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.