Barry Manilow's "2:00 A.M. Paradise Cafe"

[ghost of miles]

So I was paging through my Gerry Mulligan bio, and came across the track listing for Barry Manilow's 1984 gonna-go-jazz LP 2 A.M. Paradise Cafe. I remember sneering at this record in the new-release racks when I was a teenager; wasn't a jazz fan at the time, and certainly not a fan of Mr. Weekend-in-New-England, so I thought, "Ah, time for the washed-up pop star to make his career move." Which was probably true, actually... especially in light of Manilow's recent recording activities. But today I looked at the lineup on the album:

Gerry Mulligan-baritone sax

Mundell Lowe-guitar

Bill Mays-piano

George Duvivier-bass

Shelly Manne-drums

And that's apparently it... no strings or backing orchestra. Anybody ever hear it? Any good at all? I know this came out close on the heels of Linda Ronstadt's collaborations with Nelson Riddle. Seems to me like the early 1980s anticipated our contemporary "Rod Stewart sings the standards" times.

[Big Al]

That lineup? No kidding? Cuz I had the same reaction you did all those years ago for the exact same reasons. Now you got ME curious.

[RDK]

We might sneer at their middle-of-the-road sensibilities, but many of these pop singers ain't dummies. They want hear/play with the same cats we do...

[ghost of miles]

That lineup? No kidding? Cuz I had the same reaction you did all those years ago for the exact same reasons. Now you got ME curious.

The curiosity that dare not speak its name!

Gotta admit that if I come across a cheap used copy of this that I'll be very tempted. I'm sure Manilow offered big $$ to get those guys to play with him, but nevertheless... evidently Mel Torme & Sarah Vaughan put in guest spots as well. The songs were previously unrecorded Johnny Mercer lyrics for which Manilow wrote the music--now that dampens my curiosity a bit. And my guess is that the players on the date ended up more confined, sounding more "produced," than they normally would in a true jazz setting.

Nevertheless I'm curious.

[Matthew]

Well, someone had to do it -- AMG review:

Review by Johnny Loftus

In the liner notes to 2:00 AM Paradise Café, Barry Manilow confessed that the record's concept came to him in a dream and that it's the album for which he'd most like to be remembered. That's some top-shelf comment about an album that seems like a pretty calculated move toward long-term success as a vocal talent, like Mel Tormé or Sarah Vaughan, both of whom duet with him on 2:00 AM. That said, the album does lay down a dusty, late-night groove. Vocally, Manilow is able to sell the concept that this is all taking place in the wee hours inside a half-empty basement cabaret. The shuffling percussion of Shelly Manne is spot on, as are the cool tones of baritone sax man Gerry Mulligan -- you can just picture the blinking neon from the hotel across the street reflecting in the gold of his horn. Mundell Lowe's electric guitar adds a burst of attitude to the otherwise straightforward "Big City Blues," and Manilow and Bill Mays' piano playing is solid throughout. There's a bit of a problem though, since most every arrangement sounds essentially the same. After about half the record, it begins to seem like it's all happening in slow motion, or at least someone's just going through them. It's refreshing to hear stripped-down arrangements and Manilow experimenting a bit with his delivery to suggest he's singing after the streets have rolled up. All of this means that, while 2:00 AM Paradise Café is as pleasant as a nightcap, it's not the fine wine Manilow's dreams told him it would be.

[BeBop]

I've got the LP. I listened to it a few times, long ago. Since I've been traveling, I seldom see my LPs. I'll have to dig it...out.

[RDK]

I'm sure Manilow offered big $$ to get those guys to play with him, but nevertheless... evidently Mel Torme & Sarah Vaughan put in guest spots as well.

Don't mean to take things out of context, but why would you think that Manilow had to offer them "big $$" to play with him - the implication being that he had to pay more than their usual rate? I'm sure they were well compensated, but I doubt they were too uptight or snobbish to otherwise accompany a pop singer.

[ghost of miles]

Not implying that they were--just that I wouldn't be surprised if Manilow offered them pretty good pay. They certainly deserved it, if he did so.

Just ran a search on Yahoo Songbirds, and there are a number of posts back in February citing positives for this album. Songbirds in general aren't too disposed towards crossover records like this (at least, in my recent experience of post-reading... perhaps other members here also on that list could disabuse me of that notion), so that moves it a little more into the "will get" category for me.

I'll have to look it up in my Mulligan bio after I'm off-air and see what Klinkowitz has to say about it.

[Chuck Nessa]

Bummer, I thought you meant Allen Lowe.

[Ken Dryden]

Perhaps if Manilow had attempted some standards, maybe things could have loosened up. In any case, it would have been a better outing than the recent, ridiculous Michael Bolton CD Bolton Swings Sinatra, issued by Concord. The late Carl Jefferson is spinning in the ground...

[Chuck Nessa]

Perhaps if Manilow had attempted some standards, maybe things could have loosened up. In any case, it would have been a better outing than the recent, ridiculous Michael Bolton CD Bolton Swings Sinatra, issued by Concord. The late Carl Jefferson is spinning in the ground...

Tell that to Virginia Russell.

[marcoliv]

Ghost, i do have this album from Manilow and i must say that i love it. still haven't got the remastered version but will do that in a near future.

the first 5 songs are very good and his duo with Sarah Vaughan is sweet. paradise cafe is my favorite song of the album.

i don't like many of his songs but i do respect his skills as a musician/lyricist

Marcus Oliveira

[ghost of miles]

Thanks for the input, Marcoliv. The craziest coincidence.. this morning I was scouring our rather haphazardly organized pop/folk vinyl section in search of a selection for a Profiles guest when I stumbled across... the LP of 2 A.M. PARADISE CAFE. Wtf, eh? Probably be a few work days before I can find time to listen to it, but I'm still flabbergasted that I accidentally unearthed a copy in the station's library; it was in no kind of alphabetical order at all, and I wasn't even looking for it.

[ejp626]

Thanks for the input, Marcoliv. The craziest coincidence.. this morning I was scouring our rather haphazardly organized pop/folk vinyl section in search of a selection for a Profiles guest when I stumbled across... the LP of 2 A.M. PARADISE CAFE. Wtf, eh?

It sounds like you've got the makings of your next Night Lights - the cool jazz stylings of Barry Manilow and Rod Stewart. The phone lines will be jumping.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

My wife used to be a big Manilow fan. He was an OK working musician before he became a successful singer. He was music director for a TV talent show for a few years; then Bette Midler's MD. If you listen to her second LP, which he produced, there are some fairly adventurous (for pop music) ideas in there - powerful arrangement to "I shall be released", a brill version of "Skylark" accompanied only by Manilow's piano.

Manilow was heavily into jazz as a young man; West Coast mainly; apparently Cal Tjader was his idol.

MG

[JSngry]

Manilow was heavily into jazz as a young man; West Coast mainly; apparently Cal Tjader was his idol.

Manilow had a profile in Down Beat just before his first Bell (soon to be Arista) album came out.

As for the album in question, I've not at all been put off by the few songs off it that I've heard over the years, even if they do fall into that weird sub-genre of pop that seeks to make explicit in its original songs what Sinatra made implicit in his readings of standards.