evening.
To be honest I’m not exactly a huge Barry fan but considering he is one of the more popular Pop Icons of the 70’s and 80’s and the tour being “One Last Time” I felt it was worth the trip. While his music never was exactly my ‘cup of tea’ he has several very successful and catchy tunes to his credit (my fav was his rendition of the American Bandstand theme). So we ventured out into the frigid 5-degree Chicago night.
The UC didn’t appear sold out or at least there were several open seats. We were in the 300 section far above the floor just off the left front corner of the stage. While we had an excellent view of Barry, we couldn’t see the orchestra or the video screen behind him. The auxiliary video screens were ill positioned for the nosebleed seats and never showed the entire stage or the videos on stage. Sound was an initial issue, as well, but that improved after a few songs and was satisfactory overall.
Saxophone artist Dave Koz whetted our appetite with a 30 minute set before Barry hit the stage. He also accompanied Barry on a few hits along the way. Barry opened with It’s a Miracle followed by Could It Be Magic. and I Can’t Smile Without You. As the night went on he sang a number of lesser known tunes.
He ventured out into the audience singing Glenn Miller’s signature Moonlight Serenade and danced with a very excited fan. The show continued with Barry playing piano on Even Now. He sang a few songs off his Mayflower album (so titled about an apartment building in Brooklyn where he lived) ... each song was about a different family in the building. Next he did a couple of 4 Seasons numbers: Let’s Hang On and Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You, both done extremely well.
His latest album is entitled Dream Duets. He described it as electronically remastered hits with ‘dead’ artists. He sang along with Whitney Houston on her ‘I Believe’ track. IMO, he could have made a better choice. As we neared the end of the show he talked about his first hit back in 1974, Mandy, and then played an American Bandstand video of its debut (but it was invisible to the cheap seats) and sang it perfectly. Then he related that Mandy opened the gates for several hits. This is where I feel that the actual performance was less than adequate.
He choose to perform all these hits in a long medley. Included in this medley were: I Write the Songs, Bandstand Theme, Daybreak, Looks Like We Made It, One Voice, I Made it Through the Rain, The Old Songs and others (some I’ve never heard of), closing with a reprise of I Write the Songs. IMO he should have sung these hits in their entirety and left off others which were not hits (given this is “One Last Time”).
The final song was, of course, Copacabana. Then he closed with a reprise of It’s a Miracle.
He was a gracious performer, thanking his fans repeatedly. I felt he was in fine voice. My suggestion if you are attending this show in the near future is to get a seat out front somewhere for a better view of the stage and better sound.
One more thing ... the audience, which was largely made up of people my age mid to late 50’s, was one of the least enthusiastic audiences I have ever seen. When prompted to ‘sing along’ it was a nearly silent mumble. At the end when a standing ovation was clearly deserved only a relatively small number actually stood, Heck, I’m not a huge fan of his but I respect his contribution to our life’s soundtrack and stood in appreciation.
Thanks Barry for all your contributions, hopefully you’re not ready to hang it up just yet.
I saw Barry Manilow several times during his initial hey-day ... it was (at that time) the hottest ticket on the planet ... and he always put on a good show. (We were there at Ravinia when his entire concert was filmed for a television special. I remember being held back for close to 90 minutes after the concert ended so that they could film "staged" crowd shots and reactions that would be edited into the concert before airing.) Barry's "Soundstage" performance is one of the best shows ever filmed for that popular PBS series.
While I never considered myself a "Fanilow", Barry's audience has remained VERY loyal over the years ... incredible to think that his first chart hits are now over 40 years old.
He hasn't had a "new" hit in quite some time (his last Top 40 Hit came in 1984 with "Read 'em And Weep") and he has spent most of the "in-between" years recording albums of "standards", ''60's love songs" and now "duets with dead people". (It would appear a good percentage of his time was also spent having cosmetic surgery!) But he IS the consummate entertainer ... and I absolutely believe that he truly loves, respects and is devoted to his huge legion of fans who have stuck with him over the years ... and is genuinely grateful for their love and support.
I know a couple of other people who also went to this special Valentine's Day Concert ... most of the guys I talked to "begrudgingly" so ... but ALL came back impressed by the showmanship that Barry still exudes on stage. As Scott said, he may not be everybody's cup of tea ... but I've got quite a few Barry Manilow "guilty pleasures" amongst my favorites, too!