You know it’s true. You love Barry. I love Barry. Everybody loves Barry. Sure, hipsters roll their eyes at the dramatics of “I Made It Through the Rain,” the bouncy bop of “Daybreak” and that tragic Brazilian love triangle of Lola, Rico and Tony in “Copacabana.” But legions will be throatily singing along to his sizable songbook of deeply ingrained tunes that transcend their kitschiness. Riding a resurgence with the surprising success of Ultimate Manilow, he is — with Neil Diamond — one of the last great true pop showmen, selling lyrics and working audiences like the vaudeville entertainers of another era. It will feel like the first time he’s ever sung “Mandy.”
This article appears in Jul 4-10, 2002.
