Barry Manilow, The Greatest Songs of the Fifties

Barry Manilow, The Greatest Songs of the Fifties

Audio CD

Disk ID: 1167164

Disk length: 42m 23s (13 Tracks)

Original Release Date: 2006

Label: Unknown

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Tracks & Durations

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Review

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 GorceNo 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 Davis

Highlighted 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.

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