My dear friend, Janet Fauret, who lives in France, traveled to her native UK over the holidays. During the journey Barry Manilow’s wonderful music inspired her to write the following post, which I’m delighted to share with all of you now.
Why Barry Manilow’s music makes me look forward to long road trips!
For months after Fifteen Minutes came out, I listened to it more or less exclusively. It’s such a brilliant album from every point of view: wonderful melodies, a story everyone can relate to, lyrics that run the gamut from poignant to passionate, from wistful nostalgia to In- your- face immediacy.
And each time I listen to these great songs, I hear something different; I notice something I hadn’t noticed before. They are so rich that there seem to be layers of meaning that you can unpeel one by one.
Just recently, while on a trip to the UK, I decided to go back to “the old songs”. I wanted to hear them again, to see if the break would have changed anything. I felt as if I were going to discover them all over again.
And that’s just what I did. Talk about a journey of (re) discovery! I went through the Complete Collection, which are among my favourite albums. I love the fact that I never know what’s coming next, unlike most of Barry’s other albums, which I’ve listened to so often that I always know the set list by heart.. The CC is a series of surprises. I also love the fact that the recordings vary: some are live recordings, complete with applause, other are studio recordings. There’s nothing to compare with the freshness, the spontaneity, the excitement of a live recording. And they all have what I call “proper endings”: the music never just fades out at the end. Tryin’ to Get the Feeling again is a sublime example of this. No - one can bring a song to a heart-stopping, glorious conclusion like Barry can.
I may have hundreds of miles to drive but time just rushes by. Songs like that just take you over. A compelling melody and lyrics so many people can relate to. I always say we all find our personal truth in Barry’s songs. I “connect “with this one because it reflects so perfectly a past episode of my life.
Another gem that I can never hear enough is All The Time. Each time I hear it, I understand something different. And sometimes I find it so sad, while at other moments the message becomes more one of hope. Sad because the boy, girl, man, woman singing is regretting the wasted time. Boy; girl, man, woman, the song has a universal quality which enables each and every one of us, as I already said, to find our personal truth.’Misfits are not misfits among other misfits’. We’ve all heard Barry say that. But what is a misfit?
The miles flash by as I hit replay and my mind dwells on this question. The “nerd” who is bullied at school? The slow learner who feels he’s always being left behind? The kid who’s discovering that his sexual orientation may not be “mainstream”? I’ve got 400 miles to drive but it hardly seems enough! I’ve got so many ideas whirling around my head!
A long road trip is the perfect situation for listening to music, as long as you’re alone! No one to interrupt, no reason to turn it off, you can listen to an entire album from beginning to end in ideal conditions. I ponder the meanings of songs, I thrill to the melodies, I sing along loudly. (And tunelessly!)
I also work out more personal problems in my mind. For some reason, this time I started to think about my soon –to- come retirement from my job. And for some other reason I got to thinking about the goodbye ceremony that would take place at work and what I would say in my farewell speech. Actually, Life Will Go On got me started on that. (Yes I know it’s not about someone retiring but the idea of a new beginning is universal and that was MY truth. On that day anyway!)
I’m a teacher and have been teaching in the same high school for more than thirty years. Yes definitely getting to be part of the furniture! As the song plays on, my thoughts play on with it. The kids I had when I started out are now all grown up with families of their own. In fact sometimes I have kids in class whose parents I also taught. What would I like my legacy to be? How do I want to be remembered? The teachers I remember are the ones that didn’t leave me indifferent. Maybe they sometimes annoyed me, maybe I occasionally raged against a perceived injustice. But overall, the teachers I can still recall are the ones who made me feel something. See where I’m going with this?
Barry Manilow’s words came to me as I drove. I practically worked out my whole goodbye speech in my head!!! Like him, I d like to think I’ll be remembered because I provoked some sort of reaction, even a bad one! I hope my students will think: ” Her? I remember her. She made me laugh” or “She made me work hard ,and sometimes that drove me crazy but she taught me a lot” . I don’t even care if it’s ” Her? I hated her” At least it would mean the person felt SOMETHING about me. I How terrible if the majority said : “Don’t remember her. What did she look like?”!!
And so the miles flash by and my speech is done and the Calais toll booth is up ahead!
I spent ten days in the UK and now I’m home, Manilow music is playing and all’s right with the world!
Happy New Year everyone! And to Mr. Manilow, thank you ! You are a true inspiration.
Patti Nieman
I think that everything this woman said was very true about how she felt about Barry’s music. He is a very large inspiration to many. Especially myself. If it were not for Barry’s music which is so down to earth, I think I might be lost with a lot of doubt about my life in general, if that makes any sense. On very low days in my life I know I am not the only one going through times like these. I’m sure Barry has himself at one point in his life. His music tells a story. I agree Barry you are a true inspiration.