Barry Manilow - Summer Of '78 (1996)

Barry Manilow decided to follow the success of Singin' with the Big Bands with an album saluting another great lost era -- The Summer of '78. Even on the newly written title song, it's never quite clear why Manilow chose the summer of 1978 out of an entire decade of summers -- after all, the album is comprised of songs written throughout the '70s -- but the exact reason doesn't matter: as much as its predecessor, this is an exercise in nostalgia, pure and simple. Of course, it's very entertaining nostalgia, as Manilow has chosen soft rock songs (Dan Hill's "Sometimes When We Touch," Leo Sayer's "When I Need You," Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight") that perfectly suit his style. It's a minor entry in Manilow's catalog to be sure, but The Summer of '78 is a perfectly executed and entertaining slice of nostalgia.

"I remember this CD getting little to no publicity upon its release. What a shame! The orchestrations are incredible; Barry's voice has never sounded better. I'm surprised by all the diappointed reviews I'm reading. Contrary to opinion, 1978 was a lot of disco, but not all disco. There were great non-disco songs that were traversing the airwaves at the time too. Although not all the songs are specifically from 1978... more like 1975-1978... that's a very minor point. These were/are some great songs and Barry has done an incredible job of bringing "new life" to this collection of wonderful "FM station" tunes. The orchestrations are rich, multi-layered. I love popping this CD into my car player, cranking it up, and singing along with Barry over and over again. These new versions are bright, fresh, and positive and leave you with a great feeling- and wanting more after they have ended.The CD is definitely a "concept album," especially the way almost every song seems to flow into the other (for all those who remember when some songs on albums did that). I do agree with the one reviewer that I would have liked to have heard "Summer of '78" (a great new Barry Manilow original) in a more expanded and/or stand-alone version. This would have made a great single to release over the airwave and give this under-appreciated CD a boost. It would have been nice to have ended the CD with a shortened reprise from the song too to give the album an "ending" as well as having a "beginning."I've given this CD to many of my B.M. friends (all around my age) who have all raved about this collection after having listened to it. Maybe it was a period of time you had to live through to truly appreciate the music here....After some not so great CDs over the past few years from this talented artist, this one was a welcome relief. I, too, would love to see him do another album like this again. I highly recommend this CD and give it a "high five" star rating! And... yes, 1978 "... was one of those summers..." and "...I remember the summer of '78..." too! Bravo, Barry! Thanks for recreating some wonderful memories for me with these great songs!"