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Divine Madness
(Atlantic SD 16022)
The Divine Miss M - cover




Facts & Credits - Cast - Singles - Reviews - Recording Sessions - Posters & Ads


Track Listing
1.
Big Noise From Winnetka
(Gil Rodin, Bob Crosby, Bob Haggart,
Ray Bauduc)

(3:52)
2. Paradise
(Harry Nilsson, Gil Garfield, Perry Botkin)

(4:09)
3. Shiver Me Timbers
(Tom Waits)

(3:56)
4.
Fire Down Below
(Bob Seger)

(3:05)
5. Stay With Me
(Jerry Ragovoy, George Weiss)

(6:24)
1.
My Mother's Eyes
(Tom Jans)

(2:29)
2. Chapel Of Love
(Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector)
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
(Don Raye, Hughie Prince)

(4:02)
3. E Street Shuffle
(Bruce Springsteen)
Summer (The First Time)
(Bobby Goldsboro)
Leader Of The Pack
(George Morton, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich)

(9:42)
4.
You Can't Always Get What
You Want

(Mick Jagger, Keith Richards)
I Shall Be Released
(Bob Dylan)

(5:56)
= audio clip = lyrics

LINKS TO PURCHASE THIS ALBUM & SINGLES
Amazon (CD)   GEMM (LP's and Singles)


Facts and Credits
Photo by: Nancy Barr Brandon
Stay With Me Baby


Released November 7, 1980
Peaked #34 on Billboard's top 200 chart

Engineered and Produced by: Dennis Kirk
Music Arranged and Supervised by: Tony Berg, Randy Kerber
Mixed at Sunset Sound and Record One
Remixed at Regent Sound Studios and Atlantic Studios
Concert Recording: Wally Heider Studios
Assistant Engineers: Niko Bolas, James Lerner, David Lerner
Mastered by: Bernie Grundman

  • During the filming of "Divine Madness," Bette was getting over a bout of bronchitis, which made it very difficult for her to perform.  Due to the weakness of her voice in some of the songs, a lot of Bette's vocals were re-recorded later in the studio for the soundtrack album.

  • This soundtrack recording only provides a third of the songs that were actually performed during the filming of the movie, and only half of what actually appear in the film.

  • The live vocals that do appear on the album are edited between three different performances at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.


Cast

Liner Notes
Special Thanks to:
Alan Balsam, Paul Bloch, Bonnie Bruchherimer
Gerry Edelstein, Laurie Kranze,
Don Packard, Sean Russell, Debbie Simmers
Arnold Stiefel, Fran Frank Vanzella,
Steve Waldman, Tacky Jackie Weiss

This album is dedicated with great affection
to Howard Jeffery

Bette Midler: vocals 
Tony Berg: guitar
Jon Bonine: trombone
Jon Bonine: bass trombone 
Joey Carbone: keyboards    
Rich Cooper: trumpet 
David Luell: saxophone 

John Peirce: bass guitar
David Shank: percussion
Chas Sanford: lead guitar 
Art Wood: drums
Michael Boddicker: Synthesizers
Rander Kerber: keyboards 
Background Vocals: Jocylyn Brown, Ula Hedwig, Diva Gray, Luther Vandross
Band Vocals: Tony Berg, Jon Bonine, Joey Carbone, Randy Kerber

Singles
My Mothers Eyes (2:24) [stereo] b/w My Mothers Eyes (2:24) [mono]
45-3771
USA - 1980
Promo
My Mothers Eyes (2:24) [stereo] b/w My Mothers Eyes (2:24) [mono]
AT-3771
Canada - 1980
Promo
My Mothers Eyes (2:24) b/w Chapel Of Love (1:55)
45-3771
USA - 1980
My Mothers Eyes (2:24) b/w Chapel Of Love (1:55)
AT-3771
Canada - 1980
My Mothers Eyes (2:24) b/w Chapel Of Love (1:55)
P-1503
Japan - 1980
My Mothers Eyes (2:24) b/w Chapel Of Love (1:55)
AT-11655
France - 1980
Stay With Me (6:24) b/w Big Noise From Winnetka (3:53)
ATL-11658
France - 1981
Stay With Me (6:24) b/w Chapel Of Love (1:55)
ATL-11657
Holland - 1981
Fire Down Below (3:14) b/w I Shall Be Released (5:51)
ATL-11592
Germany - 1981

Comments and Reviews

Photo by: Nancy Barr BrandonRobert Cristagau
From anybody else, the second live album in under four years would have me charging unfair trade practice. From Bette it has me begging for intros--which rarely forthcome on a concert-flick "Soundtrack" that plays better on screen than turntable. Streisand's claque is right-she's a sloppy singer, which without the diversionary shtick of Live at Last sometimes matters. On anything she's perfected in the studio, for instance. Or when she expresses herself all over "Stay With Me" or "Fire Down Below," good notions that suggest cabaret may be her musical calling after all. "E Street Shuffle" she can handle--maybe because it has a plot. C+

Unknown
Bette Midler has arrived. First she is a smash in The Rose, earning an Academy Award nomination. Then she follows that with Bette Midler in Divine Madness, a film version of her concert tour. And this is the album from that film.

And you really get your money's worth. For instance, there are 14 songs, rather than the usual 10 or less. And there's Bette Midler in top form. This gal still delivers her trash with class.

Establishing just where she's coming from, she opens with an old pre-war (WWII, not Vietnam) jivejazz-swinger called "Big Noise from Winnetka." There's that big band sound, that frenetic beat, mixed with that certain delight and warmth which are Midler trademarks.

The thing about Bette Midler is not that she recreates this old standard, but rather that she discovers it anew and brings it forth fresh and with surprised wonder.

She follows this blast of an opening, maybe the best cut on the whole album, with another fast, hot, driving number, "Paradise." But then she switches gears with Harry Nilsson's meditative "Shiver Me Timbers".

She rounds out side one with a funky "Fire Down Below" and a wailing, bluesy "Stay With Me Baby."

Side two opens with a gentle, moving little melody called "My Mother's Eyes" (which was cut from the film but which now is making its way up the singles chart).

But then she shifts gears again with a medley. She begins with Bruce Springsteen's "E Street Shuffle," moves smoothly into Bobby Goldsboro "Summer (The First Time)" and then ends with that rock golden ager, "The Leader of the Pack." She creates a little musical epic of love and discovery. 

The album finishes with a blending of Mick Jagger's "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released."

The thing about Bette Midler is her amazing range. She takes material from the 1940s, from such widely varying stylists as The Rolling Stones, Bob Seger, Goldsboro and Dylan.

And each song is touched by something special which is Bette Midler. She approaches each song with respect and intelligence - and with humor

Madness it may be. Divine it certainly is. Bette Midler at her exuberant best.


Photo by: Nancy Barr Brandon Charlotte Dillon: All Music Guide
The legendary singer Bette Midler began her amazing recording career in the early '70s, and it is still going strong three decades later. She did this second live album, Divine Madness, a year after her staring role in the well-remembered film the Rose. Music fans that enjoyed the soundtrack from that movie should find Divine Madness just as pleasing and touching, since, like the Rose soundtrack, there are a number of emotional songs on this album, such as "My Mother's Eyes," "Stay With Me," and "I Shall Be Released." There are some upbeat music samples here to be had as well, including "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Leader of the Pack." Throughout the nine tracks this album offers, Midler's vocal prowess shines in ballads and carries through strong in high-spirited songs.




Bette Midler 
Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, CA, February 13-16, 1980

Bette Midler (vo)  

????? Big Noise From Winnetka Atlantic SD 16022
????? Paradise Atlantic SD 16022
????? Empty Bed Blues unissued
????? In The Mood unissued
????? My Mother's Eyes Atlantic SD 16022
????? My Mother's Eyes (ed.) Atlantic 3771
????? Shiver Me Timbers Atlantic SD 16022
????? World Tour Monologue unissued
????? The Rose unissued
????? Fire Down Below Atlantic SD 16022
????? Fire Down Below (ed.) Atlantic 11592
????? Stay With Me Atlantic SD 16022
????? Trouble In Tahiti unissued
????? Pineapple Song unissued
????? Ebb Tide unissued
????? Bad Sex unissued
????? Eat Me unissued
????? South Seas Scene / 
Hawaiian War Chant 
unissued
????? My Way unissued
????? E-Street Shuffle /
Summer (The First Time) / 
Leader Of The Pack
Atlantic SD 16022
????? Sophie Tucker Stories unissued
????? Rainbow Sleeve unissued
????? Rain  unissued
????? Martha unissued
????? Ready To Begin Again / 
Do You Want To Dance
unissued
????? You Can't Always Get What You Want / 
I Shall Be Released  
Atlantic SD 16022, Atlantic 11592
????? Chapel Of Love / 
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
Atlantic SD 16022
????? Chapel Of Love (ed.) Atlantic 3771
????? My Way unissued
????? Friends unissued




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The Best Of Bette (1981)
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Divine Madness - Pasadena