Customer Reviews

Even Now

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As Manilow's music goes, his fifth studio release, "Even Now" tops them all. I grew up on Manilow. Both of my parents were fans, so between Dad, Mom and myself, we owned his entire collection up through 1983. I also was a pianist taking lessons from the Eastern WA University professor. Instead of practicing as I should have, I spent many a weekend working out Manilow's tunes - some at Dad's request, some of my own choosing.

Having said this, I became well acquainted with his albums and after 20+ years, "Even Now" is still as fresh as it was when I first heard it in high school. It released four hits ("Copacabana" #8, "Even Now" #19, "Somewhere In The Night" #9, and "Can't Smile Without You" #3) and won a Grammy for "Copa." Each song is a work of craftsmanship, with memorable melodies and phenemonal orchestration. Manilow's vocals are strong and display his wide range. There is much variety on this album, from disco to his typical power ballads to just he and the piano.

Aside from the hits, a few of my favorites are "Sunrise," "Where Do I Go From Here," "I Just Want To Be The One In Your Life," and "Starting Again." The music is Manilow at his best and where I believe at the height of his creative process. The remaster includes one extra track, "No Love For Jenny," which is another fine ballad.

Manilow has gotten a lot of bad press over the years from his overly-sentimental (sappy) love songs. If one listens to this album in its entirety, one will discover that this is just not the case. To really understand his style, this album is a good starting point. Listen to it and you'll discover a wealth of top-quality music.

This was always my all-time favorite number one album of all of Barry's CD's. (That is until Here At The Mayflower!)

This album has many of the tunes you'll know including the Grammy award winning Copacabana, Can't Smile Without You (A crownd pleaser!) and Where Do I Go From Here?

My favorites on this album will always be Somewhere Down The Road and the title track Even Now. The arrangments of the strings and woodwinds on this album are the best I have ever heard.

The songs speak of Love, Hurt and Hope. Technically I think this and Mayflower are the best engineering for sound and mixing.

This is a must for every Manilow collection!

"Even Now" spun off four of Barry's best singles in 1978: "Can't Smile Without You", the title track, "Copacabana", and "Somewhere In The Night." "Copa" is the best disco song ever by a non-disco act. (This is high praise in my book. Everybody tried to get a disco hit in the late '70's and the failures make a fantastic tape.) It still sounds great today, and how can anyone get tired of that intense storyline? I've heard "Can't Smile" and "Somewhere In The Night" on other artist's records; the arrangements here run rings around them all. Proof of BM's skills as an arranger. The moody title track is also a highlight.

Most of the remaining tracks are worth the purchase. "Leavin' In The Morning" is catchy bubblegum-rock with coproducer Ron Dante's fingerprints all over it. "I Was A Fool (To Let You Go)" is an early example of the jazzy pop Barry eventually came to favor during much of the '90's. There used to be some intrigue as to whether "A Linda Song" was about our hero's real-life girlfriend Linda Allen. Or maybe not. And there are echoes of the Stylistics in the arrangement for "I Just Want To Be The One In Your Life," a pretty love song. On the down side, Barry's New Yawk accent is a bit too noticeable on a couple of songs; his phrasing definitely improved over time. The bonus track "No Love For Jenny" is average, but better by far than the album's worst song, "Losing Touch." Overall, one of Barry Manilow's best albums ever, and worth getting if you have any interest in him at all.

I am glad that I can find this CD from internet. I love every songs in this CD. The song Even Now is classic for Barry. Copacabanna really makes fun. This CD brings me a lot of memories.

This is not my favorite Barry CD. (I have a respectable collection.) This is a good CD, with 14 tracks, many I've never heard before. It has been digitally remastered from the original 1978 release. Song quality is great. Total album time is a wee bit over 48 minutes. There is a booklet included, with the words of most of the songs, so you can sing along if you want to.

There are classic versions of the Barry classics: "Copacabana" runs a tad shy of 6 minutes. The subtle-sexy "Somewhere in the Night" is included "..lovin' so warm, movin' so right, closin' our eyes, and feelin' the light.." (I LOVE that song). "Even Now" and "Can't Smile Without You" are also included in their familiar versions.

"A Linda Song" and "No Love for Jenny" are not included on many albums, but are included here. They are good songs, just sad songs. I do like the beat in "Leavin' in the Mornin'" even though that's a bit sad too. "I Was a Fool to Let You Go" is kind of almost a blues. I like "I Just Want to be the One in Your Life" a lot. The others are all good songs: "Sunrise; I'm Comin' Home Again; Where Do I Go From Here; and Losing Touch."

I love everything Barry does. With that said, the album is mainly "slow songs" and some of it is a bit sad for my taste. Not to say there is anything wrong with that. Some people need to sort of vent their own experiences through sad songs, so they can release the grief or sadness they are holding within themselves. Sad songs have a definitive purpose. You NEVER want to hold on to grief, anger, sadness, etc. They will make you ill.

With that said, for me, I prefer more upbeat songs overall, but this is still a great album.

Even now is a heavy ballad. Can't smile is peppy - a good sing a long for the kids. Copa is fun and catchy. The other cuts are mellow, good-for-driving songs. Over-all this is a nostalgic trip back to the seventies, and who better to take you there than Mr. Barry "70's Pop King" Manilow himself.

The variety in this album has never been paralleled. From the kitschy "Copa" to the incredibly stirring "Somewhere in the Night", this album touches every type of music that only Barry can perform. My all-time personal favorite, that alas, I have never had the pleasure of hearing him sing in concert, is "I Just Want To Be the One In Your Life." This album is a classic that every Manilow fan must own.

This, and possibly "One Voice" are Barry's pinnacle of achievement in the 1970s. Really a masterwork; his ability to go from Latin-flavored light sounds in "Copa" and "Sunrise" to intense emotions of "Even Now" and "Starting Again" are remarkable. This is the work that Barry is well-known for and work that he is starting to return to in the 1990s. Congratulations, Barry. And keep making this type of music!

This is the original LP and mixes but with one notable exception. Some complete lame brain at Arista has replaced Ron Dante's superb original mix of Copacabana with a dreadful extended disco remix. No more do we have the expansive euphoric cinematic soundscape, but a bass drum heavy mix with all the chordal harmony ruined, god awful string section eq, poor balance and uneven use of reverb. If it had to be included why not just as an extra, so we can skip it? Do yourself a favour, avoid this travesty and transfer your old vinyl to CD. Why do record companies do this to us? What a letdown.

When my Mom bought this album brand new back in 1978, it was played all the time in our house. I would forget the mellodies of Barry Manillow over time as I got to know other great artists. It is sad that he is so dated as only a hero of the New York City sound of the 1970s, and now an old crooner who no longer is on the Bilboard charts.
The songs are beautiful and magical especially Somewhere in the Night and Even Now as well as Starting Again plus Sunrise and Where Do I Go From Here as well as Losing Touch. I love the extended version of Copacabana {At The Copa} which is better than the original version. Yes I know that the original was special for so many, but this version I never heard, and it is GREAT. The haunting Linda Song is so typical the fractured fairy tale of a songwriter and the woman who he ignores, for so many artists struggle and starve, with love being lost on the way. I was a fool to let you go is a great tribute to the Jazz of Big Band. So classic New York City Piano Bar! I Cant Smile Without You is another great song about lost love and the same with the beautifully Rock driven Leaving in the Morning.
The album cover is so romantic and special for I love New York City so much and it gives a true romantic feel and capture of that skyline at sunset or sunrise and at dusk as well as nightime.
God bless you Barry as a true symbol of a time long gone when songwriters who knew what they were doing dominated the charts.