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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Cherish |
| 2. Windy |
| 3. Can't Take My Eyes Off You |
| 4. Cherish/Windy |
| 5. Can't Help Falling In Love With You |
| 6. There's A Kind Of Hush |
| 7. Blue Velvet |
| 8. Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head |
| 9. And I Love Her |
| 10. This Guy's In Love With You |
| 11. Everybody Loves Somebody |
| 12. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' |
| 13. When I Fall In Love |
| 14. Strangers In The Night |
| 15. What The World Needs Now Is Love |
| 16. California Dreamin' |
| 17. Yesterday |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The premise is debatable (can you really call a disc with only one Beatles song a compendium of top '60s tunes?), but the product is anything but. The success of The Greatest Songs of the Fifties, released eight months prior to this latest exercise in musical time-travel, must have stoked Barry Manilow's interpretive skills, or else he's more a flowerchild at heart than his once overly wide lapels and disco shoes let on. Because formulaic as this disc is, it bespeaks a not easily achieved vocal mastery and a gift for gently prying a song away from its original owner. Which is to say it's better than its predecessor. Hand Manilow a Righteous Brothers tune ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'") and he magically minimizes its scale, making it seem more intimate still; pass him a classic made famous by both the Carpenters and Herman's Hermits ("There's a Kind of Hush"), and instead of sending his listeners off on undulating waves of nostalgia, he quietly makes them aware he should have sung it all along (no offense, Herman). "Cherish/Windy," a medley with the Association, works well, but it's the Bacharach numbers that will nudge themselves to the top of easy-listening fans' favourites lists. "This Guy's in Love with You," "What the World Needs Now is Love," and "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," memorable as the original renditions are, have been reawakened; given the Manilow spin, they become the kind of songs the whole world wants to sing. --Tammy La Gorce
Review
His glory years may have been back in the 1970s, but Barry Manilow is enjoying a level of success in the 21st century that few would have predicted. In early-2006 his album 'The Greatest Songs of the Fifties' entered the US charts at #1 (his first new chart-topper for nearly three decades) and now, just ready for the Xmas market, comes the sequel.
Given that its predecessor managed to avoid anything that's rock & roll, it's not too surprising that this collection doesn't find room for, say, "I Am The Walrus" or "Sympathy For The Devil". Instead 'The Greatest Songs of the Sixties' turn out to be the likes of "Blue Velvet", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head".
It's all perfectly agreeable and decorous, but it's not an album that's going to win over a new audience. It's too predictable, too bland and too inconsequential. Which is a pity, because at his best Barry was able to conquer the heights of melodrama and show-tune excess in a way that had genuine charm.
Here, however, the dominant note is an over-manning more appropriate to the Seventies than the Sixties. There's a list of over a hundred individual credits for the playing and production of the music, and the result is that the arrangements - although drawing heavily on the original blueprints for the songs - sound bloated. Nonetheless, there's a certain old-school Radio 2 appeal to it all, and the huge success it's already enjoyed in America suggests that Manilow still knows what satisfies the committed. Probably just for the fans, though. --Alwyn Turner
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
If you like Manilow you'll like his take on these 60's classics,..it's nothing earth-changing, just good, listenable, relaxing music produced the BM way. Also the Amazon reviewer doesn't know what they're talking about, there are 2 beatles songs on here, 'And I love her' which is a classic Lennon/Mc Cartney standard is also included.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This CD has hardly been out of my CD player since it arrived 3 days ago. It is Barry at his best, singing so many of my favourite tracks. (David Cassidy still has the edge on Cherish though!!) He feels the music so well, and the orchestrations are great too. My daughter and I always have fun spotting the key changes, one of Barry's trademarks! Highly recommend this CD. (It got to no 2 on the Billboard charts in the US in it's first week of sales - need I say more).
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is a wonderful, make you feel good CD! All the Fanilows would be proud. Ignore the negative reviews, they dont know what they are talking about. This is real music with real emotion and will move you. ENJOY!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Mooses Mum
Having always loved Barry I bought this CD because My husband & I really like 60s music [he isnt a follower of Barry but he does love the music ]I think this CD is brilliant
Published 20 days ago by Glend
manilowtastic
brilliant as always, he makes me love songs I used to hate
the musicality is superb, the agnst and emotional feeling he puts into every song
the musicality is superb, the agnst and emotional feeling he puts into every song
Published on 28 Oct 2007 by M. burford
Barry is a Gem
what a wonderful album this is. With a touch of Manilow Magic! Barry puts his own mark on some classic 60's tunes. Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2007 by Bj Lucas
The magic of Manilow does it again
Barry Manilow,the artist no-one admits to liking but can shift records by the barrowload,is back.
Hot on the heels of the successful 'Greatest hits of the 50s',Barry now... Read more
Hot on the heels of the successful 'Greatest hits of the 50s',Barry now... Read more
Published on 14 Nov 2006 by SKYE
Chestnuts anyone?
You know I like you Barry
Though other people scoff
First `50s and now `60s
But please, just knock it off
You sang the song called... Read more
Though other people scoff
First `50s and now `60s
But please, just knock it off
You sang the song called... Read more
Published on 9 Nov 2006 by Amanda Richards
"Barely" Manilow
This is atrocious - probably the worst thing ever recorded. It is a disgrace. Every song pales by comparison to the original. Read more
Published on 1 Nov 2006 by Eso
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