Similar Albums:
- Artist:
Various Artists - Release Date: October 09, 2001
- Type: Collection (various artists), Compilation (best of), Box set
- Genre: Rock
Review
This box set simply packages together five previously released compilations, each devoted to one of the last five years of the 1970s. The series, under the auspices of Entertainment Weekly magazine (which did not exist in the '70s), was compiled by the Buddha reissue subsidiary of BMG, but it employs tracks licensed from other labels as well. The title is a misnomer, at least as far as its adjective goes: All the included tracks were hits, reaching at least the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, but these are not the greatest hits of each year or of the period as a whole. Each volume does contain a few of that year's biggest hits among its 12 selections, however, and of the actual 60 greatest hits of 1975-79, 11 are included, among them three of the half-decade's ten biggest singles, Chic's "Le Freak," the Knack's "My Sharona," and Andy Gibb's "I Just Want to Be Your Everything." Because of budget considerations and licensing restrictions, compilations like this one tend to skip the biggest stars, and that's true here. Only nine of the top 20 singles artists of the period are represented: Barry Manilow, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Commodores, Linda Ronstadt, the Electric Light Orchestra, the Captain & Tennille, Chic, KC & the Sunshine Band, and Andy Gibb. Meanwhile, tracks like one-hit wonder Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You" that seem to be on every '70s collection, are here, too. All of which is to say that, as usual with budget-priced, miscellaneous compilations of old hits, the customer is the best judge of this set's value. Look down the song list, consider the price, and decide whether there are enough of your old favorites to justify the purchase. If so, they are presented here in good sound. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music GuideTracks
CD 1
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| That's the Way (I Like It) | Richard Finch, Harry Wayne "K.C." Casey | KC & the Sunshine Band | (3:06) |
| Fly, Robin, Fly | The Silver Convention | (3:22) | |
| The Hustle | Van McCoy | Van McCoy | (4:05) |
| Love Will Keep Us Together (Lyrics) | Howard Greenfield, Neil Sedaka | Captain & Tennille | (3:24) |
| Lady | Gerald Veasley, Raphael Saadiq, Dennis DeYoung | Styx | (2:57) |
| Lovin' You | Minnie Riperton | (3:24) | |
| Poetry Man (Lyrics) | Phoebe Snow | Phoebe Snow | (4:37) |
| When Will I Be Loved? (Lyrics) | Phil Everly | Linda Ronstadt | (2:07) |
| Wildfire (Lyrics) | Michael Martin Murphey | (3:18) | |
| Miracles (Lyrics) | Marty Balin | Jefferson Starship | (3:29) |
| Saturday Night (Lyrics) | Bay City Rollers | (2:56) | |
| Pick Up the Pieces | Alan Gorrie, |
The Average White Band | (3:59) |
CD 2
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Boogie Fever (Lyrics) | Freddie Perren | The Sylvers | (3:30) |
| The Rubberband Man | Linda Creed, Thom Bell, Sam Cooke | The Spinners | (3:35) |
| You Sexy Thing | Hot Chocolate | (3:31) | |
| More, More, More | (3:02) | ||
| Afternoon Delight (Lyrics) | Bill Danoff | Starland Vocal Band | (3:14) |
| You Are the Woman | Rick Roberts | Firefall | (2:41) |
| I'd Really Love to See You Tonight (Lyrics) | England Dan & John Ford Coley | (2:39) | |
| Still the One (Lyrics) | John Hall, |
Orleans | (3:53) |
| All by Myself (Lyrics) | Eric Carmen | Eric Carmen | (4:33) |
| Dream Weaver (Lyrics) | Gary Wright | Gary Wright | (3:27) |
| Sara Smile (Lyrics) | John Oates, Daryl Hall | Hall & Oates | (3:07) |
| Welcome Back | John Sebastian | John Sebastian | (2:50) |
CD 3
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Car Wash (Lyrics) | Norman J. Whitfield | Rose Royce | (3:33) |
| Rich Girl | Daryl Hall | Hall & Oates | (2:24) |
| The Things We Do for Love | Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman | 10cc | (3:31) |
| I'm in You (Lyrics) | Peter Frampton | Peter Frampton | (4:11) |
| I Just Want to Be Your Everything (Lyrics) | Barry Gibb | Andy Gibb | (3:47) |
| Looks Like We Made It (Lyrics) | Richard Kerr, Will Jennings | Barry Manilow | (3:36) |
| (Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher | Rita Coolidge | (4:03) | |
| It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me (Lyrics) | Barry White | (3:28) | |
| You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show) | Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis, Jr. | (3:59) | |
| Don't Leave Me This Way (Lyrics) | Leon Huff, Cary Gilbert, Kenny Gamble | Thelma Houston | (3:40) |
| Native New Yorker | Odyssey | (3:31) | |
| Easy (Lyrics) | Lionel Richie | The Commodores | (4:12) |
CD 4
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Le Freak | Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers | Chic | (3:47) |
| Baby Hold On | Eddie Money | (3:04) | |
| Boogie Oogie Oogie | Janice Marie Johnson, |
A Taste of Honey | (3:40) |
| Shame | Evelyn "Champagne" King | (2:59) | |
| Baby Come Back (Lyrics) | Player | (4:13) | |
| Jack and Jill | Raydio | (4:37) | |
| I Go Crazy (Lyrics) | Paul Davis | Paul Davis | (3:53) |
| Sentimental Lady | Duke Ellington, Bob Welch | Bob Welch | (3:11) |
| Hot Child in the City (Lyrics) | Nick Gilder | (3:09) | |
| Because the Night | Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith | Patti Smith | (3:24) |
| Count on Me (Lyrics) | Lucky Peterson, Jesse Barish, |
Jefferson Starship | (3:17) |
| Don't Look Back | Tom Scholz | Boston | (6:04) |
CD 5
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Heart of Glass (Lyrics) | Debbie Harry, Chris Stein | Blondie | (3:25) |
| My Sharona | The Knack | (4:04) | |
| Don't Bring Me Down (Lyrics) | Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Jeff Lynne | Electric Light Orchestra | (4:05) |
| Hold the Line (Lyrics) | Toto | (3:58) | |
| Fire | Bruce Springsteen | The Pointer Sisters | (3:29) |
| You Can't Change That | Ray Parker, Jr. | Raydio | (3:26) |
| September (Lyrics) | Earth, Wind & Fire | (3:38) | |
| Reunited (Lyrics) | Peaches & Herb | (5:43) | |
| We Are Family (Lyrics) | Sister Sledge | (3:37) | |
| I'll Never Love This Way Again (Lyrics) | Richard Kerr, Will Jennings | Dionne Warwick | (3:30) |
| Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now | Gene McFadden, |
John Whitehead, McFadden & Whitehead | (3:42) |
| I Will Survive (Lyrics) | Gloria Gaynor | (3:16) |
