Wow ... FINALLY a good reason for a re-issue!

You know, I'm not a collector. I know some fans love to buy everything their favorite singer releases because they're collectors, and that's cool, but I'm not one of those people. I hate clutter. I'm used to finding reasons for NOT buying yet another greatest hits album. Consequently, when I hear

words like "re-issued" or "restored", I sorta just glaze over and usually put my wallet back in my purse.

And I almost did that with this "Legacy" 2-disc collection that came out today. But the original "Live" album was for me - like I know it was for many of my generation - something almost sacred. It was the definitive audible proof of why Barry Manilow is an international superstar, because it really gave the listener not just a series of beautiful ballads, but also glimpses into the "lighter" side of Barry's personality (with songs like "Jump Shout Boogie" and his "finger-licking good" VSM commercial medley). Wallowing in such a diverse assortment of entertainments made it too easy to be floored by Barry's talent while, at the same time, really being taken with the down-to-earth human being behind the music. Back in the late 70's, this album WAS Barry.

So, when I looked at the track listing on Amazon and saw that all the original stuff from the album (and ripped out of the first CD) had been restored ... along with NEW material that hadn't been previously made available on CD .... I was intrigued enough to buy it.

I just can't say enough about it ... this sucker just blew me away.

First off ... let me just get this out of the way. I wanna know who designed the packaging because - if you're out there somewhere - I really wish I could fall at your feet and shine your shoes with my tears of gratitude. (Okay, maybe that's overstating ... I'll just shake your hand enthusiastically and thank you for taking pity on idiots like me!). Unlike most of the CDs I purchase - which require razor blades, chisels and sometimes dynamite to get open - opening this set took me 30 seconds. I ripped off the shrink-wrap, slid the box out

of its clear plastic sleeve, opened the box and popped the CD into the player. 30 SECONDS! FINALLY A FREAKIN' CD SOMEONE WHO WAS AROUND IN 1977 CAN ACTUALLY OPEN! I am beyond grateful, seriously!

Furthermore, the "extras" you get with this CD are really cool - someone (or a really great team) took the trouble to try to put together a booklet - with photos - and the original liner notes (along with current-day credits) that easily slides in and out of the box and appeals to those of us who remember those nifty dinosaur relics like album art and liner notes and all that really cool stuff that used to come with the music. Yes, the

cover is a tad too purple-toned for my taste (as my original "Live" album was blue), but the rest more than compensates.

But oh my gosh - the music sounds incredible. I think the Powers That Be did a really terrific job delivering, in a digital format, that earthy audience/arena sound of a live late 70's Manilow concert. Technology didn't erase the organic feeling of this gem, and for that I'm profoundly grateful. It was just like taking a time machine back to the Carter era and getting to listen to young Barry one more time!

(who probably never would have guessed he'd still be wowing us with this show thirty years later).

All the cuts are great.

But a few of them are "Best You'll Ever Hear In This Lifetime Awesome." "Trying To Get The Feeling" ... well, after you've heard this version, you might as well throw away any other renditions you have, because it's PERFECT. Other less-familiar songs from Barry's catalog - like "One Of These Days" - is timeless in its poignancy. And then all the old classics from the dawn of Barry's amazing career - like "I Write The Songs", "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It" and "It's A Miracle" are better than ever, sincerely capturing the spirit of, what was for many of us, a simpler time.

It all sounds awesome (and I know I'm running out of adjectives, dammit). Both discs are paced pretty well. I thought the transitioning between songs was a little choppy in a couple of places, but if you pointed a gun and told me to find something - anything - wrong with this CD, that's about all I could come up with, I swear.

This is a gem, and a must-own for any new fan wanting to experience the "whole" Manilow in one sitting ... or any old fan who cherished the original "Live" album and just couldn't believe - until today - that it could have been done any better.

Early Manilow from 1977. Did I need ANOTHER Manilow album? YES!!! This 2 CD collection of 23 tracks of love, beauty, peace, fire and passion is truly awesome! It has been remastered and the sound quality is excellent. If you listen carefully, you can even hear Barry's Brooklyn accent in some of these early versions.

There are many songs that I have not heard before on my other Barry CDs. The love and tenderness in the classics, like "Could it be Magic/Mandy, Trying to Get the Feeling Again, This One's for You, and Looks Like We Made It" is unbelievable. As beautiful as they are in Barry's later versions, they were slower and far more passionate in this CD. If you could bottle the passion, you could maybe change the world.

"V.S.M." is a totally cool collection of commercial jingles that Barry wrote. Bet you'll be surprised at some of them; I was. "Let Me Go" is Barry belting out the Blues. "The Lady Flash Medley" is a great 70s rock medley done by his musical support ladies.

Songs like "Riders to the Stars" and "Why Don't we Live Together" really rock, and appear to have a slight gospel flair to them! "Jump Shout Boogie Medley" is over 8 minutes long and includes some wild jazz. "New York City Rhythm" is always hot. These songs have such fire in them that the inside of the car went up 20 degrees when I was playing them! Barry must have been bopping all over the stage doing these numbers. It's hard to even LISTEN to them sitting down. Made me want to jump right out of the car and dance at 60 mph, but I restrained myself as a courtesy to the other drivers.

I am running out of CD players to play my Manilow collection, but, I must say it again: another staple for the Manilownian! (and worth EVERY penny!) (Guess I'll have to buy another CD player.)

(I'll tell you a little secret here, too. S-h-h-h-h. Don't tell anybody, but I have been using disc 1 to power-walk with and have lost 35 lbs in 6 months--and, no, I don't lose weight easily.)

Barry Manilow is amazing. His unique style of delivering a song is unmatched and although his voice is not classicaly trained, he does not merely sing a song, he lives it, he feels it with such passion he makes his songs his alone that no one and I mean no one can come close to covering anything from his catalogue.

This remastered album is sensational with live performances of songs ranging from happy, sad, lost love and hopeful and even some jive and boogie woogie. He can do it all. Since I live in New England I have to admit to a certain partiality to "Weekend in New England" with its soaring melody but Barrys' penultimate from now til forever is "I Write the Songs" and as it continues "that makes the whole world sing"....and they do.

Barry Manilow Live: 1977. One of the most successful live albums of all time is here and augmented with several additional tracks never before available that appear to have been recorded during his original New York run of shows that this Live album was taken from. I have read that the track listing for this Special Legacy Edition is supposed to mirror what his original setlist was during these shows; rather than the original track order that appeared in the original LP, Cassette, and 8-Track versions in 1977. The warning that I spoke of above is regarding the sound quality. This has been noted to have been remastered. I don't know who did the remastering but the source used for this package appears to have been a tad damaged in places. It is hard to hear unless you are listening with headphones. It appears to me that they did not find the original master tapes for this or if they did, they really didn't do a great job cleaning this up. On the one hand, you have a mix here that is completely unchanged from the original release and that is fantastic in my opinion. No dodgy remixing has been done to change the character of a track. On the downside, this could have really sounded worlds better if they had taken some time with it. I gave it a 5 due to its completeness and its 70's sounding mix but be prepared. It is a bit rough around the edges.

This took me right back to high school when I first bought it when it was released in 1977. I'm normally not a fan of live albums but this one has such energy and dare I say optimism that denotes the innocence of the 70's I was forced to make an exception. I bought the vinyl on Ebay awhile back and have just discovered this expanded version. As another reviewer mentioned it will be nice to bring this up to the digital age hearing a little aforementioned optimism that's missing a lot these days for me anyway. The song "Why Don't We Live Together" really takes me back to a calmer place. The couple of the song probably split up 6 months later but "at least they'll know they tried," just took the chance. Cool.