Barry Manilow. Either you love him or you feel sorry for him. Barry shot to fame in disco '70s and was constant radio staple all through the 70's and the '80s before seeing his songwriting star fade. He still remains a decent vocalist and puts on a great live show but is no longer a songwriter of any great value..his career in the 90's and on has really been nothing but rehashes of his earlier hits. And thats a shame because Barry could certainly write a great pop song.
On this DVD box set,you get 5 great Manilow specials that he did for ABC and CBS. How hot was Barry back then? He did a special a year between 1977-80,that was huge back then. No other performer with Barry's singing skills could match up. The ratings proved it,Barry specials were HUGE hits with more people watching them then any TV show currently on TV today! He won many awards for the shows as well...so,are they that good?
Depends...its hard for me to judge because they are dated,face it,most musical,variety specials and series are dated pretty badly due to language,musical styles and clothes.
But as far as Barry went,he kicks ass...his voice was never stronger and his ability to connect with his fans was amazing. This set is worth getting just for that. The other parts of the specials,the sketches and some pairings with other singers sometimes didn't work out to well. The late special was in 1988 and while Barry was still cool,you could start his star shift a little,the show seemed forced and canned laughter is never a good thing on any level...
But all in all...I actually enjoyed my trip down memory lane with Barry. This set really will let a younger generation see just how cool Barry really is without yelling "Copabana" everytime you see him today.
