"The Greatest Songs of the Seventies" - a Review from a Confessed Fanilow

I imagine it was hard for both the artist and producers when they sat down to put together the latest in Barry Manilow's decade tributes. The previous two albums, celebrating music from the fifties and sixties, resulted in top-selling albums that won critical acclaim and put Manilow back on the charts for the first time this century.

But Manilow paying tribute to the seventies? To me, that's comparable to Gene Rodenberry paying tribute to science fiction or Rachel Ray paying tribute to quick cooks. Just as Rodenberry popularized his genre with "Star Trek and Ray has made 30-minute meals household standards, Manilow's music was the seventies.

The songs he's best known for - "Mandy," "I Write the Songs," "Weekend in New England" and "Looks Like We Made It" - all topped the charts during the 70s. Even before those songs, he began the decade by filling our heads with jingles like "You Deserve A Break Today" and "Be A Pepper." Even those of you who didn't live through the 70s recognize that these phrases hawk McDonald's and Dr. Pepper.

So, how does a man who so influenced a decade celebrate it?

Gloriously!

"The Greatest Songs of the Seventies" has to be one of Manilow's greatest compilations, even rivaling his original collections that have sold millions. The consummate pop singer goes where few singers dare tread, taking on songs that seem almost inseparable. From the original office. Appropriately, the collection opens with "The Way We Were." From there, Manilow weaves us through time, giving due respect to those "other singers" of the 70s: the Bee Gees, Elton John, the Carpenters, Jackson Browne and Simon on Garfunkel.

While so many artists have done a cover of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," none have been able to replicate the emotion brought out by the close harmonies of Simon and Garfunkel. Manilow does. This has always been my mother's favorite song and when I heard Manilow's version, I actually fought back tears.