Last month Janet Fauret, my best friend, the one I call my “foreign correspondent” traveled from France to London to attend Barry Manilow’s “15 Minutes” album signing at the Dress Circle. Though she knew it wasn’t financially prudent, with a vacation to Las Vegas less than two weeks from the date - in fact she’s on a plane as I type this - it was one of the those “once in a lifetimes” she couldn’t talk herself into missing. She’s very happy for the choice she made. Thrilled to have had the chance to personally tell Barry how much she loves the album, and have a copy autographed, which I know she’ll treasure forever.
Janet also shared how much fun it was to be at the “block party” the event became. Fans who have been on board since “Mandy” joining with those who heard “Bring On Tomorrow” on the radio, heard about the new album and decided it was time to get to know the music of Manilow. One thing that’s always certain, when Barry’s involved, there’s sure to be a group of happy people!.
What follows is Janet’s thoughts about the album, which I’m honored to share.
There was never any doubt in my mind that I was going to love 15 Minutes. Like so many others, I had been waiting impatiently ever since it was first announced that Barry Manilow would be bringing out an album of original music, and that it would be a concept album. It has, after all, been ten years since the exceptional Here At The Mayflower.
However, I was not prepared for the reaction I was to have to the album. I didn’t listen to the snippets that were available, and the only songs I heard before receiving the album were “Bring On Tomorrow” and part of the title track. I didn’t want to have any preconceived ideas, and, more importantly, knowing it was a story album, I wanted to listen to the whole thing from beginning to end, hearing each song in its place in the story.
And it was so worth the wait! As I listened, I became completely engrossed in what was happening. After hearing the orchestra play the grand finale, I let out a great breath and stood up, saying, “WOW!” And again: “WOW!” I wished there had been someone with me, someone with whom I could discuss this truly remarkable album. The person I really wanted to speak to was Helen, because I knew she’d get what I was feeling, but the time difference would have meant waking her up in the middle of the night and as a good friend, I didn’t want to do that!
I felt as if I’d been watching a play or a musical (this HAS to be put on the stage!) and for that reason, I find it hard to talk about each song individually, because they all hang together and compose one marvelous piece of work. When you come away from a stage performance, you don’t start commenting on it scene by scene or act by act. Certain things stand out, but it’s the whole work that touches you emotionally.
So what stands out? In the latest Manilow TV episode, when talking about his album Scores, Barry says that for him, “the thrilling moment is when dialogue turns into song,” that when he wrote “Copacabana” and “Harmony,” he was writing songs “about situations and character.” Well, that’s certainly what he and Enoch Anderson did for 15 Minutes.
The two of them form a dream team! I’d love to be a fly on the wall and see exactly how they write a song together! Music and lyrics blend together so perfectly, the music conveying and emphasizing the ideas and emotions present in the lyrics. In the opening song, “15 Minutes,” the scene is set: we have an unknown musician desperate for fame, desperate for his fifteen minutes, angry and envious because others are getting there, but he’s not. He’s a “nobody, longing for hot light, lost in the crowd.” The upbeat, guitar-driven melody conveys his impatience and frustration.
And so it goes on. Impatience turns into joy and exultation as his dream comes true. Optimism, faith in the future, a confidence that life is now going to be good forever. But only too soon, confidence becomes complacency, and exultation, arrogance. The downward slide begins: first anger and defiance, then nostalgia for what has been lost, self-doubt, and finally despair. If it were possible to give people a list of these emotions, then play them just the music without the lyrics, and ask them to match each tune with an emotion, I feel certain most of the matchings would be spot on. Barry’s compositions are just brilliant.
As is his voice. The rage he expresses in “So Heavy, So High” is powerful and so convincing. This song is followed by what for me is the turning point, “Everybody’s Leaving,” which is in complete contrast. No longer angry, his voice is gentle and sad and the recording sounds like an old scratchy record, worn-out, no longer relevant. For those people out there who think Barry Manilow sits at a piano and sings ballads (which he sometimes does, and quite beautifully!) this album will be a revelation, showcasing as it does his extraordinary range, both as a singer and as an actor.
It seems to me to be impossible not to become involved in the story which unfolds. For example, “Written In Stone” shows the hero teetering on the edge, having not quite abandoned his partner but well on the way to doing so. I wanted to shout at him, “go back, start again, it’s not too late! But it soon will be!”
We see it so often, and not only in show business. A young couple gets married straight out of college. At the time, neither has obtained success. Then the career of one of them (often the man’s!) takes off. He starts moving in different circles, he is flattered and sought after. His wife remains in the background: she doesn’t feel comfortable, she doesn’t know how to cope and he doesn’t help her. Slowly they drift apart.
I also love the way the album is crafted. There is both intelligence and inspiration in the strategies used to make it a complete entity, and not just a series of songs. The melody of the ballad, “Bring On Tomorrow,” runs through it like a thread. In the song itself, the tone is joyous, optimistic; the hero has finally obtained the coveted contract and is preparing to tell his partner that at last life is going to change. Later, after “Written In Stone,” the melody is played gently and quietly on the piano, conveying regret and nostalgia for what used to be, for yesterday. We hear it again after “Trainwreck,” this time on a flute (I think) and now, nostalgia is combined with a faint optimism: again, the hero looks back, but maybe this time, looking back will help him move forward. Maybe he’ll get “back on the track” because he’s got “something to prove.”
Using clips from real newscasts about celebrities who have had problems handling fame is pure genius, underlining as it does the fact that while the story may be fictional, it is anchored in reality.
Barry himself has said that when his career took off, he too lost his sense of reality. He didn’t go into meltdown like the character in the song, but he had to find his way back. Which he did very successfully, as may be seen in the smiling way he handled his ecstatic reception at the Dress Circle store in London last week.
I took about a dozen photos as I stood with the crowd, waiting for Barry to arrive. When I got home, I loaded the photos on to my computer and flicked through them. One in particular held my attention but at first, I couldn’t understand why. I moved on to the next one, and then went back to the photo which was bothering me. What was it reminding me of? And then it came to me.
Barry Manilow at Dress Circle
The artwork on the cover of 15 Minutes! Am I the only one to see the correlation?
May all young stars heed the warning and learn to handle fame as gracefully as Mr. Manilow!
Another reason why I’m so excited with this album is that I’m an English teacher, and I have already written a lesson plan in my head using Barry’s concept and his music! So many of my students are avid viewers of shows like “American Idol” and “Britain’s Got Talent.” All they see is the fame and the glory and many of them dream of it, just like Barry’s hero. My starting point will be the album’s cover and title, as this will enable me to introduce the theme. Then we’ll study some of the songs: I still have to make my final choice but, one of them will definitely be “Written In Stone,” as this song is pure poetry. I’ve heard it ten times and the lyrics and Barry’s voice as he sings it still give me chills. And what can you say about “Slept Through The End Of The World” and “Trainwreck,” except that they too are just beautiful, so heartbreakingly moving.
Congratulations to Barry Manilow and Enoch Anderson for an album that you can play over and over without ever getting tired of it. On the contrary, each time you listen to it, you will notice a detail, a note, a word (I was going to say “a gesture!”) that you hadn’t noticed before.
Barry’s show at the Las Vegas Hilton included a segment of Mayflower songs. A similar segment should be added to the Paris show. Barry says that people want to hear the old favorites; Barry, I beg you! Sing songs from 15 Minutes and they will become favorites! Who could resist songs whose lyrics address issues that concern so many of us and whose melodies are unforgettable!?
I’ll say it again; it’s a truly remarkable album. Here’s hoping it goes to the top of the charts, and wins the awards it so deeply deserves.