Ultimate Manilow

If you're a casual or even a huge Manilow fan, it's hard to not to enjoy the songs here. Whether you prefer "Mandy", "I Write The Songs" or "Can't Smile Without You", the latter my personal favorite, it's unlikely that you won't find your favorite Manilow song here. Also included is a fare amount of lesser - known numbers like "Daybreak", "This One's For You" and the haunting "When October Goes". And while some people think that he peaked with the "Even Now" album and its four hit singles, his post - 1978 is among his best work; "Ships", "I Made It Through The Rain", "The Old Songs" (another personal favorite), "Somewhere Down The Road", and the haunting "When October Goes" are just as good as "Mandy", "I Write The Songs" or "Copacabana".

If there's one criticism I could make about his songs, it's this. Manilow's music has often been criticized for being overblown. I find this partly true. Some of his songs - namely "Ready To Take A Chance Again" (though this one is one of my favorites) and "Looks Like We Made It" - are great song but suffer from heavy orchestration instead letting them stay simple, piano - driven ballads. But most of Barry's hits rely on his powerful voice and simple arrangements. He also didn;t rely on entirely ballds. For instance, at first "Can't Smile Without You" may seem like a traditional Manilow ballad at first, but when listens to the whimsical whistling intro and the chugging melody, the song goes from a ballad to a delightfully melancholy romp. And when he's at his best, he can deter the listener from the hefty arrangement with his powerful vocal presence. This goes especially for "I Made It Through The Rain", "Ships" and "Somewhere In The Night". As with all greatest hits collections, there is an abundance of singles missing. Most of them are minor hits, but it would have been nice to have seen them included. They are:

"When I Wanted You" (number 20 in 1979, but number one Adult Contemporary)
"I Don't Want To Walk Without You" (number 36)
"Lonely Together" (number 45)
"Let's Hang On" (cover of the 4 Seasons hit) (number 32)
"Oh Julie" (number 38)
"Memory" (number 39)
"Some Kind Of Friend" (number 26)
"Read 'Em And Weep" (number 18 and number one for eight weeks on the Adult Contemporary charts)
"I'm Your Man" (number 86)
"Hey Mambo" (number 95)

So, as you can see, this could've have easily been a 2 - cd set.

Alas, these songs aren't among his most popular works, but their inclusion would have pleased hardcore fans who are dying to hear these songs again. Overall, a hugely worthwhile collection of classic songs that remain timelss Also worth picking up is 1978's "Even Now" and his 1977 live album.

Indeed, very one of his biggest hits are here (with the exception of, as one reviewer pointed out, 1983's Top 20 hit "Read 'Em And Weep"), as well as a couple of album tracks (including the stirring Johnny Mercer composition "When October Goes"). Indeed, his best songs were his finally crafted ballads -"Mandy", "Could It Be Magic", "I Write The Songs" (a song which, ironically, he didn't write), "Weekend In New England" and many others. My personal favorites are "Can't Smile Without You" and "Somewhere In The Night", but let's not forget uptempo hits like "It's A Miracle" and the immortal "Copacabana (At The Copa)", plus the above average novelty number "Bandstand Boogie". He also is open to collaborations with many other famous writers, such as Cynthia Weil ("Somewhere Down The Road") and Randy Edelman ("Weekend In New England"). Perhaps his strangest collaboration was the Top 10 hit "Ships", written by Ian Hunter. Hunter had previously rose to fame as a member of the hard rock group Mott The Hoople.

Overall, a great collection of hits by a great artist who deserves more recognition than he gets "Ultimate Manilow" is all fans need until the Barry Manilow boxed set.