Barry Manilow has taken a lot of abuse from critics. It couldn't have been all about his music. He had some really good pop records. I'd take the worst of Manilow over the best of any of the current pop singers. Maybe it was the album cover for his original 1978 Greatest Hits album that caused some of the abuse. That photo was probably the result of someone in the publicity department at Arista Records who had it out for Mr. Manilow. Fortunately, the 2002 Ultimate Manilow has a nice tasteful cover. Now on to 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe:

This album is one of the finest jazz albums from anybody -- period. Barry Manilow displayed tremendous courage in leaving behind his cash cow and doing a bonafide jazz album. Even more courageous was setting some previously unscored lyrics by the late, great Johnny Mercer to music. He was personally entrusted by Mercer's widow with a cache of previously unissued lyrics. His first recorded result of this "collaboration" is the gorgeous "When October Goes". The most amazing aspect is that Mr. Manilow wrote all the songs and got some of the greatest jazz veterans (Shelly Manne, Gerry Mulligan, Mundell Lowe, etc.) to be his band. Another amazing feat is that this album was recorded live. If you like cool jazz, this one's for you. If you don't think you like Barry Manilow, open your mind and listen. This is a classic.

. . .and I'm not saying that "typical" Barry is bad, either. After all, he's still going strong when most of the big acts from the 70s have long since hung it up. But this one is as different from his radio hits as daylight is from nighttime.

When this work was re-released as a CD, Barry wrote on the cover, "of all my albums, this is the one I want to be remembered for." And no wonder--he's in the studio with such jazz legends as Sarah Vaughn and the late Mel Torme--and amazingly, what you're hearing was done all in one take. What you're hearing is the way it was originally played, sung, and recorded. Nothing articificial added. They left well enough alone. Others here have described the music far better than I can, so all I will add is:

You've heard of Christmas albums, right? Well, this is an autumn album for me--best listened to in October, when I'm alone in the house and it's somewhat overcast. There's something about this type of smoky, sulty stuff that just enhances the bittersweet feeling you get when the leaves change color, but you know that it's only going to be this beautiful outside for a few short weeks before turning cold.

2am Paradise Cafe is nothing short of a gem. A hidden gem. True, it takes more than one listen for the album to grow on you, but when it does, you'll be listening to it for years to come.
Inarguably Manilow's finest album to date. No strings (!). No drum machines. No power ballads. No overblown arrangements. Just 48 minutes of irresistibly smoky jazz, which even the most skeptical of listeners will eventually give in to. Manilow's voice is finer than ever - he gracefully glides over each song with sincerity and passion. As far from "Mandy" and "Copacabana" as you could get. Though the listener is taken through stories of broken romance and unrequited love, this album is so devoid of cliche and schmaltz that you have to keep checking the label - Yes, it's THAT Barry Manilow. Even the presence of Sarah Vaughan, Mel Torme and Gary Mulligan never seems to overshadow Manilow, who shines brighter than ever. But what's truly remarkable about Paradise Cafe is the fact that it was recorded live, in one take, making one song just flow seamlessly into the next. Amazing.

Highlights would be ' When October Goes', co written by Johnny Mercer and 'I've never been so low on love', but there's not a single letdown really.

This album is evidence of why Barry Manilow's 25-year career is still alive and well.

Buy it, Buy it, Buy it. NOW.

It's late at night: you're alone with the one you love and you need a special piece of smoky jazz to set the mood--look no further than Barry Manilow's 2AM Paradise Cafe. This unique jazz album stirs up the romance with "When October Goes", which is worth the price just by itself! If you're feeling a little down, this CD "...makes it feel good to feel bad." No matter how you're feeling at night, this is the Barry album I strongly recommend you to buy. There's no remixes or dance mixes here, just Barry on his Yamaha C-5 Piano, a cool alto sax, and Barry's reassuring voice.

I spent the summer in England back in the late '80's. I had 2 tapes that I played continuously on my walkman that summer. Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and Barry Manilow's "Paradise Cafe." It was an extremely cold and rainy summer and the music matched the weather. A previous reviewer said that this was an autumn album and that is so correct. His duet with Mel Torme is absolutely priceless. But then, that pretty much describes this whole album. I'm rating it 5 stars only because that's the highest we can go!!