Customer Reviews

Songs for the Family of Man: A Collection 1969-1979

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A wonderful collection of Paul's classics! Some of these songs are real treasures and found only on this CD and Windy Side. A must have for ANY Paul Williams fan!

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I bought this CD after looking very hard for the "newly recorded" version of "Waking Up Alone." Most of the time, you find the original piano-based version of this great song. I was looking for the 'updated' single release from the "Classics" LP (1977?). IT'S HERE. The liner notes don't tell you that it is the updated version, BUT IT IS!!!

This CD is released newly, and most hits are covered all.
I am content most of my favorite music to be collected.
Even if anyone listens to songs of Paul in the same way as songs of Carpenters when, I think that they are fresh, and their music is splendid.

I purchased this CD foor my wife and she loves it. She had the original album that finally wore out. It brought back many good memories for her and that is what matters.

I have always liked Paul Williams, even though all my friends and relatives had never heard of him and I had to explain about his writing for the Carpenters and Bugsy Malone. I have most of his LPs and thought I had better start upgrading him to CDs. This CD is terrific and takes me back to when I first started collecting him.

Before the financial responsibilities of a spouse, a mortgage, and two children, I owned a couple of Paul Williams' records. I enjoyed them immensely.

Two years ago I decided I needed to upgrade my PW record collection; nothing fancy, just a good anthology and a cd with Rainbow Connection on it. There were several greatest hits compilations available, but "Evergreens: The Best of the A&M Years" was the only album that Amazon listed as being remastered. Since I was upgrading, I wanted the best sound quality possible. But, seeing the astronomical prices for that album here (and at other websites), I decided to purchase this album instead, along with "Back to Love Again" for Kermit's song.

About a month ago, I noticed a couple of sellers had a new "Evergreens" listed for a little over the original retail price. GREAT! Finally, I could get the superior sound of remastered originals. I made the purchase. Only after I bought "Evergreens" did I learn that Raven, the publisher of this cd, had remastered the original music as well. There was no need for me to buy a second compilation!

For a quick comparison of the albums: both contain An Old Fashioned Love Song, We've Only Just Begun, Let Me Be The One, I Won't Last A Day Without You, Out In The Country, Rainy Days And Mondays, You And Me Against The World, A Little Bit Of Love, Loneliness, If We Could Still Be Friends, The Family Of Man, The Hell Of It, Ordinary Fool, Waking Up Alone, and Evergreen.

"Songs for the Family of Man" added Bitter Honey, Someday Man, Trust, When I Was All Alone, Don't Call It Love, For Goodness Sake, Save Me A Dream, and Here's Another Fine Mess to the shared tunes.

While "Evergreens" chose I Never Had It So Good, Traveling Boy, That's What Friends Are For, What Would They Say, Dream Away, Nice To Be Around, and Time And Tide to round out it's collection.

Although both cds contain Waking Up Alone, the "Evergreens" version has mellow instrumentals in the background; while "Songs for the Family of Man," has hard driving piano and drums dominating the song, and is twenty seconds longer.

The sound quality is wonderful for both retrospectives. However, I think Hip-O Select did a slightly better job of remastering the music. Paul's voice and the instruments have a brighter and cleaner tone on the "Evergreens" cd. However, this difference is only noticeable in a direct comparison.

Which one should you purchase; avoiding my mistake of buying both? There are three things to consider: (1) the price - is one significantly less than the other; (2) the songs - is there a specific song you want; and (3) the sound quality - both are top-notch with a slight edge to "Evergreens." Whichever one you decide to purchase, you really can't go wrong.

No matter which greatest hits album you decide to buy, I would highly recommend you add the "Back To Love Again" cd to your collection. The songs are excellent; and Paul's singing voice has grown richer and more mellow with age.

I purchased this CD for my wife as a birthday gift. She really likes the songs and is trully enjoying the CD in her car. It has brought back a lot of memories and this is a good thing.