When Barry Manilow brings his "Manilow: An Evening of Music and Passion" tour to the Chaifetz Arena on Friday night — the first concert at the new venue — he promises that the show will be even bigger and better than its Las Vegas counterpart.

"It's a little different from the show we do in Vegas, which is just called 'Music and Passion,'" says the classic crooner known for "Mandy" and "I Write the Songs," among other standards. "The 'evening' part means I can go further than just the 85 minutes they allow us to do in Vegas.

"When we do the arena shows, I'm on my own again, and I can be up there as long as I want and I can throw more hits in."

It takes 11 semis to take his show on the road, and fans should expect a stage that moves around and stairs that come out of the floor, Manilow says. Still, "when you get down to it, it's me sitting at my piano, or standing up and singing to one person out in the audience."


In a recent interview in which nine questions were squeezed into a tight nine minutes, Manilow had more to say about his tour, his hits and his series of decade-focused albums highlighting from the '50s through the '70s that have given his career a boost in recent years.

Q. Your show has been described as a tastefully over-the-top spectacle. Is that a good description?

A. I still think it's intimate. I can't go too far. Overproduced stuff is not my thing. But I do like a pretty set. I like fun, and I like stuff that accompanies the songs. Tastefully overproduced act? Sure.

Q. Are there challenges involved with transferring the Vegas show to the road?

A. We went back to Vegas last night after having done shows in Atlanta and Raleigh (N.C.), and all of us screwed up because we forgot we were in Vegas and not on the road. It is different, and everything is upside down. It's like juggling. You gotta remember staging from one, and the rundown for the other.

Q. Which decade was easier to record? Which was most difficult?

A. All of them have their pluses and their minuses. The '50s I just loved. I finally got a chance to do all those Tony Bennett and Johnny Mathis songs. I was very young when that happened but, as a musician, I knew all of them because that's what you do when you play in bars and you play in bands. That was great, working with huge orchestras and great violins and sax solos.

The '60s were a whole other kind of deal. That's where I grew up, that was my generation, "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," "What the World Needs Now is Love." That was fun, too.

The '70s were most difficult. I couldn't wrap myself around that kind of music. I'd been there, done that, and I had such trouble going back and doing it again. It was the most difficult album I've ever made in my life, especially trying to redo my own songs.

I didn't know what I was going to do about the '80s. Isn't that when the melody leaves, when it's all about drum machines? But I was wrong. There are wonderful songs that came out of the '80s, "Careless Whisper," "Time After Time" and "Open Arms." I'm in the middle of doing that, and I'm having a good time.

Q. Why was it tough redoing your own songs?

A. I already did the definitive versions of these songs. But we got through it, and it was OK. My idea about doing my old stuff was to strip it all down and do acoustic versions of all these hits, and even that was more difficult than we thought.

Q. What happens when you get to the '90s, when songwriting clearly wasn't what it used to be?

A. I absolutely agree with you, although I felt that about the '80s. The '90s and current records, except for a very small handful, are all about rhythm. Songwriting has taken a nosedive. But time marches on.

Q. Nearly everyone has a favorite Barry Manilow song. What's your favorite?

A. Every week it changes. Every week I get a new favorite, and I don't get tired of these songs. This week it's "Could It Be Magic." "Could It Be Magic" is a beautiful piece, and a really great piece for an orchestra to play.

Q. What's the secret of writing songs that stand the test of time?

A. I just close my eyes and go. I still do. And I don't care where it lands. I try to write the most beautiful songs I'm capable of writing, and that's it. I never think of the radio or the audience. I just close my eyes and go, and whatever comes out … sometimes they're good and sometimes they stink.

Q. Is there a song where you go, "I can't believe I have to do this song again, but I know my fans love it so I have to do it"?

A. There was one about a year ago that got stale, "Looks Like We Made It." I just couldn't find the truth in it. As a performer, you have to find the truth in what you're doing. If you can't find the truth in it, it's gonna sound like you're phoning it in, and I've never, ever done that. When I realized I was not really inside that song, I had to take it out of the show. And then, about a year later, I put my toe in the water and put it back and it was fresh again.

Q. You're opening Chaifetz Arena here. How exciting is that?

A. I've opened arenas before, and this one is pretty exciting. The folks in St. Louis seem to think it's a really wonderful arena, and everybody is looking forward to this show, whether it's about coming to my show or getting a chance to come to the arena.

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