"Even Now i think about you as i'm climbing up the stairs"

that's a line taken from one of my all-time favorite Manilow songs. "Even Now" was a huge Adult-Contemporary hit in 1978 back when the chart was called Easy-Listening or Middle-of-the-Road {or MOR for short}. on the pop side of things, it was a good-sized Top-30 hit. the simple fact that Manilow's long standing appeal has been with the AC audience doesn't surprise me that he was named the #1 Radio & Records AC Artist in 1989 for that publication's first 15 years in business (1974-1989) because in that time span the legend of Barry Manilow was crafted and set in motion. This 1989 CD was part of a three CD set that brought his classic hits to the CD age for the first time. Arista took 1978's 2-LP set "Greatest Hits" and the 1983 LP "Greatest Hits, Volume Two" and filled out these three 1989 CDs with selected material. each CD contains 10 songs {30 selections in all}. on volume two and three the fans are treated to two newly recorded songs {one new song on each CD} not found on the previous hits albums these songs were taken from. However, we're talking about Volume One today. This set includes 10 songs (8 were actual hits, two of them: 1975's "New York City Rhythm" and "Bandstand Boogie", were not). "Mandy", "Even Now", "Can't Smile Without You", "Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again", and "Looks Like We Made It" are all signature Manilow songs that all belong on Volume One. "Daybreak" and "It's a Miracle" are also good...i love "Some Kind of Friend" and i wish Arista would've put that song as track #2 and ended the CD with "New York City Rtythm" but instead "Some Kind of Friend" closes the CD. i'm not afraid to admit i like Barry Manilow to anyone who asks. i take pride in praising an act in pop music that actually cares for the LYRICS and not the fads or trends of the day. Manilow was a breath of fresh air in pop/rock music then and he remains a loyal supporter of the lyrics at a time when dance moves and stage antics are taken more seriously than song content.

Great Collection...But You Have To Buy The Other 2 Volumes!

This is the best collection of the 3 volumes in my opnion: "Mandy", "Looks Like We Made It", and "Can't Smile Without You" are classics! However, if you buy this, then you MUST buy the volumes 2 & 3 to get his other essential songs.

Before "Ultimate Manilow" was available, this was the best collection to have. It's ok if you buy this, but the packaging is not too good: no notes, no pictures, just song credits.

Well maybe.....

then again maybe not. I hate it when record companies break up the original vol 2 to make 3 additional ones. Just kills it.