Isn’t it peculiar that a lot of your formerly thought of naff acts (ABBA, Phil Collins, Cher, ELO…just off the top of my head) have all enjoyed a bit of a critical reappraisal in recent years, but Barry’s barely had the slightest bit of praise? I found the greatest hits on vinyl in a charity shop recently and the man can really write a song. Copacabana is a disco stomper up there with the best, “you kissed me and stopped me from shaking” is a huge novel of a lyric in Mandy and Looks Like We Made It is great. I am relatively young, so can people tell me what is reputation was like in the 70s/80s? I also like that his husband is called Garry.
i would say there was some collateral reappraisal with the soft rock reunion of 2019
I do remember hearing Copacabana somewhere relatively recently and how its a lot odder/darker than I remembered
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Whaddya say Rick Rubin? How about giving Barry the old American Recordings treatment?
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gave barry manilow a wee spin last week.
A legends slot at Glastonbury would do him right. He still sells out arenas here but I think the general public just need a nudge to remember how many amazing songs he’s written.
good shout
Mandy is a tune
was gonna talk about a banger of his but realised it was neil diamond
This is his issue. For everyone of his big songs you can probably point to something one of his contemporaries did which is better, or at least more popular. Copacabana is the exception but is generally treated as a novelty song.
My mum and aunt are huge fans, and have probably been to over 100 concerts now, including doing the VIP meet thing in Vegas last year. As a result there are so many of his songs that are burned in my mind, but with the possible exception of Could it be Magic, they’re all various flavours of meh.
Copacabana is the second jauntiest song ever written about a horrific murder.
What would you say first is?
Ernie The Fastest Milkman In The West
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