Manhattan Tower - Patti Page

 

The Party (Noah)

Manhattan Tower

Sung by Patti Page

With Orchestra and Chorus Conducted by Vic Schoen

Words and Music by Gordon Jenkins

Published by Leeds Music Corp.

Mercury Records MG 20026

1956

From the back cover: When Gordon Jenkins wrote the thrilling narrative tone poem, "Manhattan Tower," in 1945 it burst upon the musical world with an impact comparable to that of the introduction of "Rhapsody in Blue" a generation earlier. Many though that here, at least, was the definitive musical description of Baghdad on the Subway, of its sights and sounds, its terrible loneliness, its gaiety, its fantastic beauty at certain hours of the day and night, its brooding massiveness and, above all, its capacity to overwhelm a stranger with its spirit and to swiftly absorb him into its maelstrom of never-ceasing activity.

There is no doubt that musical, "Manhattan Tower" is a complete work, fulfilling to everyone's satisfaction what it she out to do. Yet, among those who loved it most and felt most intensely its varied moods there has been growing a strong desire to see "Manhattan Tower" expanded in scope. There were many who thought its main and secondary themes and the ideas expressed in this narrative could be developed musically and lyrically into a full bodied work of musical drama proportions. Evidently composer Gordon Jenkins felt the same way for here, in this Long Playing Mercury Album sung by the incomparable Patti Page is Jenkin's new, enlarged "Manhattan Tower," prepared especially for television but which doubtless will be seen and heard on many other mediums.

From its hauntingly beautiful opening theme, here translated lyrically as "One Upon A Dram," to the agonizing "Never Leave Me," Jenkins has evolved a simple love story over which looms the restless presence of Manhattan itself. From the rich martial of the original work with its startlingly effective musical phrases hd has drawn themes for some dozen songs and developed them carefully and with great skill. "New York's My Home" is, of course, intact and Noah, the water, is still cleaning the ash trays and serving up the chow for the party of nice people, but listeners will doubtlessly thrill in the discovery of the new songs with Jenkins has instilled with fresh, imaginative lyrics and his wondrously original flair for melody. Whether it be the poignant "Once Upon A Dream" or the delightfully gay, satirical "Married I Can Always Get" or the haunting cry of the hansom cabbie, there is a depth of new musical experience in store for lovers of "Manhattan Tower."

To bring full justice to this magnificent, new version of "Manhattan Tower," Mercury is proud to offer the un-matched artistry of Patti Page, the girl from Claremore, Oklahoma, who now makes her home among the towers of Manhattan. It was an arduous, tortuous trek for Patti but she has emerged from it as the nation's First Lady of song, warm, beautiful, gracious and possessed of a rare talent which develops and matures with each new height that comes up to challenger her. Ever since her recording of "Tennessee Waltz" brought her to national prominence, Patti has grown in stature as an artist and as a personality with each succeeding year, a fact fully in evidence to television audiences who've had the opportunity to watch her develop from the insecure, frightened girl who was the summer substitute for the quarter-hour Perry Como show some years ago to the poised, assured, thoroughly delightful hosts of the hour-long Ed Sullivan Show.

All of this new-found pipe and maturity is in evidence in Patti's singing of this Gordon Jenkins score. For one artist to attempt to interpret the entire score alone is an ambitious undertaking in itself, but the amazing vocal versatility which has enabled Patti to withstand all sorts of musical trends in the past few years also enables her to give full satisfaction and meaning to Jenkin's musical and lyric ideas. Her own experience, her own longing for a Manhattan tower, now fulfilled, have enabled her to identify herself closer with the music and its moods and to break them a depth of understanding which few other singers can match.

Aiding Patti immeasurable in the perforce of this new version of "ManhattanTower" is Vic Schoen, the conductor and arranger, who has won many awards for his work in these fields. Rocky Cole, Patti's regular accompanist, is at the piano.

Here, then, is the story of fabulous Manhattan, the brainchild of a man from Webster's Grove, Missouri, and interpreted bye a girl from Claremore, Oklahoma. This is as it should be, for none feel as intensely Manhattan's ever-beating pulse and overpowering reality as those who come bewildered, yet hopeful, into its awesome presence from afar.

New York's My Home

Once Upon A Dream

Learnin' My Latin

Happiness Cocktail

March Marches On

Never Leave Me

Married I Can Always Get

Repeat After Me

Indian Giver

This Close To The Dawn

The Party (Noah)