 JANUARY 2 • 2020 | 29

recorded songs was divided between 
Mandell and Will, a Seattle business-
man and performer who had worked in 
California bands with Mandell. They also 
are producing a limited number of videos to 
accompany the music.
As the two planned out the rock opera, 
Will had one completed number to offer. 
“The Sum of It All,
” originally written to 
honor the memory of his mother, would 
apply to the loss of people at the stadium. 
“That song describes all that my mother 
brought to my life and the idea that she lives 
on spiritually,
” says Will, who operates a 
commercial music studio near his home.
As work on the recording formalized, 
Mandell and Will decided to name their 
refreshed duo Good to Mention. They 
arranged for Liverpool professionals — Big 
Country bassist Scott Whitley, Queen bass-
ist Callum Williams and studio guitarist 
Scott Poley — to add layers remotely. 
Mandell’
s wife, Jenna, and his brother 
Steven, a pathologist who appears with 
choral groups, filled in vocals led by the 
duo. Family participation is important to 
Mandell because family introduced musical 
interests. Relatives played piano and had 
favorite albums he regularly heard in their 
homes before he was old enough to attend 
school. 
After being drawn to the coronet, 
Mandell became interested in drums. As 
abilities advanced, he joined with music 
buddies at Southfield High School to form 
a band. They played for many parties, espe-
cially bar mitzvahs because of their ages 
and religious affiliations. Mandell had his 
bar mitzvah at Congregation B’
nai David in 
Southfield.
Mandell, who headed to California 
in 1975 for performance opportunities, 
returned to Michigan in 1994 for work and 
family stability. 

THE ROCK OPERA
Only one song, “You’
ll Never Walk Alone” 
by Rodgers and Hammerstein, is not origi-
nal; but it is included because of its associa-
tion with the Hillsborough Family Support 
Group. Five percent of proceeds from 
first-year album sales separately will benefit 
the support group and the Cystic Fibrosis 
Foundation, which is important to one of 
Mandell’
s four children.
“The opera format is based on one of 
my earliest favorite albums, Tommy by The 
Who,
” says Mandell, who studied music 

at Wayne State University, 
Berklee College of Music in 
Boston and California State 
University-Northridge. 
“Tommy was a big influ-
ence on me. I’
ve seen the 
play and movie, and I tried 
to match that genre as we 
came up with the storyline, 
arrangements and ambience 
so it all gives a sense of being in the midst 
of the tragedy. There’
s not dialogue in every 
case; some segments provide thematic 
material.
”
Songs are divided into four segments: 
“Innocence” leading up to the match; 
“Tragedy” imagining the heartbreak experi-
enced by the victims; “Redemption” explor-
ing grief joined with court action; and 
“Hope” involving the healing process. 
One song that Mandell wrote, “On the 
Edge,
” has special resonance with him 
beyond the rock opera. 
“It’
s the song about the police overseeing 
the game and making the fateful decision to 
open the exit gate where people rushed in 
and crushed fans,
” Mandell explains.
“It reflects each person’
s struggle to do 
and say the right things and then question 
how better choices could have been made. 

I think we all go through times 
when we’
re on the edge between 
right and wrong decisions.
”
Mandell wrote three related 
songs to present different per-
spectives toward the tragedy. “I 
Can Never Go Home” has to do 
with the composite character 
representing the outlook of a 
young person not coming back. 
“You Can Never Go Home” conveys the 
emotions of victims’
 loved ones. “We Must 
All Go Home” addresses everyone’
s eventu-
al demise. 
The first video to accompany the record-
ing, “This Is Christmas,
” was produced 
to provide a sense of restoring outlook 
through the mood of the holiday as under-
stood even by people who do not observe 
it. The video was filmed in Seattle with the 
duo singing as Marshall plays guitar and 
Will plays keyboards. 
Now that Mandell, 66, has taken on one 
rock opera, he has acquired the energy for 
another. Ideas are swirling for a tale about a 
time traveler, and Will has signed on.
“The idea about coming back to where 
we were — even temporarily — cannot 
escape me,” Mandell says. “I’
m finding my 
own route through music.” 

“The idea about coming back to where we were 
— even temporarily — cannot escape me. I’m 
fi
 nding my own route through music.” 

— MARSHALL MANDELL 
 

details
96 can be streamed or 
purchased through the 
many digital music sites, 
such as Amazon and 
Spotify. The first video is 
available on YouTube.

