Barry Manilow - The Greatest Songs of the Seventies

Barry Manilow | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 18, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B000SMYTZ2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,803 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fine CD of songs from the seventies by Barry Manilow, April 22, 2008

By 

Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Barry Manilow - The Greatest Songs of the Seventies (Audio CD)

The Greatest Songs of the Seventies is a solid Barry Manilow album that offers us a chance to hear some of the greatest songs of the 1970s performed by Barry Manilow. The sound quality is excellent and I like the artwork, too. Oh, sure, we're not going to hear ALL the greatest songs of the 1970s; but what we do get is rather good material from a man who can really sing!

Manilow starts the CD off with an elegant rendition of "The Way We Were" from the movie of the same name. Barry plays with the tempo and keys a bit to place his own stamp on this ballad. It's not quite the high level of quality we got from Barbra Streisand; but I still like Barry Manilow's performance here and his excellent diction bolsters his singing, too. "My Eyes Adored You" was always one of my very favorite love songs; and this torch song shines brilliantly when Barry sings it. The musical arrangement is very pretty as well. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" gets the royal treatment from Barry Manilow who uses this chance to showcase more of his vocal range. Great!

"How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?" by The Bee Gees has Barry singing his heart out. This works especially well on this tune. "The Long And Winding Road" by The Beatles stuns me with its beauty; the Fab Four would be very proud of how well Barry Manilow delivers this! The arrangement makes good use of the strings as well.
Listen also for Barry to perform "(They Long To Be) Close To You." "(They Long To Be) Close To You" was a great song for The Carpenters; and Barry does great justice to this timeless love song. Barry sings this without a superfluous note; and I am very impressed.

"Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" by Elton John gets a fine treatment from Barry and this places him squarely front and center--right where he belongs! Barry never misses a beat and I love it!

"Weekend In New England" gives us Barry doing a remake of one of his own songs; the elegant piano arrangement is very pretty but it's also simplistic enough to place the spotlight right on Manilow--and that's excellent. "Even Now" is yet another song that sounds just so good when Barry delivers this with panache. "Even Now" is a very sweet tune that fits in well with the other songs on this album.

"I Write The Songs" ends the album with Barry Manilow performing a redo of another one of his own songs; he sings this with passion, heart and soul. This makes the perfect ending for this solid album of `70s hits.

Yes, we don't get as many hits as people may have wanted on this disc; but it's still very good and I can only take off one star because what we get is fantastic words and music. Barry Manilow fans will want this in their collections; and people who enjoy classic pop vocals from the 1970s will enjoy this album also.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Barry & The 70's, September 23, 2007

By 

Mr.Oldies But Goodies - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barry Manilow - The Greatest Songs of the Seventies (Audio CD)

There are some great songs here, specifically tracks 1-12. Why in the world re-record Mandy and the rest? Barry does seem somewhat uninspired. Barry, your much better than this. There are so many great songs from the 70's that you could have done, even a double cd and not even scratched the surface of the 70's material. The re-records are extremely boring. Five stars for tracks 1-12, one for 13-18. Avg. three. Very disappointing.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Karaoke Mishegas Volume 3, September 19, 2007

By 

A. Russo (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Barry Manilow - The Greatest Songs of the Seventies (Audio CD)

On Barry's third collection of Greatest Songs remakes, this 70's collection has not improved the quality of arrangements nor softened the aging of his voice. He is not known as the greatest singer, though more of an entertainer and former songwriter. There are some redeeming highlights here such as the duet with Melissa Manchester (fellow label mate and 70's Songstress). Together their somber aging voices balance off in song and emotion for Carole King's You've Got A Friend sung by James Taylor back then. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, Bridge Over Troubled Water and The Long And Winding Road are done very Barry like though not consistent throughout. Elton John's Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word is the second best track here. Kept simple and Barry embraces it as his own creation.


There are two different versions of this recording. The simple 18 track including some of Barry's own acoustic versions of his 70's hits. The second is a double sided disc that includes 4 other Manilow 70's tracks including a Trevor Horn dance remix of could It Be Magic which was done in the 1990's. This version may not be played on all CD players and thankfully it says on the back of the CD which prevented me from buying that version. There is a UK version with bonus tracks like Solitaire and a few other differences compared to the US version. There is also a 3 CD QVC out of print version. Still missing in all is the Rosie O'Donnell duet Don't Go Breaking My Heart. Hurray!


Although I wanted to keep this a review of his CD, I can't help but to interject my opinion of the latest drama surrounded the promotion of this CD. Refusing to go on The View because of Elizabeth Hasselbeck is child like and plain stupid. I believe everyone is entitled to their opinions including Hasselbeck. You may not have to agree with everyone. Barry's singling out of Hasselbeck shows hatred, bitterness and non tolerance of others. That would be like Barry being singled out as Jewish and not allowed to participate in specific stadiums. Isn't that why we have war and other huge issues today? Elizabeth's view is in the minority, Barry should have acted more professional and make his appearance on the show.
Entertainers are not politicians and can have their opinions like everyone else. Using this forum is not always professional. Funny how Sally Field got beeped for her comments at the Emmy's, though when Bush and Clinton won the presidency, they never said...oh, by the way... I like that Sally Field movie blah blah blah...go see it!
Can anyone see the mixed messages here?

Looks Like He Didn't Make It

Response:
There is a great difference in every singers voice as they get older. No one's voice sounds the same at 55 as it did when they were 20. I'm sure you misunderstood my point about the CD being that is not one of his more flattering CD's. In fact I'm not too crazy about the whole Greatest Songs CD series. I liked his music that he wrote and sane much better. Anything from the 70's to early 80's, Barry was top notch.

Melissa Manchester, on the other hand has shown growth and perfection if you listen to her latest CD When I Look Down That Road. All songs were written by Miss M and her voice is top notch. It is also different than her belting ballads she is known for.