The Greatest Songs of the Fifties [Dual Disc]

Barry Manilow | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 31, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 1953
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Dual Disc
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B000CNDIZY
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (98 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,100 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Moments To Remember

2. It’s All In The Game

3. Unchained Melody

4. Venus

5. It’s Not For Me To Say

6. Love Is A Many Splendored Thing

7. Rags To Riches

8. Sincerely/Teach Me Tonight (Duet with Phyllis McGuire)

9. Are You Lonesome Tonight?

10. Young At Heart

11. All I Have To Do Is Dream

12. What A Diff’rence A Day Made

13. Beyond The Sea

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Clive Davis's ear earns him more accolades than most of his talents' vocal chords. Now it's time to give it up for his enterprising instincts. The Greatest Songs of the Fifties arrives on the heels of another of the famous producer's backward-looking projects, the ubiquitous, uber-successful Great American Songbook series by Rod Stewart. The short story: same vibe, different era. With songs like "All I Have to Do Is Dream," "Venus," and "Unchained Melody" (first recorded in the '50s but best known for its '60s Righteous Brothers rendition), Manilow sidesteps the stuff that rocked the sock hops in favor of cheek-to-cheek selections--the better to remind longtime fans of his nostalgia-steeped '70s hits. Overall, the approach works, especially when the bona fide '50s legend Phyllis McGuire steps in to heat up the "Teach Me Tonight/Sincerely" medley, and Manilow swings across genres to lovingly tackle Dinah Washington's "What a Diff'rence a Day Made." Vocally, a warm haze covers these tracks; whether it's there to evoke fuzzier times or to mask a voice that's gone slightly south is unclear. What couldn't be more crystal, though, is Manilow and Davis's commitment to first-class, sophisticated record-making. --Tammy La Gorce

Product Description

European edition of the chart topping album on DualDisc by the best selling crooner includes 2 tracks not found on the US equivalent: both are re-recordings of his own "I Made It Through The Rain" and "The Best Seats In The House". --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loving the 50's in 2006, February 7, 2006

By 

Robert Welborn (Illinois/Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Greatest Songs of the Fifties (Audio CD)

I have always loved Barry manilow as long as I can remember. With this new CD, he has recorded some oldies that I remember my mom listening to, and they are better now than they were back then! Barry is the consumate professional and anyone who listens to this CD will love it!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Barry Avalonio, July 30, 2006

By 

Kathy W (Baltimore, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Greatest Songs of the Fifties (Audio CD)

I LOVE every song I've heard Barry perform and have never been disappointed. This album is no exception. He does an outstanding job with some great songs that bring back many memories of the '50s. There are 13 tracks of romantic "(mainly) slow" songs--great mood-music for having dinner, or dancing, with someone special.

I remember listening to "Moments to Remember, All in the Game, Unchained Melody" and many of the others. (I was just a wee bit young to dance to them when they first came out.) But these and the others on this CD are songs that have endured, well, about 50 years! They were played over and over again by musical groups at all the dances and many are still played today.

"Venus" is one of my all-time favorites and just makes you want to go ah-h-h-h. I think many of us remember Frankie Avalon doing this one. Barry does it very well. As a matter of fact, he includes it in his Vegas show and they announce him as Barry Avalonio. "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" tuggs at your heart strings, reminding us of the Burt Lancaster movie. Beyond the Sea is done as a ballad rather than the Bobby Darin version, and is quite pretty.

So many others from the GREAT 50s included! The entire album is done beautifully. Most of the songs parody the originals pretty closely, at least as I remember them. "Chances Are" sounds pretty much like Johnny Mathis to me. There's also Johnny T.'s "All I have to do is Dream"--love that song. There's also a duet between Barry and Phyllis McGuire (McGuire Sisters) "Sincerely/Teach Me Tonight" (a combination of the 2 tunes. An excellent collection of 50s music, Barry's style transcends time and is such truly beautiful music. I wish more people enjoyed the peace and love that his music provides. I sure hope to see a 2nd 50s album. There's a lotta songs out there Barry hasn't done--YET!

You can purchase this 50s CD as either CD only or as "Dual Disc". The difference is that the Dual Disc is a CD on one side and a DVD on the other side. The DVD side includes the entire album in enhanced stereo (a deep rich base sound) and a "Greatest Songs of the Fifties" in video. The video is about 15 minutes of behind-the-scenes making of this album, with commentaries by Barry and by Clive Davis. The commentary shows studio shots of how Barry worked with others, arranging the songs and working with background singers.

Of course, you need a DVD to play the DVD side of the dual disc. If you put it in on the wrong side, it won't play, so you just flip it. Nothing to fear, not even for the tekkie impaired, like me.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Barry Manilow At His Very Best, February 1, 2006

By 

Joseph Papalia (Rockville Centre, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Greatest Songs of the Fifties (Audio CD)

A wonderfully done album that takes you back to those days of when you were dancing ever so closely with the girl of your dreams. What great nostalgia Barry Manilow creates with his smooth style and flawless renditions of these 50's classics. His voice is one of the very few in the music business today that lends itself to this unique music.