Barry Manilow - The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties (2006)

It's a landmark day here at blog headquarters because this is the first time I've written about a DualDisc. This is also the only DualDisc currently in my collection; I inherited it from my father. I recently read a piece that collectively labelled formats such as DualDisc, SACD, DVD Audio, CD+G, CD Video, etc. as "legacy music discs" and I think I will adopt that terminology.

2004-2009

It makes sense Dad might want to try out this particular album as the 1950s were his decade in high school (Class of 1955) and college ('59). I have no idea if he knew it was a DualDisc when he purchased it, however. The disc comes with a warning:

Welp, I've currently got no fewer than 10 machines about the house that play DVDs and/or CDs so we'll just have to take our chances, won't we?

Musically, this album sounds exactly as you would expect. Manilow singing over derivative, schmaltzy orchestral arrangements with an upward modulation or two at the end of the tracks. Manilow doesn't have the greatest voice, but he sure can sell a song. And people who grew up in the '50s bought the hell out of this album and apparently recommended it to their friends, so I'll just put this one back on the shelf and move on.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #1 (Manilow's second #1 album, and his first since his 1977 live album)

Tracks (CD Audio Side) my top picks are checked.

	Song	Year
1	Moments To Remember	1955
2	It's All In The Game	1958	✔
3	Unchained Melody	1955
4	Venus	1959
5	It's Not For Me To Say	1957
6	Love Is A Many Splendored Thing	1955
7	Rags To Riches	1953
8	Sincerely/Teach Me Tonight	1955
9	Are You Lonesome Tonight?	1959	✔
10	Young At Heart	1954
11	All I Have To Do Is Dream	1958	✔
12	What A Diff'rence A Day Made	1959	✔
13	Beyond The Sea	1959

Two tracks placed on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart: Unchained Melody (#20) and Love Is A Many Splendored Thing (#32).

Tracks (DVD Side): The entire album in "enhanced stereo" (yes, I listened to all the audio tracks on each side) plus a 15 minute video of "exclusive behind-the-scenes footage," which is oddly unavailable on YouTube as of this writing. It is simply video footage of the recording sessions interspersed with interviews of Manilow and Clive Davis. If you haven't seen it, you haven't missed much.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:

Ultimate Manilow (2002)	One Voice (1979)
Here At The Mayflower (2001)	Greatest Hits (1978)
Summer of '78 (1996)	Even Now (1978)
If I Should Love Again (1981)	Tryin' To Get The Feeling (1975)
Barry (1980)