Search - Barry Manilow :: The Greatest Songs of the Seventies (deluxe edition)

Barry's Best - With Heart, Soul, and Wonderful Arrangements

Matthew J. Gallagher | Wilton, Connecticut United States | 09/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Barry Manilow's music dominated the '70's, for better or worse, in some estimations. But those great songs, "Mandy," "Weekend in New England," "I Write the Songs," have had over 30 years of staying power. The reason? Manilow is a terrific artist, arranger, and underrated singer. This terrific collection of '70's gems is a MUST for fans - and if we were living in a nicer, saner, more graceful American culture, several of these tunes would be top hits, as Manilow's own songs were back in the day. Is it heresy to suggest that his opening track, "The Way We Were," may be as good as Streisand's? I think it is, with a pitch perfect arrangement (one of the hallmarks of this collection). "Sailing," "He Ain't Heavy," "It Never Rains in California," are all homeruns. In fact, there's really not one weak link in the entire collection - the vocals are strong, the passion is there, and the meticulous care given to each tune rewards listeners with each playing. The great bonus to this collection are the "unplugged" versions of some of Barry's old songs. I think they're terrific. His vocals now are, if anything, stronger - and the pleasure of hearing these wonderful tunes stripped down to their essential beauty makes for great listening. I don't think there is any real mystery to Barry Manilow's continuing popularity: he helped write, produce, arrange, and sing a long series of great songs that were strong on both lyric and melody. He sings them in concerts with conviction - and you can't fake what this man does. He cares about music. And it's evident here in these loving covers of some of the best songs of an era when songs were better crafted (and sung). I would also recommend a '70's collection from 10 years ago: "Summer of '78", with some other great tunes from that era, including, "We've Got Tonite," and "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight," among other gems. But THIS collection is the one to start with: the best of the best for Barry. And here's hoping that if one of these tunes does not become a deserved hit - he goes back to the days of "Mandy" and produces another collection of great love songs that will remind people of how gifted he really is. He's as great as his fans think - and better than his critics will admit."

It Never Rains, When You Listen To Barry

Kathy W | Baltimore | 09/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first listened to a few songs from this album on TV. "It Never Rains in Southern California" blew me right off the planet! When I came to, I was orbiting Saturn's rings, clapping and doing the Happy Dance. Then I promptly returned to Earth to catch the rest of the show. God! That song is awesome. I liked it before, but I LOVE IT now that I heard Barry do it!!! I also heard the acoustic version of "Copacabana." When I first saw that an acoustic version of Copa was going to be done, I thought "yeah--right." I mean, "Copa" - without the vibrant background music? Well, shows ya what I know! I was pleasantly surprised by a really cool version of Copa with a kind of Mexican coffee house sound--with the bongos and mainly just Barry singing. I should have known better. Everything he does is fantastic. That day, Barry sold about 43,000 CDs in an hour and a half. He was promoting this album, singing some of the selections and chatting in between with the hostess. I had this album ordered, but was almost unhappy that I was in San Diego when it came in the mail. I had to wait almost a week to get my sticky little hands on it.



This is a 2-CD set. There are 18 tracks on CD 1, totaling almost 1 hour + 4 minutes for the entire CD. I am soooo very happy to see a longer CD. The 10-12 track CDs are adequate, but I like mine to run longer.

Disc 1 Songs are:

"The Way We Were" (1974) -Drop-dead gorgeous! I love it! Especially the way it starts out with these long, sustained notes. Kind of like you're in a long tunnel--hard to explain. Then it just gets prettier and prettier. It has so much feeling in it.

"My Eyes Adored You" (1975) -Ohhhh! Franki Valli music! I always loved this song and Barry does such a beautiful job with it.

"Bridge Over Troubled Water" (1970) -The first couple of times I listened to this song, I thought about how pretty it sounded. As in all his songs, Barry's enunciation is so clear and has so much feeling in it. Then, I thought about the words in a spiritual context and it really blew me away! I think I darn near imploded myself. I was driving when I felt that single tear just sliding down my face, and I said, "Oh no! Not my makeup!" So I stopped that real quick before I looked like a panda bear.

"It Never Rains In Southern California" (1972)--AWESOME! As explained above. So hot! So peppy! Such a feel-good song! I could listen to it a hundred times. Funny thing. I kept hearing this song in my head the whole 9 days I was in San Diego recently. It rained all around me, but never rained ON me while I was there.

"You've Got A Friend" (duet with Melissa Manchester) (1971) Very pretty--lots of feeling in it.

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (1970) - So much feeling, this song reminds us that we should all look after each other. Just a beautiful concept to remember. Barry does a lot of charitable things and helps a lot of people. He is a very kind person and him singing this song is certainly appropriate.

Sailing (1979) -very nice and pretty and has an airy feeling about it.

(They Long To Be) Close To You (1970)--Who can forget this song. When I played with the band, this song HAD to be played at just about every wedding for years!

Copacabana (At The Copa) (1978) (Acoustic) - I love this version. This is a meringue (not to be confused with the stuff on top of a pie), with primarily guitar and bongos. It is really refreshing. Makes you feel like you're in a Mexican or Spanish Cafe or Coffee House. Such a great alternate version of Copa.



Other nicely done Disc 1 songs are: "The Long And Winding Road" (1970),

"How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?" (1971), "If" (1971), "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" (1976), "Mandy" (1974) (Acoustic), "Weekend In New England" (1977) (Acoustic), "Even Now" (1978) (Acoustic), "Looks Like We Made It" (1977) (Acoustic), "I Write The Songs" (1975) (Acoustic). All very pretty.



Disc 2 has 4 additional tracks, totaling a wee bit under 16 minutes:

Somewhere In The Night (1978-1979) (Acoustic)

Can't Smile Without You (1978) (Acoustic)

This One's For You (1976) (Acoustic)

Could It Be Magic (1975) (Trevor Horn Dance Mix)

Great versions of more Barry Oldies, "acoustic" meaning more simplistic and without the big orchestra--homier--like being played at a party. This mix version of "Magic" is excellent and is on an out-of-production Manilow mix CD I have. I'm glad to see it repeated because it's too good to sit in the archives and gather dust. "Somewhere In The Night" has always been one of my absolute favorites. It is a very subtle sexy song. (. . .Somewhere in the night we will know, everything lovers should know. . .)

Disc 2 is Dual Disc and I love it when they do these (CD Songs on 1 side and a DVD video on side 2 about the making of the album. The DVD side also has more acoustic Manilow in enhanced stereo.)



The beauty and passion in these songs is fantastic. I love every one of them. In my opinion, the Barritized versions of these songs are either as good as the originals or better! How truly gifted he is. This collection has a lot of bang for your buck. The difference between the regular version of this album and the Deluxe edition, is the 2nd CD. If you want the 2nd CD, then you need to get the Deluxe edition. I also read that the Deluxe is a limited edition, so don't wait too long or you will be S.O.L.



I most definitely recommend this CD set. I was hoping that "Feelings" would be on it, too, but that's OK. I'll get by, somehow. Betcha Barry would do an awesome version of it though. On a scale of 1 to 5, I am mighty pleased to give this collection a 15. The ManilowMaster has done it again! Whaddah guy, whaddah showman!



To the guys who are reading: Barry SINGS a lot of the words that many of you cannot figure out how to say to your girl. Think about giving her a Barry CD to tell her how you feel. Tell her what song is special for the two of you. Tell her the words in that song are the ones you want to say to her. She will love it.

"

Barry finally got it right! This is the best of the three.

Barbara L. Paucke | 10/17/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is Barry's era so he got it right this time. Easy to listen to and to sing along with."