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Barry's bonds; Manilow talks about his connections with Clive Davis, rock `n' roll, Bob Dylan and the Twin Cities.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Jon Bream; Staff Writer

After three bestselling collections of cover songs from the 1950s, `60s and `70s, Barry Manilow is back writing the songs.

Maybe not the songs that the whole world will sing.

"It's more of a rock `n' roll album than I've ever done," said the once and future King of the Middle of the Road, who will perform Friday at Xcel Energy Center.

OK, we're not talking Bruce Springsteen or the Foo Fighters. It's Mr. Schmaltz rocking out.

"It's got a real concept to it, like my `Paradise Cafe' and `Year at the Mayflower,' which kind of tell a story, or each song is set in some situation," he said.

Of course, it's up to Clive Davis, the record mogul who signed Manilow in 1974, to decide whether this project will be the singer's next release.

"Clive Davis warns me that every artist of my ilk has not sold very many albums when they've tried to release their own original albums - from Elton John to Paul McCartney to Joni Mitchell," Manilow said. "Frankly, I've never...

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