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Elly Roberts reviews

Barry Manilow: The Greatest Songs Of The Seventies

Distributed by
Arista

September 2007

Rating: 8/10

Never give up a winning formula, so Barry Manilow sticks with it.,

Following a similar path to Rod Stewart’s ‘American Songbook’ series, Manilow tries his hand at well known hits, again. It also includes a few Manilow originals for good measure – Mandy, Copacabana, Could It Be Magic.

Some might say Stewart and Manilow are scraping the barrel. For Rod, it seems like the only way to chart these days. Manilow’s massive fanbase seems to remain intact, so fans will lap this up. He isn’t the greatest of singers, but his material suits his voice, plus the fact he’s written some fantastic songs and plays a mean piano too. It’s very much the case here, voice and arrangements are in perfect unison.

Having tackled the '50s and '60s, the '70s now get the same treatment. This we must remember is the decade he made his name, so it’s a kind of comfort zone. With in excess of 75 million sales behind him, Manilow can afford to take chances still.

Like everything he does, this collection smacks of class. Streisand’s massive hit The Way We Were, is kept in typical cabaret mood. In a similar frame, Frankie Valli’s top 5 hit My Eyes Adored You doesn’t quite have the Valli vocal quality, but he pulls it off. Many have covered James Taylor’s gem You’ve Got A Friend (written by Carole King), so why not Manilow, and to be fair it’s very good because of the duet with Melissa Manchester.

Elton John’s Sorry Seem To Be The Hardest Word hasn’t been messed with perfect Manilow territory. His handling of one of my all time favourites, Bread’s If is well preserved from over cabaretism as is the Fab Four’s Long And Winding Road. Same goes for S&G’s Bridge Over Troubled Water.

His reworking of hits Copacabana, done with an intimate sound, is far removed from the all-singing all-dancing original, though it still retains enough beef. Using ex-Buggles/Yes keyboard and studio wizard Trevor Horn for Could It Be Magic is a masterstroke.

Weblink: manilow.com

The full list of tracks included are :

1. The Way We Were 2. My Eyes Adored You 3. You’ve Got A Friend 4. He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother 4. (They Long To Be) Close To You 5. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word 6. Solitaire 7. If 8. The Long And Winding Road 9. Bridge Over Troubled Water 10. Looks Like We Made It 11. Even Now 12. Somewhere In The Night 13. This One’s For You 14. Mandy 15. Weekend In New England 16. Copacabana (At The Copa) 17. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart 18. Could It Be Magic (Trevor Horn Mix) (bonus track)

Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.

As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.

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