Sunday, February 11, 2007

Clive Picks His Top 31

1. I Will Always Love You--Whitney Houston
2. Fallin'--Alicia Keys
3. The Boy Is Mine--Brandy
4. Smooth--Santana
5. Since U Been Gone--Kelly Clarkson
6. Un-Break My Heart--Toni Braxton
7. This Love--Maroon 5
8. I'll Be Missing You--Featuring Faith Evans...--Diddy
9. Beautiful--Christina Aguilera
10. Another Night--Real McCoy
11. Angel Of Mine--Monica
12. Mandy--Barry Manilow
13. The Sign--Ace Of Base
14. Angel--Sarah McLachlan
15. All By Myself--Eric Carmen
16. Mo Money Mo Problems--Featuring Mase & Puff... Notorious B.I.G.
17. Because The Night--Patti Smith
18. I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)--Aretha Franklin
19. Dance With My Father--Luther Vandross
20. The Power --Snap!
21. Have You Ever Seen The Rain--Rod Stewart
22. Yeah!--Usher
23. Why--Annie Lennox
24. Love Will Lead You Back--Taylor Dayne
25. Songbird--Kenny G
26. Freeway Of Love--Aretha Franklin
27. All Around The World--Lisa Stansfield
28. That's What Friends Are For--Dionne Warwick
29. Hold Me Now--Thompson Twins
30. Come Dancing--The Kinks
31. Let Me Love You--Mario


Ok now we have it. After giving Clive the best years of his life and recording "pop" singles and being Clive's Cash Cow, Clive gives him the #12 spot. I can hardly even look at this list without spewing venom...#12...are you kidding me??? And not only that, but BELOW Kelly Clarkson and Christina Aguilera.

When will they ever give this man the respect he deserves as an artist and a musician? I'm absolutely dumbfounded. And to pick Mandy above Copa, Weekend in New England, Could It Be Magic or Even Now is another travesty. Talk about tooting your own horn. The guy is shameless and the day that Barry doesn't record for him can't come too soon. I have never understood why Barry hasn't started his own record label anyway. Keep all the profits and the success to himself.

Disgusted and stunned,
Texas Fanilow

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Are the record companies selling us short?

“Older artists have it covered--Old songs are new again as veteran acts find that cover albums filled with classic material are what their fans want to hear and are willing to buy.”

You can read the entire article at: http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/04/Floridian/Older_artists_have_go.shtml

Here are a few excerpts and my comments:

"As much as my true fans love these original albums, they don't sell as well as the cover albums," Manilow said in an interview last year as he was promoting The Greatest Songs of the Sixties, the followup to his surprise platinum success, The Greatest Songs of the Fifties, also released in 2006. "It's a handful of great artists who can still do it - like Sting can still come up with a great original album and sell, and the same thing with Paul Simon, and the same thing with Prince," Manilow said. "But there are others who can't, and I think the record companies want to play it safer."

Yes. That’s it, Barry. The record companies want to play it safe. But what they have not realized is that after these cover albums, Barry could market an original album if they would just give him the backing.

"The adult audience isn't very receptive to new material," said Reid. "Adults grow out of that phase of discovery and they grow into comfort, and there's comfort in the known and discomfort in the unknown. "They would rather hear a song that they've heard before sung by an artist they are familiar with than they would to hear a new artist, for example, or a new song." Today's pop market can be particularly challenging for older artists, said Burgundy's Stringer: "I can't think the last time an artist that was 45 years or older had a hit song on the radio."

This is where they are DEAD WRONG. I’m part of that “adult audience” and I love new material. My husband and I purchase new cd’s all the time with new material. Actually our generation is the one buying cd’s. We haven’t gotten used to ITunes or downloading music. If we hear a song we like, we purchase the entire cd.

However, he knows the audience is there and waiting. "It's worth the valiant effort to figure out how to get these artists exposed," Stringer said. "It's also absolutely providing a service to the consumer marketplace."

This is the first thing I agree with. It is worth the effort. We are a viable part of the consumer marketplace. Here’s hoping that these record companies find a way to get Barry’s original work out there. This is one fan what would be ecstatic!

What do you think? Are we happy with the cover albums or is there a market for some original work? I think the record companies are selling us short! Maybe it's time to let our wishes be known.

Signing out for now,
Texas Fanilow


 
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