It's In Everyone of Us

"Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" went Top Ten for Barry Manilow and, though that glossy rendition was stunning and majestic, there is something about the simplicity in Vini Poncia's production work and the original lyrics that is more heartfelt. Manilow performed the missing verse on one of those '70s TV shows, perhaps The Midnight Special, and it is a shame his live album didn't contain the immaculate extra portions that are here. Manilow's friend Melissa Manchester shows up on backing vocals here with some other name guests: James Newton Howard, Jim Keltner, Gary Wright, and Alan O'Day, among others. "Thea," for his wife Althea Pomeranz (she sings on the title track), is beautiful and was a minor hit on adult contemporary radio stations when this album was released. "The Hit Song of All Time" is good, Randy Edelman having worked this theme as Eric Carmen did with "Overnight Sensation." Pomeranz thanks Werner Erhard and the EST fad in vogue at the time — which is certainly a concern! He thanks Michael Jackson as well, and where he collaborated with Buddy Kaye on 1980's The Truth of Us, all the material on this venture is composed by the singer. "Greyhound Mary" misses the mark, while "If You Walked Away" treads water. The home-run hits on side one have subsided once you flip the disc over, and perhaps that affected his short, one-album career with Arista. Heck, even sideman Andy Mendelson got one album with Arista, and he didn't have the impressive name players here to help him out: a sad statement on the industry, as songwriters of Pomeranz' caliber deserve long-term deals to perfect their art. "High Together" features Jim Horn on tenor sax, and it's one of side two's highlights. "Home to Alaska" doesn't fare so well, failing to reach the heights of some of side one's material, a jazz piece among the adult contemporary pop tunes. The album concludes with a nice solo effort, the artist singing "Clarence" with Barry Fasman's strings and woodwinds supplementing his piano and vocal. It's in Everyone of Us is a good companion piece to 1980s The Truth of Us — it's just a shame major labels don't have the business sense to get behind essential artists like Pomeranz with deals that provide for more output. That's the subliminal message between the grooves. Despite its flaws, It's in Everyone of Us has enough classic moments to make it a keeper.