An artist like just a few! - Barry Manilow has been a true driving force that brought back the romantic ballad to unexpected heights. As a matter of fact, when female singers like Dionne Warwick, Mary Hopkins, Branda Lee, Roberta Flack and Dusty Springfield, male vocalists like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Andy Williams, Engelbert Humperdinck, Tom Jones, Bobby Vinton, Neil Diamond, Steve Wonder, Glen Campbell, Bobby Goldsboro, Frankie Vali, Billy Joel, Kenny Rogers and Oliver, unforgettable ensembles like Gary Puckett & The Union Cap, Peter Paul and Mary, Fleetwood Mac, Bread and duos like Simon & Garefunkel and The Carpenters gave the romantic genre a distinguished originality and superb expressive presence, Manillow added and depicted a marvellous musical landscapes thanks to his impressive arrangements, just at the historical moment when most of discotheques by then began to diffuse the Disco music genre (1975), he dared, faced and triumphed against all the odds. Fortunately for all of us who lived our youth in the far seventies, became aware his distinguished refinement and lyrical commitment. Indeed, he is part of the legend.
solid compilation--even if it s not truly complete... - The Essential Barry Manilow is a strong two CD set that features (most of) the best of Barry Manilow. It can t truly be complete because Barry Manilow has done so many wonderful songs in his time that no two CD set could ever be complete, but this still holds its weight pretty well. The sound quality is excellent and the artwork is about par for this CD series. The first CD starts with a huge hit for Barry entitled Mandy, this torch song moves me whenever I hear Barry sing it. Barry puts a lot of feeling into this ballad and it works very well. It s A Miracle is a relentlessly happy, upbeat tune that celebrates the joys of love, Barry sings this perfectly with a backup chorus as the percussion marks the beat--great! Listen also for Bandstand Boogie, Bandstand Boogie is a loving tribute to the days of the big band style arrangements and the bandstand hits.Tryin To Get The Feeling Again is a most tender love song that Barry makes so special with a fine treatment that impresses me greatly, and Weekend In New England is easily a major highlight of this first CD. Barry sings this with panache and his voice never sounded better! Can t Smile Without You may have its critics in the therapist community, but when I hear this I can only hear and see a loving song that again celebrates the joys of love and the admission that we all need someone to love. Can t Smile Without You is one of my very favorite Barry Manilow hits ever.Copacabana really swings and sounds great although this actually was never one of my personal favorites, and then the second CD continues the hits. Somewhere In The Night gives us Barry singing a touching love song that always moves me when I hear it--it s flawless. I Don t Want To Walk Without You is yet another classic Barry Manilow tune that shines as Barry sings it as only he could! The melody is really very pretty and it works so well to make I Don t Want To Walk Without You a very special number. Similarly, I Made It Through The Rain is truly a masterpiece that Barry delivers as only he could, this song touches me and it proves very well just how well Barry can sing.In addition, Brooklyn Blues, a number that s somewhat more modern in its style, gets a fine interpretation by Barry and this sounds so smooth when Barry Manilow sings it. The second CD also ends nicely with Barry s up-tempo mix of I d Really Like To See You Tonight. Barry Manilow remains a king in the music entertainment industry, and even though this CD set is not truly all his greatest I still recommend this. I think it would take at least another CD or maybe even two to capture all of Barry s best hits, but what we do get is five star material throughout--and that s wonderful.
MUSICWOMAN - What can I say ... !?! It s 100% Barry, all my favourites & the best on two discs. It was great !!! At the sound of the first note I was suddenly 15-16 again ... and the magic works each time I pop it in the player. The recordings are straight from the original albums so it s all just as I remembered it. A must have just for Barry s composing talent alone.
Make me want to vomit Barry! - Today I was listening to Hannah Montana s CD and I thought boy does Barry Mannilow sucks!! all I can say hearing Barry sing really makes you appreciate great singers! like Hannah Montana! when he plays the piano it sounds to me like all of his fingers are missing they should change the letters in piano to paino because this CD gave me a lot of pain.
Barry s still Tha Bomb - I grew up listening to Barry Manilow, and his songs always bring back fond memories. If you are a Barry fan, this product is truly essential. If you are just getting to know Barry, this is the only disc set you ll need to become a fan forever.