Manhattan on Random

Woody Allen's Manhattan...released in 1979, back when everybody liked him. Simply MUST use those opening lines of this film, but truth to tell, Annie Hall remains my favorite Woody flick.

Faith Prince does an interesting medley of "Take Me Back To Manhattan" and "Before The Parade Passes By" on her Live At The Colony album, the Colony being the Palm Springs type! (Not the one where everybody wears 3-cornered hats.)

Evan Pappas and Tim Curry in My Favorite Year, on Broadway in 1992 (done ten years after the movie). We'll hear Tim's "Manhattan", written by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens. The show lasted for only 36 performances, but I do like many of the songs...well, maybe not this one so much, but MOST! :)

 

The marvelous Mabel Mercer will be warbling a Manhattan song, too. "Carry Me Back To Old Manhattan", which is a new tune for me! Love the lyrics...now who wrote it? I'm stumped! And look at that album cover: Accompanied by Cy Coleman and his Band. Cover art was by Burt Goldblatt.

Libby York does a great rendition of "Take Me Back" on her Memoir album, released in 2014. Libby was reviewed pretty recently in the NYTimes as “A jazz singer of cool composure and artful subtlety". She reminds me a bit of Diana Krall, but maybe with a warmer tone? Anyway, love this take. 

 

Gotta include Blossom Dearie in this Manhattan corner, for sure. From her album of 1959, Once Upon A Summertime. And love the pic below, which informs us all that she had an effing sense of humor.

And from the 2007 Encores! staged concert version of  Face The Music, we'll hear "Manhattan Madness" as sung by Jeffry Denman (above with Meredith Patterson). Below, the same two along with Walter Bobbie. It also starred Lee Wilkof (yup, Seymore from that shop of horrors?) and Judy Kaye.  Irving Berlin wrote the tunes for this musical, originally done in 1932, with plenty to distract its audience from the drama of the Depression. Maybe we need this now!