The two stars are not because of the music...Arista has done Barry Manilow and his fans a terrible disservice with this rip-off CD and its two companions. Ten songs each, each guaranteed to leave off plenty of favorites. Plus, the beginning of "Mandy" on this is hissy and it uses the (non-hit) studio version of "Daybreak." The hit version came from "Barry Manilow Live." I had to look around to find the out-of-print CD version of the vinyl greatest hits album from 1978, which had 18 tracks. (The original Greatest Hits Vol. 2, also replaced by these atrocities, covered the hits from 1979-1983). Better as well to look for the British import "The Songs 1975-1990" than to reward Arista U.S. for its greed.

It's not Barry that earned the 3 stars, it's Arista. This album needs more songs than just the ones listed. All three volumes should be on one CD. Try the Platinum Collection or some other compilation. It's good music, but you can find more Barry for a lesser price

If you are looking for a great cd to listen to, here it is. Mandy is the main reason I wanted the cd, and the nine following made it even better. Can't Smile without you is the prettiest song I ever heard. Barry Manilow can sing any type of music if he wanted to, his voice was made for anything. You listen to any one of the songs on this cd and you hear why he is the best, at least to me.

It isn't much of a stretch to see the similarity of the songs in this CD to the hits of the 90's from Shania Twain, LeeAnn Rimes, Celine Dion, Elton John, N Sync, etc. The arrangement and structure and style of the Manilow hits here are the grandaddy of the big hits of this decade, like Shania's "You're still the one", Lee anne's "How can I live". The lush arrangements, rich melodies, and lyrics about love and life and passion of these Manilow hits and the basic structure and elements of the songs in this CD are still the basic elements of today's pop hits.

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.