15 Minutes (CD)

Grammy, Tony and Emmy Award winning recording artist Barry Manilow brings you 15 MINUTES, his powerful new album filled with all original compositions and first album of all new material since 2001. After having recorded six critically acclaimed albums of songs written by the greatest songwriters of all time from Gershwin to Bacharach, Manilow returns at last to his true passion songwriting. Manilow teams up once again with lyricist Enoch Anderson for his astounding new work. 15 MINUTES produced by Manilow and Michael Lloyd is a captivating tale of someone who achieves fame, blows it and begins again.

Like Here at the Mayflower before it, 15 Minutes -- Barry Manilow's first collection of original pop tunes since that 2001 record -- is a concept album, this time chronicling the ups and downs of fleeting fame in the 21st century. The concept is modern and, appropriately, so is some of the music on this 16-track collection. Most notably, Manilow not only rides a tightly wound drum loop on "Work the Room," he also raps, a development nearly as disconcerting as the cuss he slips into its chorus. So, don't let it be said that Manilow shies away from risks on 15 Minutes, but he's still Barry, and he still favors sharp songcraft and melodies so ingratiating they unwittingly worm their way into the subconscious. Nevertheless, ballads take a back seat to sprightly pop throughout 15 Minutes and he comes up with some of his liveliest numbers in years here, highlighted by the Sedaka-esque bounce of "Who Needs You" and the slowly escalating "Winner Go Down." These may be the snappiest songs here, but 15 Minutes offers something unexpected: here, Barry Manilow is trying hard to deliver serious, sharply crafted pop, and even if the album doesn't entirely work, it's hard not to give him considerable credit for his ambition, not to mention the couple of cuts where it all clicks. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Performer	Barry Manilow
Music genre	Pop, Easy Listening
Music subgenre	CD - VOCAL
Music release type	Release
Media format	CD
Original release date	2011
Edition	Standard
Language	English
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Series title	Barry Manilow - 15 Minutes [CD]
Awards won	Grammy, Tony, Emmy Award
Track listing	15 Minutes,Work the Room,Bring on Tomorrow,Now It's for Real,Wine Song,He's a Star,Written in Stone,Letter from a Fan/So Heavy So High,Everybody's Leavin',Who Needs You,Winner Go Down,Slept Through the End of the World,Reflection,Trainwreck,15 Minutes [Reprise],Everything's Gonna Be All Right
Record label	Stiletto Ent.
Composer	Barry Manilow
Songwriter	Barry Manilow
Music producer	Barry Manilow
Track name	15 Minutes
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N