Andy Williams' Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (American album) explained

Andy Williams' Greatest Hits Vol. 2
Type:compilation
Artist:Andy Williams
Cover:Williams-GH2.jpg
Recorded:1959,[1]
1966−1972[2]
Length:35:36
Label:Columbia
Prev Title:Andy Williams' Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (CBS)
Prev Year:1972
Next Title:Solitaire
Next Year:1973

Andy Williams' Greatest Hits Vol. 2 is a compilation album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released in June 1973 by Columbia Records. This collection follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, Andy Williams' Greatest Hits, in that it is not limited to his biggest and most recent hit singles, although his final two US Top 40 entries ("(Where Do I Begin) Love Story" and "Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from 'The Godfather')") were included.[3] It also has an album track not released as a single ("The Impossible Dream (The Quest)"), a couple of hits from his time with Cadence Records ("Lonely Street" and "The Village of St. Bernadette"), two other singles that could have been included on the first volume ("In the Arms of Love" and "Music to Watch Girls By"), and two Easy Listening chart entries that never made the Billboard Hot 100 ("Home Lovin' Man" and "Music from Across the Way").[3] [4]

The front and back cover design for the LP (by Anne Garner and Norman Seeff) shows Williams as he is bursting through a wall-sized collage of black-and-white images from various periods of his career, mainly involving the Williams Brothers and his variety program. While the front cover does not show the one foot that it would seem he is standing on, the back cover depicts the front cover setpiece as seen from the reverse angle behind him and is shot so that neither foot is touching the floor, as if to suggest that Williams is literally flying through the wall.

The British CBS album of the same name had only three of its 12 tracks in common with those on this album and used a different cover photo and design.[5]

This U.S. release made its first appearance on the Billboard Top LP's & Tapes chart in the issue dated July 7, 1973, and remained there for five weeks, peaking at number 174.[6]

This album was released on compact disc for the first time by Columbia Records in 1989. A Columbia 3-CD box set including this album along with the US versions of Andy Williams' Greatest Hits and his 1971 album Love Story was released on August 12, 1997.[7]

Reception

Billboard magazine was pleasantly surprised. "Can time be slipping away so quickly that we now have a second volume of top tunes as interpreted with genuine skill by Andy? It seems like he was just singing these contemporary biggies only yesterday. But here they are in the all-familiar greatest hits package, rekindling memories of the artistry and beauty of such writers as Jimmy Webb, Sigman and Lai, Leon Russell, Henry Mancini, etc. These songs are from Andy's Dick Glasser-Nick DeCaro dates of the past few years, and they incorporate all the richness and large orchestral settings that people associate with the veteran singer."

Track listing

Side one

  1. "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story" (Francis Lai, Carl Sigman) – 3:10
  2. "MacArthur Park" (Jimmy Webb) – 5:03
  3. "Music from Across the Way" (James Last, Sigman) – 3:45
    • rec. 6/10/71, rel. 12/14/71;[2] Easy Listening: #30[4]
  4. "The Village of St. Bernadette" (Eula Parker) – 3:22
    • rec. 11/19/59,[1] rel. Nov. 1959;[8] Billboard Hot 100: #7[3]
  5. "Music to Watch Girls By" (Sid Ramin, Tony Velona) – 2:38
    • rec. 2/21/67, rel. 3/2/67; Billboard Hot 100: #34,[3] Easy Listening: #2[4]

Side two

  1. "Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from 'The Godfather')" (Larry Kusik, Nino Rota) – 3:05
    • rec. 2/18/72 & 2/24/72, rel. 3/3/72; Billboard Hot 100: #34,[3] Easy Listening: #7[4]
  2. "In the Arms of Love" (Ray Evans, Jay Livingston, Henry Mancini) – 2:56
    • rec. 6/23/66, rel. 7/8/66; Billboard Hot 100: #49,[3] Easy Listening: #1 (2 weeks)[4]
  3. "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)" (Joe Darion, Mitch Leigh) – 2:39
    • rec. 1968 for his album Honey
  4. "Lonely Street" (Carl Belew, Kenny Sowder, W.S. Stevenson) – 2:46
    • rec. 8/23/59,[1] rel. Aug. 1959;[9] Billboard Hot 100: #5,[3] Hot R&B Sides: #20[10]
  5. "Home Lovin' Man" (Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway, Tony Macaulay) – 3:10
    • rec. 8/29/70, rel. 10/9/70;[2] Easy Listening: #10 (1970), #27 (1972)[4]
  6. "A Song for You" (Leon Russell) – 3:07
    • rec. 7/7/71, rel. 7/22/71; Billboard Hot 100: #82,[3] Easy Listening: #29[4]

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. News: The Cadence Era: "Canadian Sunset" brightens Andy's disk career. 1967-11-11. Billboard. AW-20.
  2. (2002) Album notes for The Complete Columbia Chart Singles Collection by Andy Williams [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music.
  3. .
  4. .
  5. (1972) Andy Williams' Greatest Hits Vol. 2 by Andy Williams [album jacket]. London: CBS Records 65151.
  6. .
  7. Web site: Greatest Hits/ Greatest Hits, Vol. 2/Love Story. allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. 16 August 2011.
  8. News: Reviews of This Week's Singles. 1959-11-30. Billboard. 35.
  9. News: Reviews of This Week's Singles. 1959-08-24. Billboard. 43.
  10. .
  11. (1972) Alone Again (Naturally) by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 31625.
  12. (1972) Love Theme from "The Godfather" by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 31303.
  13. (1971) You've Got a Friend by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 30797.
  14. (1971) Love Story by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 30497.
  15. (1968) Honey by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records CS 9662.
  16. (1967) Born Free by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records CS 9480.
  17. (1966) In the Arms of Love by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records CS 9333.
  18. (1960) The Village of St. Bernadette by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Cadence Records CLP-25038.
  19. (1959) Lonely Street by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Cadence Records CLP-25030.

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