Barry's Beautiful Musik!
Kathy W | Baltimore | 06/24/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I do NOT have this digitally remastered version, but I DO have the 2 albums it is comprised of, and they are DROP DEAD GORGEOUS! I am playing "Summer of '78" as we speak, melting all over the keyboard from this incredibly romantic music, sooooo, I'll start with:
SUMMER OF '78
Well, this recent aquisition is my 41st Manilow CD (a hair less if you count them by actual albums, since some albums have more than one CD). This is a 12-track collection of absolutely beautiful songs that Barry is not famous for. God, I LOVE his music!
This CD is all beautiful songs. They just make you wanna melt! They are songs from the '70s that Barry did an album of in 1996. Why "The Summer of '78"? I donno--must have been a special time for Mr. B. I think everybody remembers "Reminiscing," "Sometimes When We Touch," "Never My Love," "I Go Crazy," and "Just Remember I Love You". "I Go Crazy" and "Sometimes When We Touch" are just so very beautifully crafted by Barry. I guess they are my favorites on this CD, but I love them all.
"I'd Really Love To See You Tonight" is done differently than I'm used to. I have several club mix versions of this song, and as much as I love them, I love this version without the pizzaz too. Oh, you'll recognize "The Air That I Breathe" too. I recognize "Interlude: Love's Theme" from some TV show of the '70s but cannot remember which one. You know, dah, dah dah...dah, dah dah. Anyway, you'll recognize it when you hear it. Other songs include "Summer of '78" and "When I Need You," "Bluer Than Blue," and "We've Got Tonight".
Geeze. This is just one beautifully romantic drop-dead gorgeous album. Sorry it took me 11 years to discover it. Don't let it happen to you. Let the Manilonian in you come out and feel the love in this album. It's incredible! Took me just about 2 or 3 plays for this to become by favorite Manilow album. It moved the blue background "Barry Manilow" album you see in my reviews to my second favorite. I cannot stop playing "Summer of '78" -- NOR DO I WANT TO!!!
IF I SHOULD LOVE AGAIN
Beautiful album! Great songs! 11 in all, at a total time a hair over 40 minutes. Some songs I had not heard before. Some I've only heard a few times.
"The Old Songs" and "Somewhere Down the Road" are Manilownian staples and beautiful songs. "Let's Hang On" is one of my favorites. It rocks and I'm really glad Barry recorded it. "If I Should Love Again" is another absolutely BEAUTIFUL song and appears on many Barry CDs. The piano bridge on this song is just awesome, in my opinion, and is crescendos so beautifully. These songs are all great; they are all the standard Manilow arrangements.
The less-frequently heard songs follow. "Don't Fall in Love With Me" has a nice little easy-listening cha-cha beat. (Don't fall in love with me. I'll only break your heart. For us, forever is just tomorrow. . .) "Break Down the Door" rocks. It has a nice driving beat. "No Other Love" has a very pretty melody with lots of feeling in the words (There was no other love but you--where did our love go--type song).
"Fools Get Lucky" is a slow song. (In other words, I am a fool, but got lucky anyway because I found you). "I Haven't Changed the Room" is also a pretty slow song. "Let's Take All Night (to say Goodbye)"--That says it all, a slow song--Let's take all night to say goodbye, `cause goodbye is hard to say. (H-m-m-m-m. After you spend all night saying goodbye, maybe you won't need to say goodbye, or want to. Heck, no. I'm stayin' now--But what do I know?). Pretty song, anyway. "You're Runnin" Too Hard" kind of a "bop" (You're partying too hard--slow down before you crash)
Great albums, especially if you want some of these less-heard songs. On a scale of 1 - 5, I would certainly give them at least a 5 or better, matter of fact, I'd probably give "Summer of `78" a 25! This collection is worth every penny.
"
Track Listings (22) - Disc #1