Barry Manilow - Here At The Mayflower (2001)

Barry rings in the new millennium with an hour-long concept album of all original tunes? Yup, and it ain't half bad. Taking a break from an unwelcome (to me) series of cover albums, Manilow delivers his first album of original tunes in 17 years and it's like heading back to '70s AM radio. Allegedly, the album concept is based on the Brooklyn apartment complex where Barry Manilow grew up - each of the 16 tracks from this offering is listed in another apartment in the Mayflower building, such as "Apartment 6C: I Miss You," "Apartment 2G: I Hear Music Playing," and "Apartment 3E: Border Train," you get the point. Critics seemed to like it, using phrases like "return to form" but the following review from Amazon offers a slightly different take: "this cd is good but it needs more bass, and more duets with p diddy." Me? I like it fine.

Pluses: getting Dave Koz to guest on several tunes, piano driven arrangements
Minuses: the dreaded AutoTune/production tricks, a tendency to sound like Rex Harrison-spoken show tunes

Now that I write that, it occurs to me that this thing plays more like a musical cast album than a concept album. And now I've damned myself to hearing it as such from now on.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #90

Tracks: Like most concept/cast albums, it's best heard from start-to-finish (set it and forget it). It's not "all killer, no filler" but the filler is better than what he was putting out in the early '80s (ah, the luxury of time and no label pressure). For me, the standout tunes are Come Monday, Say Goodbye, and Welcome Home. Also fun is the disco tune, cleverly titled They Dance! Plus, I hate myself for liking Turn The Radio Up (#25 AC) as much as I do.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None; didn't find this until 15 years after it was released, but I've listened to it quite a bit since it arrived in a lot of CDs I purchased on eBay last year.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Ultimate Manilow (2002)
If I Should Love Again (1981)
Barry (1980)
One Voice (1979)
Even Now (1978)
Tryin' To Get The Feeling (1975)