Barry Manilow - Barry Manilow's The Greatest Songs of the Fifties
List Price:
Our Price: $1.45
You Save: $7.54 (84%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Artist: Barry ManilowBrand: Baker & Taylor
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2006-01-31
Model: N03-009858
Music Label: Arista
Product features:
- Condition: Used - Very Good
- Moments To Remember
- ItÂ?s All In The Game
- Unchained Melody
- Venus
- ItÂ?s Not For Me To Say
- Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
- Rags To Riches
- Sincerely/Teach Me Tonight (Duet with Phyllis McGuire)
- Are You Lonesome Tonight?
- Young At Heart
- All I Have To Do Is Dream
- What A DiffÂ?rence A Day Made
- Beyond The Sea
Free Music Notes for Barry Manilow's The Greatest Songs of the Fifties
Free Music Review: Making the Songs of the Fifties Come Alive Again
Hit: 5 Stars
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.
Barry Manilow's The Greatest Songs of the Fifties Poster
No one can reinvent the great classics of the 1950?s better than Barry Manilow. He breathes new life and vitality into these truly wonderful songs and they sound fresh and timeless. We are together on a mission to bring to a new generation the great songs of a different era, and reuniting with him makes it all the more special. -Clive DavisHighlighted by a guest appearance from Phyllis McGuire of the McGuire Sisters on the medley of 1954 hits, "Teach Me Tonight/Sincerely," THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE FIFTIES is a veritable jukebox of favorites ? from his remake of the Four Lads? "Moments To Remember" (1955) and the Everly Brothers? "All I Have To Do Is Dream" (1958), to Bobby Darin?s "Beyond The Sea" (1959)? but to hear them collected on one album is a dream come true. The project (just like the era it emulates) cuts across musical genres, from The Four Ace?s,"Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" (1955), to Frankie Avalon?s "Venus", to Johnny Mathis? "It's Not For Me To Say" (1957), to Tommy Edwards? "It?s All In The Game" (1958), and Dinah Washington?s signature "What A Diff'rence A Day Made" (1959). Some of America?s greatest artists are evoked on songs that are forever associated with them, for example, Tony Bennett on "Rags To Riches" (1953) and the Four Aces on the motion picture title tune hit "Love Is A Many! Splendored Thing" (1955). More: the spirit of Frank Sinatra imbues "Young At Heart"(1954) and Elvis Presley is remembered with "Are You Lonesome Tonight." "Unchained Melody" (1955) remains one of the most-recorded songs in contemporary popular music.
For Manilow, THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE FIFTIES is a true labor of love.
Clive Davis's ear earns him more accolades than most of his talents' vocal chords. Now it's time to give it up for his enterprising instincts. The Greatest Songs of the Fifties arrives on the heels of another of the famous producer's backward-looking projects, the ubiquitous, uber-successful Great American Songbook series by Rod Stewart. The short story: same vibe, different era. With songs like "All I Have to Do Is Dream," "Venus," and "Unchained Melody" (first recorded in the '50s but best known for its '60s Righteous Brothers rendition), Manilow sidesteps the stuff that rocked the sock hops in favor of cheek-to-cheek selections--the better to remind longtime fans of his nostalgia-steeped '70s hits. Overall, the approach works, especially when the bona fide '50s legend Phyllis McGuire steps in to heat up the "Teach Me Tonight/Sincerely" medley, and Manilow swings across genres to lovingly tackle Dinah Washington's "What a Diff'rence a Day Made." Vocally, a warm haze covers these tracks; whether it's there to evoke fuzzier times or to mask a voice that's gone slightly south is unclear. What couldn't be more crystal, though, is Manilow and Davis's commitment to first-class, sophisticated record-making. --Tammy La Gorce
Broadway & Vocalists Music CDs
Music Genres
Top music charts in Broadway & Vocalists Music CDs
George Shearing, Mel Torme - Elegant EveningSHEARING,G/TORME,M; Release date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $7.32
Price in other shops:
Stan Getz - Spring Is HereRelease date: 1993-01-11; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Rosemary Clooney - Girl SingerRelease date: 1999-04-01; Music CD
Best price: $8.97
Price in other shops:
The Blenders - NogRelease date: 1998-10-20; Music CD
Best price: $9.51
Price in other shops:
Brave Combo, Tiny Tim - GirlTIM,TINY/BRAVE COMB; Release date: 1996-03-19; Music CD
Best price: $10.88
Price in other shops:
Belleville a Cappella Choir - Southern Journey, Vol. 11: Honor The Lamb - The Belleville A Cappella ChoirRelease date: 1998-02-10; Music CD
Best price: $83.93
Diane Schuur - Love SongsRelease date: 1993-05-11; Music CD
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
![Love Is the Thing [Vinyl] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
Nat King Cole - Love Is the Thing [Vinyl]Release date: 1996-11-19; Music CD
Best price: $169.99
Linda Ronstadt - Linda Ronstadt: Greatest HitsRelease date: 1998-01-13; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Buddy Rich, Sammy Davis Jr - Sounds of 66Release date: 1996-09-17; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Top Rated Albums
Barry Manilow - Because It's ChristmasRelease date: 2000-03-07; Music CD
Best price: $1.87
Price in other shops:
Barry Manilow - Sings SinatraRelease date: 2009-08-04; Music CD
Best price: $2.93
Price in other shops:
Barry Manilow - Singin With the Big BandsRelease date: 1994-10-11; Music CD
Best price: $2.84
Price in other shops:
Barry Manilow - DuetsRelease date: 2011-05-03; Music CD
Best price: $6.96
Price in other shops:
Barry Manilow - Beautiful Ballads & Love SongsRelease date: 2008-01-15; Music CD
Best price: $3.71
Price in other shops:
Barry Manilow - The Greatest Love Songs of All TimeBaker & Taylor; Release date: 2010-01-26; Music CD
Best price: $5.43
Price in other shops:
Barry Manilow - The Greatest Songs Of The EightiesRelease date: 2008-11-25; Music CD
Best price: $0.74
Price in other shops:
Barry Manilow - The Greatest Songs of the SixtiesBaker & Taylor; Release date: 2006-10-31; Music CD
Best price: $2.97
Price in other shops:
Barry Manilow - Ultimate ManilowUltimate; Release date: 2002-02-05; Music CD
Best price: $6.80
Price in other shops:
Barry Manilow - The Greatest Songs of the SeventiesBaker & Taylor; Release date: 2007-09-18; Music CD
Best price: $3.87
Price in other shops: