Does Barry Manilow even exist? Or was the Manilow concept brewed by aesthetes in the Laboratory of Cool to give record store clerks and music snobs a clear enemy to rail against? Something like Saddam Hussein circa 2002, only instead of WMDs, we're dealing with the globally relevant threat of adult contemporary.
Anyway, if you don't know (and we're sure you do), Barry Manilow is the pope of smooth crooning and big band crescendos. His music is lounge-y but also epic in that ol'-time-showbiz kinda way. As our grandmothers might say, the man is an entertainer!
And yet, the first line of his allmusic.com biography reads: "In terms of both record sales and career longevity, Barry Manilow is one of the most successful adult contemporary singers ever. That success hasn't necessarily translated to respect (or even ironic hipster appreciation) in most quarters."
It's sad ... Dude can't even get an ironic break!
-- Matt Preira
Barry Manilow. Saturday, January 29. BankUnited Center, 1245 Dauer Dr., Coral Gables. The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets cost $7.74 to 127.74 plus fees via ticketmaster.com. Call 305-284-8686 or visit bankunitedcenter.com.
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