Barry Mann Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
There are a couple of common misconceptions about Barry Mann, which this album of new recordings of some of his best-known compositions helps to dispel. One is that, after the Top Ten success of his novelty song "Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)" in 1961, Mann turned away from performing to a career as a songwriter exclusively. In fact, he continued to make records intermittently for the next 20 years and even placed some of them in the charts. And since Mann was part of the Brill Building roster of songwriters, people seem to think all his hits came in the early and mid-'60s. Actually, he continued to score hits throughout the '70s and '80s. Soul & Inspiration, part of a series of albums by songwriters sponsored by executive producer Jay Landers at Atlantic Records, shows that, even at 60, Mann is an effective singer and a superb interpreter of his own material. He may not have the voice of Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers or Eric Burdon of the Animals, who sang the familiar versions of some of these songs, and sometimes he takes a note down so he can reach it, but he is far more than competent as a vocalist. There is a raft of guest stars, among them Carole King, Brenda Russell, Richard Marx, Bryan Adams, Daryl Hall, Deana Carter, J.D. Souther, and Peabo Bryson, but they only support Mann, never stealing the spotlight. And his songs benefit from the simple arrangements they're given here, all of them focused on his piano, in contrast to the massive productions given to some of the originals by Phil Spector. Collected together, these songs not only showcase Mann, but they also celebrate his longtime lyric partner Cynthia Weil, who co-wrote ten of the 11 songs. Weil's words are full of warmth and passion, and Mann's music supports them well. Among the great songwriters of the early '60s, few managed to make the transition to being successful recording artists after the Beatles and Bob Dylan changed the rules that had tended to prevent songwriters from also being professional singers. In Barry Mann's case, Soul & Inspiration demonstrates that a lack of talent was not the reason he remained best known as a songwriter. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Nine years after Barry Mann released the pedestrian Lay It All Out album, he and his wife, Cynthia Weil, along with their co-producer, Brooks Arthur, all combined to craft a smooth and very listenable album on Casablanca titled simply Barry Mann. Seven of the tunes are solely Mann/Weil compositions, while Tom Snow co-wrote with the duo on "If I Left It Up to You" and what would become a number two hit for Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville, "Don't Know Much," nine years after it was released here. "Don't Know Much" is a standout, the original version deserving to be a hit on its own. Though the album has some very excellent moments, it falls short when it has the chance to hit a home run. One example is the duet with Carole King that opens side two. "Mandy" co-writer Scott English contributed with Mann and Weil on the songwriting for "You're the Only One," but the song just doesn't have legs. It sounds like two friends having fun, but the result is not as exciting as what it looks like it could be on paper. King's familiar voice goes to waste when maybe they should have performed a duet on a Gerry Goffin/King classic like "Take Good Care of My Baby" or "It Might as Well Rain Until September" instead, or even the version of "Don't Know Much" that concludes this LP. Goffin co-wrote "Me Without You" with Mann, and its simplicity is more than compelling -- it is the sleeper track here, and would have also lent itself nicely to Goffin's ex-wife's participation. Where King and Mann do hit it off is on "Slow Motion," a beautiful bluesy pop number that is the best performance on the disc. King's other ex, Charles Larkey, provides bass to this tune that Mann co-wrote with Weil. It is eerie and moody and quite wonderful. Former producer Al Gorgoni, who kept the Lay It All Out album so restrained, is relegated to a lesser role here, arranging guitar and strings. "Brown-Eyed Woman" is like Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" all grown up. Venetta Field and the gals add great backing vocals to this paced number. If you compare the Barry Mann album to works by Peter Allen, Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, David Pomeranz, Ellie Greenwich, Randy Edelman, and others, it doesn't quite stand up. There's some very good musicianship and vocal work throughout the grooves, but overall there's none of the passion that Goffin poured over his Adelphia double disc, and therein lies the problem. This is Barry Mann, and he has the talent to produce a grand slam. But he coasts instead, giving listeners good when the music could have been great -- great as a man of his skills is quite capable of producing. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
1975's Survivor by master songwriter Barry Mann is the album Kenny Rogers never made. It sounds like a Kenny Rogers album, it looks like a David Pomeranz album, it has a cast of thousands, well, not thousands, but for a recording with Spanky McFarlane, Jerry Yester, Captain & Tennille, songs by Mann & Weil, production by Mann, Terry Melcher and "I Write the Songs" Bruce Johnston and others, the result is a good record that should have been great; a disc with the same flaws of 1980s self-titled release on Casablanca. Want to talk about underachievers, the excellent "Nobody But You" has some angst directed at friend Carole King as well as Paul Simon. "No one ever cried for me when my dreams fell through/No one ever said "lean on me," nobody ever told me "you've got a friend"/Nobody said "I'll be your bridge over troubled water" -- the "nobody but you" must be for his wife, Cynthia Weil, and it has great power and gospel soul. Here he sounds like the pop singer who hit in the '60s, not the Kenny Rogers wannabe who surrounds that great moment; "Crazy Ladies" and "Jesse" sound like outtakes from Rogers' The Gambler album. "Don't Seem Right" and the snappy "I Wanna Do It All" also give the First Edition's lead singer material he should've picked up on. And that's the dilemma: had Kenny Rogers performed the lead vocals this album would've been a monster. Since he didn't, why not have McFarlane and Toni Tennille duet with this unsung rock & roll hero? Bruce Johnston, Terry Melcher and Cynthia Weil should have all been able to step up to the plate and bring this baby home. Of course when the artist delivers five albums on five different major labels in 19 years, well, it is clear that songwriting is what he does and this is just some fun stuff in between. In that light Survivor is a remarkable disc. It's a statement rather than an attempt at giving Carole King some competition. But boy does he ever sound like the aforementioned country/pop superstar all over this recording. As good as it is there is frustration for fans of '60s music because the answer to the question "who put the bomp?" came close to having another moment in the sun. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
