I'm not a musical expert, but I know what I like. I know that the best reviews will take the album song by song, but for me, this new work is all about the album. It's about the story it tells. It's about taking us through the steps to fame, what happens when you get it, and what happens when you lose it. If you take the songs separately, you miss the whole point of the album--it weaves a story with lyrics and music. You can't just read pages from a book and understand the plot. You have to read the entire book. It's the same with this album. You have to listen to it all together to appreciate it's genius.
What do I love about the album?
- I love Enoch Anderson's lyrics.
- I love the guitar/rock sound in the songs.
- I love the emotion you can feel in the songs (anger, frustration, sadness, regret).
- I love the way the musical melody from some of the songs recurs throughout the album in other songs.
- I love how the music fits the lyrics (in every single song).
- I love the power in Barry's voice and the shear joy you can hear as he sings these songs.
- I love the musical transitions as they carry you through the story.
- I love fades and the repeats in some of the songs, enhancing the point of each song.
- I love Nataly Dawn and her eerie rendition of Letter from a Fan (she was the PERFECT choice for this song).
- I love the quotes that were interjected in Winner Go Down.
- I love Slept Through the End of the World and Trainwreck (these songs are GENIUS!).
- I love 15 Minutes and Work the Room (for the shear rocking excitement).
I know I'll have these songs in my head tonight when I go to sleep, but I can't think of a better soundtrack to dream by--
Texas Fan
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9 comments:
Nice review!
Thanks Jill. As always, I appreciate your comments and input. It's easy to sing the praises of this one, though.
Interesting comments, exactly the reason I have waited patiently to hear the whole album from start to finish and not just snippets of individual songs.
I agree that it's pure Manilow uniqueness. I will admit there are a few songs that I just can't get into, at least not yet. "15 Minutes" has a fabulous toe-tapping melody; "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" has a fabulous melody, almost like listening to Chicago or a similar group; but "Letter From a Fan" is spooky and hits home a bit too much for me. We think he doesn't pay attention when he's on that stage and that he just goes through the motions of a performer, but boy this song has some people pegged, and we, and Barry know who they are. I'd be hiding my head in the sand and make certain my next show tickets were the last row.
Jude
They are clueless Jude. They are saying to themselves, "that's not me, he's talking about someone else". I agree with you that the song is eerie. The delivery has a lot to do with the feeling and they nailed it with the music matching the lyrics. Notice how the "fan world" isn't saying much about this song. You know what they say about DENIAL???
I have to say this CD is much better than I expected. All those cover CD's were making me question the man. But not anymore. This is a great CD. My 2 favorites happen to be Letter from a fan/So heavy... what an amazing piece of music! Just haunting and heavy and as much as it is different, it is all Barry all the time. Slept through the end of the world is fantastic and if I were in charge that would have been the first single, Bring On Tomorrow is great but Slept is just so nice. He's a Star is pretty fantastic as well. I mean I know we heard it before but this version seems to fit and reminds me of how most of Barry's originals were never really standard pop tunes for radio play. Which brings me to one of my favorite tracks. Wine Song. Wow, just wow. So eerie, so unique, so good. The whole experience reminds me of Manilow I and II and maybe Trying to get the feeling. Just well written and not really trying to please anyone but himself. This is the Barry Manilow I have always admired. Great stuff, I hope all the fans dig it and buy it so we can get Paradise 2 and maybe more.
This album is pure genius from both Enoch and Barry. The music and the lyrics are just so good!
I finally got to listen to the whole album yesterday as I drove 50 miles then again driving 50 miles back home. I love it!
I can't say I have or ever will have favourite track. What hooked me in was the story which was told so well.
It actually left me wanting to put another CD in and find out what happens next!! Brilliant.
I have to say that this cd (album) had to grow on me for a week or so. It's definitely fan-based cd, the civilians may not like it or understand it. "Trainwreck", "Now It's for Real", "15 Minutes", "Wine Song"(oh my!!) "Letter From A Fan", haunting, spooking and psychotic, "Slept Through the End of the World", "Reflection" beautiful and brief, "Everything's Gonna Be Alright", fun. We see the glitz and glamor of the entertainment world, but I guess it's truly not what it's cracked up to be to the lay person.
Jude
I'm happy I'm not the only person who gets "earworms" from Barry. This album has done it again. I can't get "Slept Through The End of The World" out of my mind. And yes, "earworms" is the term they use for songs that get lodged in our brains. (http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/human-nature/perception/songs-stuck-in-head.htm)
If anyone has a cure, let me know or I might sleep through the end of the world myself.
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