 |
From the Vault...
10/04/2020
#1745 |
|
info
Barry Manilow
"Even Now"
© Arista Records
Year of Release: 1978
Rating:
|
track listing
Copacabana
(At The Copa)
Somewhere In The Night0
A Linda Song
Can't Smile Without You
Leavin' In The Morning
Where Do I Go From Here
Even Now
I Was A Fool
(To Let You Go)
Losing Touch
I Just Want To Be The One
In Your Life
Starting Again
Sunrise
I'm Comin' Home Again
(Unfinished Track)
No Love For Jenny
|
WSVNRadio Archives
Barry Manilow related sites:
|
|
|
Barry Manilow
"Even Now"
Barry Manilow makes his debut this week on WSVNRadio, with his 1978 release, Even Now. I have always enjoyed his music when he was most popular in
the mid-1970s. Being a fellow keyboard player myself, Manilow started out with Bette Midler, playing in her (gay) bathclub performances. Previously, Manilow wrote
many jingles for TV ads: Stae Farm ("Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there."), Band-Aid ("I am stuck on Band-Aid, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me."). Kentucky
Fried Chicken, Pepsi, McDonald's, Dr. Pepper were others. He would record a medley of many jingles he wrote, as it appears on his Live album. (I remember
his performing this medley on TV talk show host, Phil Donahue's show.) He released his first album in 1973 (Barry Manilow I, and he has been popular
ever since.
Even Now achieved 4 hits: "Can't Smile Without You," "Even Now," "Copacabana (At The Copa)", "Somewhere In The Night.". I had the 45 of
"Copacabana," and it is a great song. Not only a great song, but the storyline of the song is an amazing tale. (Think of the song "Bad Bad Leroy Brown"
by Jim Croce, updated in the Disco age. It still has the fight Croce told us about. I'm surprised this song wasn't made into a movie. Or was it?)
The long version is on this album, as we all experience that "This is not what I heard!" (Actually, "Copacabana" was the ONLY 45 I had of Manilow's when
growing up.) The flip side was the instrumental, and surprisingly, it was not included when reissued on CD. When this album was reissued on CD in 2006, the disco
version appeared. This is the "long version," and I had heard the disco version on the radio back in the day. It would have been better, if the 45 version was
included, likewise the instrumental. All four hits from Even Now got heavy radio airplay on Top 40 radio, and all remembered, for those who were listening.
The other album tracks represents soft-rock, and they all have that Barry Manilow style, being that of soft-rock, lite rock.
Those soft/lite rock tracks are: "A Linda Song," "Leavin' In The Morning," "Where Do I Go From Here." "Losing Touch" is another one, but can be
considered the least to mention. "I Just Want To Be The One In Your Life" has a soulful touch to it. "I Was A Fool (To Let You Go)" has a jazz
lounge style, and stands out as a better track than that of the soft/lite rock tracks. Definitely jazz, with its piano, and horns. "Starting Again" is
another soft style, yet there are other better soft styled songs better than this one. "Sunrise" is good; it can be added to the good list, of the three
songs mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph, as song #4. "I'm Comin' Home Again" is better, and is titled as an "unfinished track." "No Love
For Jenny" closes the album, another good soft-rock track. (Both I'm Comin' Home Again" and "No Love For Jenny" are bonus tracks, being the
2006 reissue on CD.
My wife Norma was a huge fan of Barry Manilow. She had mentioned having Barry Manilow posters on her wall when she was younger, when Manilow was popular.
And as I was going through her belongings after she passed away last year, I found a Barry Manilow keychain. I had to include that, with other decorations, by
her urn in my home. And when I hear "Can't Smile Without You," I can't help but feel sad, as the lyrics And now you know I can't smile without you,
I can't smile without you, I can't laugh and I can't sing, I'm finding it hard to do anything. These lyrics now hits home as they reflect on how I can't smile,
laugh, sing without Norma.
Barry Manilow's Even Now is a good soft/lite-rock album. The four hit singles are the standouts. The remaining tracks sets the mood for a quiet
atmosphere, good music for a nice quiet night, a romantic dinner. The jazz-styled "I Was A Fool (To Let You Go)" is another standout.
Barry Manilow's music has always been entertaining, and enjoyed by those who remember him in his popular years. As mentioned, being a fellow keyboardist,
both Barry Manilow and another well-known keyboard piano player, Elton John, have been two of my favorite musicians while growing up. Also to mention, Billy
Joel. And another keyboardist I would enjoy in my later years, Rick Wakeman.
For anyone who remembered Barry Manilow, and his many hits from his studio albums, it is often wondered how the album tracks from his studio albums are heard.
"I was A Fool (To Let You Go)" is one of those lost gems. Barry Manilow will be reviewed again in the future here at WSNRadio, with more of his original
studio releases. I'm sure we will encounter more "discovered gems" album tracks as well.
© WSVNRadio.net. All rights reserved.
Review or any portion may not be reproduced
without written permission. Cover art is the
intellectual property of
Arista Records
and is used for reference purposes only.
|
|
