This Is My Town: Songs of New York [B&N Exclusive]

by Barry Manilow

Overview

Barry Manilow has busied himself with concept albums since 2004's Scores: Songs from Copacabana and Harmony but This Is My Town: Songs of New York may be the best of the batch. It helps that the idea -- songs from his hometown of New York City -- is clearly defined, less amorphous than his salutes to the decades, and not as mawkish as My Dream Duets, his last album. Manilow isn't ready to leave behind the electronic duets that drove that record -- he cobbles together a virtual duet with Mel Torme on "The Brooklyn Bridge" -- but that's merely an accent on a record that finds Manilow offering a musical tour of the five boroughs. Naturally, there's an element of cheese here -- it's evident not only on the goofy "Coney Island" but in how he interpolates Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind" -- but that's part of his charm: he's always happy to smile along with his audience, offering a show with his song. And, crucially, This Is My Town: Songs of New York progresses like a cabaret show, opening with the keynote title track, sliding into a slow number four cuts in ("Lonely Town"), playing with the collective memory of the audience via covers of the Drifters, and then ending with a rousing medley. Perhaps the production is a touch too clean, but Manilow's panache and expert song selection compensate for such polish: this feels not like an exercise, but a record he believes in and, after a decade of affable nostalgia, that's really welcome. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	04/21/2017
Label:	Decca / Verve
UPC:	0602557352214

Tracks

1. This Is My Town
2. New York City Rhythm/On Broadway
3. Coney Island
4. Lonely Town
5. Lovin' at Birdland
6. Downtown/Uptown
7. On the Roof
8. I Dig New York
9. The Brooklyn Bridge
10. NYC Medley

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Barry Manilow   Primary Artist,Vocals
Doug Walter   Conductor,Orchestra
Ron Walters Jr.   Conductor
Kevin Bassinson   Conductor,Orchestra
Mel Torme   Featured Artist
Don Sebesky   Orchestra

Technical Credits

Sammy Cahn   Composer
Burton Lane   Composer
Barry Manilow   Arranger,Composer,Producer
John Kander   Composer
Doug Walter   Orchestration
Charles B. Lawlor   Composer
Garry Kief   Executive Producer
Shawn Carter   Composer
Janet Sewell-Ulepic   Composer
Michael Lloyd   Arranger
Alexander Shuckburgh   Composer
James Blake   Composer,Composer
Ron Walters Jr.   Orchestration
Charles Lawlor   Composer
Shorty Rogers   Arranger
Betty Comden   Composer
Sylvia Robinson   Composer
Kevin Bassinson   Orchestration
Billy Joel   Composer
Fred Ebb   Composer
Cynthia Weil   Composer
Greg Bartheld   Associate Producer
Don Shelton   Orchestration
Lorenz Hart   Composer
Leonard Bernstein   Composer
Denny Randell   Composer
Marc Hulett   Associate Producer
Sandy Linzer   Composer
Jule Styne   Composer
Jerry Leiber   Composer
Mel Torme   Duet
Marty Panzer   Composer
Ralph Freed   Composer
Michael J. Lloyd   Arranger,Producer
Mike Stoller   Composer
Adolph Green   Composer
Bruce Sussman   Composer
Angela Hunte   Composer
Barry Mann   Composer
Don Sebesky   Arranger,Orchestration
Richard Rodgers   Composer
Adrienne Anderson   Composer
Bert Keyes   Composer
Tony Hatch   Composer
Alicia Keys   Composer