Strap yourself in, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. Taking
on the Herculean task of watching all five DVDs in the new Barry Manilow:
The First Television Specials set, I have come out the other end
like Jodie Foster in Contact, not really sure what I saw or how much time
went by, but forever altered by the experience. Here is the “man,”
the “myth,” the lanky legend that is Barry M. in every conceivable
late ’70s/early ’80s incarnation — playing, dancing, singing and yucking
it up with the likes of guest stars Ray Charles, Penny Marshall, Kid Creole
and the Coconuts, John Denver and even his mom. This set is more Barry than
a passing fan needs; it might even be more than the rabid Manilow junky can
stand. I watched them all, straight through and lived to tell the tale.
Starting with the first show, the aptly titled “The First Barry Manilow
Special” in 1977, Manilow runs through his hits — in-studio performances
mixed with stuff from his frilly-frocked live show. I liked the live stuff
better actually, showing the singer at the Ravinia Festival in Illinois running
through tunes like “Jump Shout Boogie Medley” and a really great
“A Very Strange Medley,” featuring songs he’s written for
commercials through the years. Back in the studio, he does a little sketch
with Penny Marshall, and she helps out with an in-studio “Bandstand
Boogie” (which she really isn’t needed for). It’s when you
catch Manilow alone, on songs like “I Write the Songs,” that the
man really sparkles. You can’t help but love this guy really; he’s
very sincere even on songs for which he didn’t write lyrics, and his
live performances are spot-on with a great backing band. This special won
an Emmy for Outstanding Music Special.
Disc 2, “The Second Barry Manilow Special,” aired in 1978. This
one is pretty clever with Manilow playing an empty Pantages Theater, sitting
behind a piano, explaining the songs, one-on-one without an audience in that
big house (at least at the beginning of the special). Songs here include “Daybreak,”
“I Was A Fool To Let You Go,” and “Copacabana.” The
highlights have to be Ray Charles singing Manilow’s “One Of These
Days,” and a duet with Charles on “It’s A Miracle.”
The special ends with Manilow playing the Pantages again, this time with an
audience, singing “Can’t Smile Without You” and “Looks
Like We Made It.” This last number is what I see as the typical big
Barry Manilow ending — during the very last chorus, Manilow changes
keys, the instruments swell, he slows the tempo just a bit and reaches emotional
heights to “kick out the jams,” giving his middle-age-housewife-admirers-who-would-never-dare-question-his-sexuality
what they really came to see. This DVD also features Barry’s mom in
an opening sequence, which is corny, but somehow works.
The third special with the handy title “The Third Barry Manilow Special”
aired a year later. This is the Barry M. variety show you knew just had to
happen (but feared all the same), and here is where I feel it slows down a
bit. There is a rather lengthy dancing tribute to musicals, with Manilow hoofing
his way to a too-long “I Write The Songs” (though choreographer
Kevin Carlisle did win an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography).
Manilow invites John Denver to the stage, and they duet on a rather sedate,
but well-sung Everly Brothers medley. We get “Copa” again (less
anyone had any doubt how big a hit this would turn out to be). “Even
Now” and “Somewhere In The Night” end the show. It’s
a well-produced little special, but the big production numbers wear thin.
Manilow can pull off the glitz in a live concert setting; however, when it’s
all set up in studio, it seems a bit forced and contrived.
The fourth disc comprises the 1980 “One Voice” special, maybe
my favorite here (next to the fun live stuff on the first disc). There is
a weird World War II scenario for one of the tunes and things do get a bit
too Tom Jonesy with Manilow trying to shimmy around the stage on “Who’s
Been Sleeping In My Bed” and “Rain.” There’s a bunch
of Dionne Warwick stuff here, the highlight for me being when she and Manilow
are at the piano, supposedly rehearsing “I’ll Never Love This
Way Again.” This special has what I consider perhaps the best few moments
of Manilow ever filmed on TV. Near the end, the singer performs two songs
about sons and fathers — one called “Sunday Father,” and
the other is Ian Hunters’ “Ships” (Ian freakin’Hunter
dude!). I remember this moment vividly as a wee lad in 1980. Manilow regaled
an obviously startled audience with the story of his estranged father (his
dad left when he was 2) coming to see him backstage after one of his shows,
telling him he had done a good job ‘out there,’ then going off
again. Manilow then sits down and performs “Ships,” and this is
one emotional moment, even to a jaded old progressive rock and roll curmudgeon
like me. The “One Voice” special ends with one voice, of course,
with Manilow teaching a chorus of kids the songs first, then flipping us back
to the ‘real’ ending, with the full orchestra and the same kids on stage,
giving it their all.
The fifth and final disc features the last show. Airing in 1988, “Barry
Manilow: Big Fun on Swing Street” is a heavily MTV-influenced piece
of fluff. Yeah, Kid Creole is here and so is Stanley Clarke, with some great
vocal performances from Phyllis Hyman and Diana Schur, but this special pales
in comparison to the other ones. We get Manilow skipping down fake streets,
playing in faux ‘dive’ bars, and dressing way too goofy —
even for him. With songs like “Swing Street,” “Stardust”
(one of the few nice solo Manilow moments) and “Dancin’ Fool,”
the highlights here are the songs the guest stars perform, notably Hyman singing
to Stanley Clarke’s upright bass on “Not Another Night Of This.”
This one is not for the faint of heart, and I’m glad I saw it last.
There are written blurbs on each special inside the box, but no booklet.
The five DVDs are presented as they were (as far as I can tell), commercial-free,
from Manilow’s first foray on network TV until that last saccharine
stroll down “Swing Street.” It’s a lot of information to
digest, but if you’re a Barry Manilow fan or if you want to relieve
some special TV moments — and some really well-played, catchy tunes
— then Barry Manilow: The First Television Specials
might just be for you. I got to go take a nap now.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
