Search - Andy Williams :: You Lay So Easy on My Mind / Other Side of Me

AN ONGOING ODYSSEY OF ANDY WILLIAMS' TALENT

Giovanni | Chicago, IL | 03/25/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Collectables Records has given Andy Williams fans everywhere his entire Columbia catalog on these wonderful reissues. The major grips being lack of in-depth "reissue" liner notes, but for the most part the original artwork is included on the many "2fers" they have released in the last 4 years or so. The recent wave of releases are of Andy's 70's works. With the "Moon River" salad days behind him, Andy reached an entirely new audience by doing covers of songs of the day. While many frowned on this practice, Andy took what he could of the ever changing songs and sounds of this era and showed them in a new light, with very good results, more often than not. "A Mi Esposa Con Amor" may seem like an odd vehicle for Andy, but he pulls off the touching song with ease. His reading of the semi-hit for Neil Diamond "Solitaire", (written by Neil Sedaka) is Andy at his absolute finest, putting the emotion on the notes right where it ought to be. "My Elusive Dreams" brings to mind the songs of Bobby Goldsboro, with all their poignancy and beauty. While some of the songs may seem out of place, or just not "coverable" by anyone else (shouldn't "Mandy" only be done by Barry Manilow?)
all in all this collection of two albums is worth the price, as are all the great CDs Collectables has done. They do very good work on all their releases, including this one from one of the great male vocalists of our time. Enjoy!!"

Eureka !!

Giovanni | 09/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At last I have The Other Side Of Me on CD.I just had to write this quickly as I listen to one of THE all time great tracks. "Quits" is simply so out of character for AW, but it is SO GOOD.Go buy this CD just, even for that track (it must have a poignancy as I think it was around this time he divorced Claudene Longet). However, the whole album is superb.For good mesure, You Lay So Easy.... is a fine album, too. You can't lose!"

Latter-day Williams goes C&W (mostly)

R. Riis | NY | 03/03/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Andy Williams' star was on the wane by the time these two LPs came out (1974 and 1975, respectively), but there's plenty to enjoy here in this bargain two-for. The first half of the CD (You Lay So...) leans heavily toward the country side (and Billy Sherrill, in particular) in covers of hits (C&W and pop) of the day, while the second half finds Andy mostly exploring the latter-day Neil Sedaka catalogue. Some hits, some misses, some middling material, but altogether a welcome addition to the complete collection."