Manilow’s dream duets

Duets are all the rage these days and hitmaker Barry Manilow was not about to let the trend pass without making his own contribution. And what a winner he came up with. Instead of simply inviting other artists to record new versions of their hits with him, Manilow chose to sing his duets with some dear departed stars. 

You got that right. The singers in My Dream Duets have all departed for the Pearly Gates. Barry is singing with partners who have been dead for years. I know. It is nothing new.  Natalie Cole did the same with Inseparable with her dad, Nat Cole years ago. But this is different. No mom or dad for Manilow here but they all turned out to be fantastic partners.

Take a look at whom Manilow was able to sort of convince to sing with him in the album: The Songs Gotta Come From The Heart with comedian and Broadway and Hollywood legend Jimmy Durante; Goody Goody with Frankie Lymon; Dream A Little Dream of Me with Mama Cass of the Mamas and the Papas; I Believe In You And Me with Whitney Houston.

Sunshine On My Shoulders with John Denver; Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart with Judy Garland; Moon River with Andy Williams; The Look Of Love with Dusty Springfield; The Candyman with Sammy Davis Jr.; I Wanna Be Loved By You with sex goddess Marilyn Monroe; and a medley of What A Wonderful World and What A Wonderful Life with the great Satchmo Louis Armstrong.

Manilow, probably inspired by the fulfillment of his dream to sing with these legends, is singing better than ever. He also did all the arrangements for the album, which I know was not easy because he had to adjust to already existing recordings. He even conceptualized the entire thing and shared producing chores with David Benson.

Everything about the My Dream Duets is simply superb. I can already smell a Grammy or two. And I am already wondering if they will come up with videos culled from old films or TV footage where Manilow can be seen singing with his partners. Thanks to modern technology, that is now possible. That would be fun. Can you just imagine him with Mama Cass or Marilyn Monroe?

My Dream Duets is truly one album that is hard to get out of the player. But what I find most interesting about it is that Manilow was not afraid to be different. The usual practice with duet albums is that the artists pick out the biggest hits. That is why Tony Bennett had I Left My Heart In San Francisco and Barbra Streisand just had to have The Way We Were or Evergreen.

Of course, Manilow was able to do what he wanted because none of his partners were likely to complain or suggest anything. Still, it is most intriguing that he stayed away from obvious choices like Saving All My Love For You with Houston or Over The Rainbow with Garland, The End Of The World with Springfield or even Kiss by Monroe. Why he did not even include a song by either Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley or Michael Jackson which would ordinarily be top choices in an all-departed line-up.

What Manilow opted for are not the sure selling songs, but a mood, a sound that is part-musical theater and part-vintage film. It is sweet and nostalgic and ambles along with a relaxed, easy beat. Music should be like this. Manilow agrees. You can almost hear him beaming with pride over what he has done. 

Now, how about a Volume 2 or more? Why not? This dream duets concept gives Manilow, the widest range of possible singing partners. Ready now: John Lennon, Nat Cole, Bobby Darin, Donna Summer...

Duets are indeed in the air and even classical artists have jumped into the bandwagon. First proof is Pavarotti Classic Duets, a recently-released collection of opera duets by the late tenor with various partners, either alive or departed. This is excellent news for classical music fans. You know that opera recordings cost a fortune and are not always available. With the album, the buyer gets copies of some of opera’s legendary pairings and trios and even quartets and sextets, because some cuts feature three or more artists.

Among these are Nessun Dorma where Luciano Pavarotti sings with the tenors Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras; Gia Nella Notte Densa... Venga La Morte from Verdi’s Otello with Kiri Te Kanawa as Desdemona; Qui Di Esposa Eterna... Ah! Verranno A Te Sull’aure from Lucia di Lammermoor with Renata Scotto as Lucia; E Il Sol Dell’anima from Rigoletto with June Anderson as Gilda; Libiamo Ne’ Lieti Calici (Brindisi) from Verdi’s La Traviata with Joan Sutherland as Violetta; O Soave Fanciulla from Puccini’s La Boheme with Mirella Freni as Mimi; and Vogliatemi Bene from Puccini’s Madame Butterfly also with Freni as Butterfly.