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!

I'm not much of a Barry Manilow fan or 70s music fan, however, I love this CD. It's one of the few we keep in the family van. The tunes here are catchy and the hooks, ah, you'll find yourself singing along.

I haven't heard or listened to the original version of this songs. I was born after Manilow's hits has stopped coming, so I thought at first that these were his originally in the 70s.

The music in this CD are different from the intense power ballads of the 80s; these are fresh and light, the pop song equivalent to equally fresh and light films of Meg Ryan like You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle.

I agree with the reviewer who found this to be one of the strongest Barry Manilow recordings ever. He spoke, recently, of doing a follow-up to his tremendously successful '50's collection with a '60's collection and, then, maybe, a 70's one. He should just re-release this neglected minor masterpiece. It's just a terrific CD with one terrific song after another, with wonderful arrangements and fine vocals. Barry's version of "We've Got Tonite" is moving and terrific and could stand with any of his own Top 10 hits. "Just Remember I Love You," by Firefall, is another gem. This CD helped me through a difficult time, I remember, now almost 10 years ago. But that's Barry's magic. He's a singer of hope - and happiness - and romance. And more people like him than probably admit it. I recommend this CD highly. It's going to surprise you. "The Air that I Breathe," "Bluer than Blue," and "I Go Crazy" are other terrific covers Barry does - and he brings new life to them, in my opinion. If this CD had been released now - instead of 10 years ago, when Manilow's career was somewhat at an ebb - it would be a monster hit. Hear it and play it now. Pop it into the car CD and see if you agree with the other reviewers who also regard this as one of Barry's finest efforts. I wish he'd sing "We've Got Tonite" more in his own concerts. His beautiful arrangement and his slight change of lyrics, "... but I may stop searching, after today ..." stamp this as another Manilow classic of hoped for love in an often cold world - sentiments that never get old. I'm not ashamed to admit it: I consider him a national treasure. I just wish another equally talented man, John Denver, had gotten the later-in-life appreciation that Barry is garnering - and deserving. This CD is a true inspiration, filled with wonderful music and lyrics. And Barry's voice has never been better than in this inspired collection of '70's classics. He's brought a lot of joy to a lot of people, not a bad way to live your life, and the music on this CD tells you why.

the title doesn't really mean EVERY single song on here was from 1978. "Summer of '78" contains 9 full songs plus three medleys at the start of the CD. "Summer of '78" merges into an instrumental before going into an abbreviated version of "Reminiscing". After that, there's nothing but complete songs and the first is the excellant "I Go Crazy", a former hit for Paul Davis. Manilow's version became a Top-20 AC hit in 1997. "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight" was the other single from the album. "When I Need You", "Bluer Than Blue", "Sometimes When We Touch", and "The Air That I Breathe" are given strict delivery from Manilow. He doesn't re-arrange any of the songs and deliver them in his "style" which was kind of strange, making me give this 4 stars. All of these songs are love ballads and are all well done vocally and musically. It's AC music, which has always been Barry's strongest support even though AC radio of late for some dumb reason is starting to play way too much R&B and alternative pop/folk, putting AC artists out of a job en masse. even Elton John's finding a hard time getting on AC radio because of all the invaders...get this album and hear Manilow perform the songs he was competing with the first time around.

Look, I am a 19 year old frat boy and i love the CD!