A friend of mine, who I just recently turned on to the pleasures of the LP (he's hooked for sure now), picked up a copy of 2 A.M. Paradise Cafe at the Goodwill store. He might have paid a buck for it.

As we sat down to listen to it last night I was more than a little shocked to be likin' it...and likin' it quite a bit.

Back in 1984, Manilow made big turn toward jazz. This particular release had a lot of jazz heavy hitters on it including Sarah Vaughn, Mel Torme and Shelley Manne. What's even more interesting is that he took some unreleased Johnny Mercer lyrics and set them to music.

I was never a fan of Manilow back in his heydey. Even if the songs were catchy, there was just something about his voice that was tough to take. It was as though, even when singing a complex melody, he managed to make it be monotone. I don't perceive much of that on this album. Maybe that's because there aren't so many swelling, anthemic choruses here. Thing are more understated.

Phew! I am in shock. First the Red Sox make it into the post season...then I like a Manilow record. What the heck is next?!

(First posted on Mark Is Cranky)