Mandy?

Remember when B-Sides really were?

"Mandy" is a song written by Richard Kerr (music) and Scott English (lyrics), and first recorded by English in 1971 as "Brandy". Barry Manilow recorded his famous version in 1974, and changed the title and lyric to "Mandy" to avoid confusion with the Looking Glass hit, "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)" (immortalized recently on the Better Boyfriends' Blackasaurus). Someday I will cover this song for real. Not today.

Music

Chords

As near as I can figure:

INTRO Bbsus2-Bb Bbsus2-Bb BbM7 EbM7/Bb Eb/F

VERSE Bb BbM7 Bb BbM7 c c7/Bb Ab Eb/F

CHORUS Bb g Eb F Eb/F Eb/F Bbsus2 g Eb Eb/F F

VERSE 2

BRIDGE g d EbM7 c F c c7/Bb Ab Eb/F F

C a F G F/G

Structure

A AA BB C ABB D A' BB B'B'B'

Comments

I had heard of this song, but never heard it until I was home for Christmas, shopping in a St. Vincent De Paul thrift store, and saw a tape of Arista records' greatest hits 1974-1984 or something. I decided I should check it out. "Mandy" was the first track, and it just destroyed me:

1. The incredibly slow tempo, with snare hits every other month in the refrain.
2. That killer chord progression in the refrain! That bass figure!
3. The string arrangements over the second-last refrain.
4. The key change. Lord Almighty, the key change.

Sara 18:07, 29 January 2007 (PST): I had to fortify myself with several hours of fasting and uncomfortable technical support activities before i got up the right level of impassivity to listen to barry manilow. however, wow, this song is really good. i can't believe you didn't extoll the chorus over the last, uh, chorus. or the last vocal note! that said, barry is still cheesy. you should re-record the whole song. !!!!