AP - Veteran Singers Turn To Theme Albums
Scooter
AP - Jan. 18, 2007
Veteran singers turn to theme albums
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer
Barry Manilow became one of the world's best-selling artists by making
timeless classics out of unknown songs. But these days, he's more likely
to rely on other people's classics than interpret new material.
And he's not alone. From Rod Stewart to Aaron Neville to Art Garfunkel —
who this month is releasing an album of Rodgers & Hammerstein standards —
veteran singers are increasingly turning to cover albums or other gimmicks
in order to find chart success in their graying years.
"As much as my true fans love these original albums, they don't sell as
well as the cover albums," Manilow told The Associated Press in an
interview last year as he was promoting "The Greatest Songs of the
Sixties," the follow-up to his surprise platinum success, "The Greatest
Songs of the Fifties," also released in 2006.
"It's a handful of great artists who can still do it — like Sting can
still come up with a great original album and sell, and the same thing
with Paul Simon, and the same thing with Prince," Manilow said. "But there
are others who can't, and I think the record companies want to play it
safer."
It seems to be a winning formula, one that has only grown in popularity in
the last couple of decades. Linda Ronstadt "What's New" album of classics
was a huge success, as was Natalie Cole's Grammy-winning, multiplatinum
"Unforgettable: With Love," featuring her singing along to her father's `
50s songs. More recently, Rod Stewart has had platinum success with his
"Great American Songbook" series of albums.
And pairing an aging Frank Sinatra with contemporary charttoppers like
Bono to sing his best-known songs on the 1993 album "Duets" made Sinatra a
hitmaker once again and created a formula that is still being replicated
today, with great success: Santana's "Supernatural" paired the veteran
guitarist with young hitmakers on new songs and was a multiplatinum,
Grammy-winning sensation, as was Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company,"
which featured the music legend singing classics with a variety of musical
guests.
"I think somehow a generation of people are now reaching their mid 40s ...
(and) are reminiscing about certain things. There's something about stuff
that's over 20 years old that ... reminds of you of your good days," said
renowned music producer Phil Ramone, who produced Sinatra's "Duets" album.
He also produced Charles' "Genius Loves Company" and most recently worked
on a duets album by Tony Bennett and a disc of Gladys Knight singing jazz
classics. Ramone credits the success of Sinatra's "Duets" album with the
proliferation of such projects today — especially in a declining music
industry hungry for hits.
"Somehow that seemed to trigger something in people," he said. "I think
there was no rush to do new material. ... One success sometimes breeds
another. I think it's been a phenomenal good four or five years, from Rod
to other people, who have done an album that may have not been heard,
especially if it was new material."
Burgundy Records, an imprint of SonyBMG created in 2005 to cater to older
artists and their fans, last year released Aaron Neville singing "The Soul
Classics" and Julio Iglesias singing "Romantic Classics." This month, they
also have America making a comeback with a two-disc set that features Ryan
Adams and other younger talent, as well as a live disc with their old
classics.
Matt Stringer, a top executive at Burgundy, said coming up with a way to
easily connect with listeners is key, especially for an older artist.
"Some of the avenues for the most broad-scale exposure aren't available to
them, like massive radio airplay or top-10 singles," he said. "In many
respects, the marketing for these artists becomes much more intensive, so
I think that in many instances for these artists the concept for the
record ... becomes basically as important as the artists themselves."
Antonio "L.A" Reid, chairman of Island Def Jam, home to artists ranging
from Kanye West to Bon Jovi and Lionel Richie, says classic songs work for
older artists because their fans aren't as keen on experimentation.
"The adult audience isn't very receptive to new material," said Reid.
"Adults grow out of that phase of discovery and they grow into comfort and
there's comfort in the known and discomfort in the unknown.
"They would rather hear a song that they've heard before sung by an artist
they are familiar with than they would to hear a new artist, for example,
or a new song."
That's not to say that older artists are not making any new material. Bob
Dylan's release of "Modern Times" last year was not only acclaimed as one
of his best in years, but also debuted on top of the album charts. Other
baby boomer acts who had notable splashes with their releases included
Prince ("3121"), Bruce Springsteen ("We Shall Overcome: The Seeger
Sessions") and Richie, whose "Coming Home" album earned him the best
commercial success he's had in years.
Richie believes a key to that success was being open to new ideas.
"The worst thing you hear sometimes from veteran artists is, `I don't do
it that way,'" Richie told the AP in a recent interview. "The first thing
I said to them, all of the writers I was with, was, `What does Lionel
Richie sound like to you in 2006?'"
He also said he resisted the idea of doing a theme album because "I'm
known for being a writer. ... so for me to stop and go over and do a
medley of someone else's stuff is just not what they're expecting."
Island Def Jam also has other veteran acts that have done well with new
material, including the Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley and Bon
Jovi.
"It's interesting," Reid said. "Saleswise ... Bon Jovi sold great doing
original material. Lionel Richie is going to have his first platinum album
in many years doing material. Rod Stewart, on the other hand, has sold a
TON of records doing covers. So I think there is room for both." (Reid
plans a new Babyface album that will be covers, mainly of acoustic
material in the vein of Babyface hits like "Change the World.")
Today's pop market can be particularly challenging for older artists, said
Burgundy's Stringer: "I can't think the last time an artist that was 45
years or older had a hit song on the radio."
However, he knows the audience is there and waiting.
"It's worth the valiant effort to figure out how to get these artists
exposed," Stringer said. "It's also absolutely providing a service to the
consumer market place."
--
Scooter
http://scootertalk.blogspot.com/
moonstone
"The adult audience isn't very receptive to new material," said Reid.
"Adults grow out of that phase of discovery and they grow into comfort
and
there's comfort in the known and discomfort in the unknown.
_________ OH really!?! NEWS to Me! Sounds like a nice excuse for not
wanting to put ones neck on the line, and promote REAL honest, new
music. It's so much easier to "mess with the young pop artists"
who are here today, gone tomorrow.
I wish Barry would stand up for himself like Richie and those others,
and put his foot down! I really like what Richie said to his record
company & writers. Barry has fantastic writers that would love to mix
some more Manilow magic!
One thing Reid did get right:
Yep, we are out here waiting, and waiting and......
BMes...@gmail.com
moonstone wrote:
>
> "The adult audience isn't very receptive to new material," said Reid.
> "Adults grow out of that phase of discovery and they grow into comfort
> and> there's comfort in the known and discomfort in the unknown.
Yeah, I agree. What a pile of manure. I love how decision-makers in
the "biz" continue to blame their failings on false generalizations
that imply we all reach an age where we all stop growing, sit around
listening to old records, and patienty wait to die.
>
> _________ OH really!?! NEWS to Me! Sounds like a nice excuse for not
> wanting to put ones neck on the line, and promote REAL honest, new
> music. It's so much easier to "mess with the young pop artists"
> who are here today, gone tomorrow.
Just remember - this pile of crap is coming from the same people whose
first response to the digital age, Napster and file sharing was, "What?
Th...th...they can't DO that!" (They're not exactly realists, if you
get my drift).
>
> I wish Barry would stand up for himself like Richie and those others,
> and put his foot down! I really like what Richie said to his record
> company & writers. Barry has fantastic writers that would love to mix
> some more Manilow magic!
I have a feeling Clive has a collection of glass jars in his office
that all contain formaldehyde and various artists' pickled body parts
... I think we can imagine which ones.
> One thing Reid did get right:
> Yep, we are out here waiting, and waiting and......
Waiting to die?
Nope.
Not this chickie.
Waiting for them to get off their asses, stop recycling old tunes that
have already had their days in the sun, and get back to the real heart
of their business - using NEW music to define a NEW age.
Clive?
Go retire. Please.
And let the rest of us go on living .... 'kay?
Nahhhh ... can't do that ... there's still a cheap buck to me made
somewhere on this planet ...
Brenda
rubyslippers
Totally agree with everything you said. The thing about Clive is, he is
like those really BAD low-budget horror films from the fifties. He WON'T
die. He DID retire once, but since the young BMG boys shot the record
company down the toilet, Clive was brought back!!!(like in from the dead.)
The sad thing is that you just KNOW that in ten years, ALL these artists,
including Barry unfortunately, are going to be doing late-night
info-mercials (like the Air-Supply guys) hawking "Sets" of this
cheeze-whiz! just look at "Greg Brady", aka Barry Williams......
(Cut to future info-mercial featuring Barry. read-in..."Hi, I'm Barry
Manilow..You may have known me once as that guy who writes the songs that
make the young girl's cry..that was one of my biggest hits, but someone
else wrote that wonderful tune..which brings me to...blah, blah, blah.)The
thought makes me shudder. P.S. LOVE Lionel Richie. HE gets my respect for
standing on his own merit.
Ruby
BMes...@gmail.com
rubyslippers wrote:
> Brenda,
>
> Totally agree with everything you said. The thing about Clive is, he is
> like those really BAD low-budget horror films from the fifties. He WON'T
> die.
He's like the STD of showbiz. :-)
He DID retire once, but since the young BMG boys shot the record
> company down the toilet, Clive was brought back!!!(like in from the dead.)
> The sad thing is that you just KNOW that in ten years, ALL these artists,
> including Barry unfortunately, are going to be doing late-night
> info-mercials (like the Air-Supply guys) hawking "Sets" of this
> cheeze-whiz! just look at "Greg Brady", aka Barry Williams......
>
> (Cut to future info-mercial featuring Barry. read-in..."Hi, I'm Barry
> Manilow..You may have known me once as that guy who writes the songs that
> make the young girl's cry..that was one of my biggest hits, but someone
> else wrote that wonderful tune..which brings me to...blah, blah, blah.)The
> thought makes me shudder. P.S. LOVE Lionel Richie. HE gets my respect for
> standing on his own merit.
>
> Ruby
There are artists out there who refuse to put up with this bullshit,
and don't mind if it costs them some money along the way. I don't know
if I could do the same in their shoes, but I do admire them
tremendously for it.
Sort of the same feeling that makes me skip the Borders or the Barnes &
Noble just so I can shop at one of those rare mom & pop bookstores
that's barely hangin' on. :-) God bless the independents!
Brenda