I have to confess that I'm totally unfashionable. I've been a Barry Manilow fan since I was 6 years old and I got a Greatest Hits collection for Christmas!
This newer collection released in March 2004 has pretty similar material to be honest, even though it's twice as long. It's more convenient than my old vinyl though.
Here's the track listing.
1. Mandy 2. Could It Be Magic 3. I Write The Songs 4. Copacabana (At The Copa) 5. Can't Smile Without You 6. Weekend In New England 7. It's A Miracle 8. Trying To Get The Feeling Again 9. I Made It Through The Rain 10. Let's Hang On 11. Somewhere In The Night 12. The Old Songs 13. You're Looking Hot Tonight 14. Even Now 15. Ready To Take A Chance Again 16. Bermuda Triangle 17. Looks Like We Made It 18. Strangers In The Night 19. One Voice 20. Who Needs to Dream
My favourite tracks are "Copacabana", "Mandy" (a cover of a song called "Brandy"), "I Write The Songs" (which was a David Cassidy song), "It's A Miracle", and "Even Now". The cover of 4 Seasons song "Let's Hang On" is fab as well as is "Who Needs To Dream" which is taken from the film and show "Copacabana".
The music is what is sometimes called "middle of the road" and Barry has a reputation of being a crooner etc etc but he's got a good voice and has actually made some classic pop songs over the years. There is a good mix of styles on this album. Even Take That thought "Could It Be Magic" was worth covering, even if they did change some of the words, and the whole arrangement and took out the Chopin tune it was based on...
Barry's cover of the Garth Brooks song "If Tomorrow Never Comes" isn't on this, which is a shame.
This album is £14 in HMV and other high street stores or is available from websites such as CD-Wow and Amazon for around half that price.
The in-lay card is pretty typical really. There's a nice-ish pic of Barry on the cover.
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