Who Did It Better? Memory

Who Did It Better? Memory

Welcome back to the second installment of  Wonderland Burlesque's new feature: Who Did It Better? - where we compare competing versions of the same song. Note: I said competing versions. That means they came out at or about the same time and before the song was a hit with or familiar to the public. Although, I might also include those songs that failed to get the public's attention the first time around, but in the hands of someone else, hit the charts.

But, cover songs? No. Not here. We will not be comparing LaBelle's pitch perfect version of Lady Marmalade to the whore-fest foisted upon us by Moulin Rouge (my apologies to Xtina, P!nk, and Mya)(but not you Lil' Kim - you know what you did!)  Yes, Some things should remain in the past.

Now, for the sake of purity, we will refrain from featuring live versions of the songs or their videos, using original album or single versions only. So, sorry if the vids are a little boring, but... them's the breaks.

Let's dive in... what are we looking at today? 

Oh, my... not two, not three... but FOUR divas battling it out! 

This post is due to a suggestion made by whkattk from Big Whack Attack. If you have an example of competing versions of a given song, leave it in the comments section. If it fits the criteria, I will take a look at it. I have a whole list of songs to tackle, but always looking for new ideas. 

Now, this one is a bit of a stretch regarding my competing version rules... but I will allow it, since - actually - no one 'owns' this song (and I just love breaking my own rules!). All these versions came out within two years of one another (or close enough) with none of them truly claiming the prize. And yet, the song is a classic, deeply embedded in our cultural psyches.

 

The Song: Memory (from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical 'Cats', based on T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats)

The Competitors: Paige vs. Streisand vs. Buckley vs. Manilow

Elaine Paige, who originated the role of Grizabella in the West End production of Cats, released a version of the song that was a Top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at #6 on the UK Singles Chart in July of 1981.

Barbra Streisand's version was produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber for her 1981 album Memories. When released as a single, Streisand's cover reached #52 on the Billboard's Hot 100 chart and #9 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart in 1982. In the UK, her version peaked at #34 that same year.

Betty Buckley recorded it for the 1982 Original Broadway Cast Recording and made the rounds on late night talk shows. 

Barry Manilow released it as a single in late 1982. His became the highest-charting version to date when it reached #39 on Billboard's Hot 100  in January of 1983. Manilow's recording also made the Top 10 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, reaching #8.

Those are the stats.

And we're off to the races...

Memory - Elaine Paige

Memory - Barbra Streisand

Memory - Betty Buckley

Memory - Barry Manilow

Umm. 

Wow.

I must confess, and I am not alone here... I have come to rather loathe this song. It has been sung to death and that overexposure has done nothing to increase it's status as a standard, rather, it has had the opposite effect... making its treacly flaws more obvious while diminishing it's worth.  

I am not a fan of Mr. Lloyd Webber. I loved Jesus Christ Superstar. I loved, LOVED Evita. Phantom... was a cold, hard stop. And I have approached everything since with an air of suspicion. 

Keep in mind... Wonder Bread is only fresh for a single day - and then? Only technically.

I remember when each of these versions came out. Everyone was nuts for this song and I must admit, I , too, was seduced by it's dramatic effect. But my patience soon wore thin and whatever initially intrigued me has since been worn down to a mild sense of 'huh'? The magician pulled a rabbit from the hat once and it was wonderful, but once is all I need to see that trick. 

The surprise is gone.

So, it has been ages since I have sat still and listened to these versions. 

Surprisingly... I rather enjoyed it. That said...

Elaine has a lovely lilt to her voice and, although theatrically articulated, a very pleasing overall tone. However, I found her move into the final crescendo to be a tad underwhelming, it lacks that big push (which may be the fault of the arrangement), and as she moves through the song, her vocals become increasingly pinched and overbearingly piecing. And the instrumental break? Feels a tad schmaltzy. 

Barbara messes with the lyrics, refusing to sing "I was beautiful then". Okay, let her have that vanity (Manilow commits the same sin). This is not a relaxed or lived-in recording. Streisand is constantly pushing the beat, wanting to lead the orchestration, rather than become one with it. It is the downfall of her performance. She misses the big reveal of the crescendo because she, again, pushes too fast and has had the listener so busy listening to every single nuance that only she can bring to the oddest of syllables that the big reveal feels rushed and stellar, but not magical. That Streisand has the best chops here? No argument. I just wish she would have been content to merely sing the damn thing rather than manipulate it to death. It's like listening to her strangle a snake.

Betty Buckley. I must say, she was my odds on favorite coming into this. If you have ever seen a little movie called Tender Mercies starring Robert Duvall (brilliant) as a country legend on his way down, then you have had the pleasure of Buckley's rather unique vocal stylings. In Tender Mercies, she steals the show with a single scene. And I remember when she made the talk show circuit and I heard her sing Memory. It was very effective. However, upon listening to the Original U.S. Cast Recording version (a single version was never released), I have to say that her affectations compete with and do not compliment the song. Not as recorded. The lilt that Paige brought to it? It's there in the beginning. But Buckley's vibrato colors everything to such an extent that, by the time we are going into big crescendo mode, there is something almost cartoon-like about her version. 

And Barry. Man. I hated this the first time I heard it and really expected to hate it today. However, Manilow is just so damn likable. He's like a ham sandwich (back when I ate meat). It has a pretty color, looks good on bread and was dependable, substantial, if a bit salty. Manilow's is the most relaxed version. In fact, I have to give it to him... right up until about the 3:12 mark - when his love for key changes, angelic choirs, and utter schmaltz render this thing... almost laughable. The song clocks in at almost five minutes! So... do the math. The last two minutes are pure craftsmanship without a hint of self-reflection. It's a shame. Because those first three minutes - yeah - not earthshaking... but pleasant. Sweet. Relaxed. A welcome respite from the previous three versions' hysterics (sexism not intended or implied). His is not the train wreck I remembered. But those last two minutes? Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy. Put me on insulin. This thing is sure to give you the sugar betes. It did get me to thinking about what might have happened if Richard Carpenter and Barry Manilow got together. Could they create a bowl of vanilla pudding so awe-inspiring, so amazing no one could resist? Sigh. We'll never know. 

The Winner 

Okay, it can't be a tie... but if I have to give it to someone... then I will give it to Elaine Paige. Even though I don't think anyone here wins. I don't think any one of them owns this song. I can see why Manilow's version broke (barely) the Top 40 in the U.S. And had he released it a year earlier? Gawd help us. But of the four, Paige does it the least damage. So, yeah... give it to her.

And now, the fun part... because MY opinion means bupkis. Especially if you disagree. 

What do YOU think? 

Leave your remarks in the comment section. And tell me...

Who did it better?

Thanks for reading.