Like him or loathe him --- and let's face it, the latter is most of us. Apparently.
--- you can't deny that Barry Manilow is the king of mushy ballads. Like others before him --- Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, Andy Williams --- he's always lumped in with the "blue rinse brigade", and his music does obviously appeal to the older set, but I've enjoyed his music (although would seldom admit it at the time) from my twenties, and while his more uptempo stuff has never done it for me, I could list off a dozen excellent ballads of his that are true classics. So for this section I could have chosen anything from "Mandy" to "I made it through the rain", but have decided to go with what is, unarguably, my favourite Manilow ballad of all time.
"Weekend in New England"
Barry Manilow
1976
from the album "This one's for you"
One of not that many songs not actually written by Manilow himself, this is in fact a Randy Edelman composition, and concerns what appears to be an extra-marital affair (though the protagonist may not be married; it's never made clear) between a man who goes to New England and meets his lover, sharing time with her. cisuM retnaB a Back at his job in the city he thinks back over the time he had and wonders when he will see her again. It is, like most ballads, a simple enough story, and in the hands of someone else might fall flat on its face, but Manilow knows how to work his magic and under his influence it turns into something truly inspiring.
Opening on a simple piano line, Manilow's voice singing gently of the encounter is almost phrased like a letter to the lover as he sings
"Last night I waved goodbye/ Now it seems years", clearly still on Cloud Nine. The piano is joined by soft horn and violin, the orchestral backing growing a little stronger as the chorus comes in and he asks
"When can I see you?/ When can I touch you?" The second verse more or less follows the same line, with the orchestra taking a little more of the tune and the piano getting a little stronger too. It's not until we hit the middle eighth that that familiar upsurge and dramatic punch comes through, percussion coming in too as Manilow sings
"I feel a change coming/ I feel the wind blow/ I feel brave and daring/ I feel my blood flow" and the orchestra begins driving the melody. Manilow's voice gets more powerful and insistent as the key changes for the last round of the chorus, and the song ends as it began, the orchestra building up to a crescendo then dropping away to leave Manilow solo on the piano, with a final violin chord ending the song.
As a soppy ballad, this song is interesting because to me, this puts the power very much in the hands of the woman in the song. Manilow throughout is asking
her when can he see her? He is not telling her that he will come back, he's asking when can he? Whether this is to do with the fact that he, or indeed she, or both, are married or involved and so opportunities may be limited, I don't know. But there's no question that he can't wait to see her again, but has to wait until she says it's okay to do so. Girl power in the seventies? You had better believe it!
Last night I waved goodbye, now it seems years.
I'm back in the city where nothing is clear.
But thoughts of me holding you, bringing us near.
And tell me, when will our eyes meet?
When can I touch you?
When will this strong yearning end?
And when will I hold you again?
Time in New England took me away
To long rocky beaches and you by the bay.
We started a story whose end must now wait.
And tell me, when will our eyes meet?
When can I touch you?
When will this strong yearning end?
And when will I hold you again?
I feel the change comin', I feel the wind blow;
I feel brave and daring, I feel my blood flow.
With you I could bring out all the love that I have;
With you there's a heaven, so earth ain't so bad.
And tell me, when will our eyes meet?
When can I touch you?
When will this strong yearning end?
And when will I hold you again?
Again...