The Way We Were (Andy Williams album)

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The Way We Were
Williams-Way.jpg
Studio album by
Andy Williams
Released1974
RecordedMarch 1974 [1]
Genre
Length38:27
Label Columbia
Producer Mike Curb [3]
Andy Williams chronology
Solitaire
(1973)		The Way We Were
(1974)		 Christmas Present
(1974)
Alternate cover
Williams-Way-CBS.jpg
The Way We Were (UK)

The Way We Were is the thirty-second studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in the spring of 1974 by Columbia Records and was a return to singing songs that his audience was already familiar with after Solitaire , his previous LP that was less reliant on covers of recent pop hits, did not perform well.

Contents

This was his first studio album out of 25 released by Columbia that didn't make either the Billboard 200 or Christmas Albums charts, but it debuted on the Cashbox albums chart in the issue dated June 8, of that year, and remained on the chart for three weeks, peaking at number 154 [4] it also reach number seven in the UK during a 10-week run that began on June 15 of that year. [5] The UK release featured a different cover photo, but the track listing for both versions was the same. On December 1, 1974, the British Phonographic Industry awarded the album with Silver certification for sales of 60,000 units in the UK. [6]

The single "Love's Theme" entered Billboard magazine's list of the 40 most popular Easy Listening songs of the week in the US in the issue dated June 8, 1974, and stayed on the chart for 11 weeks, peaking at number 16. [7]

The Way We Were was released on compact disc as one of two albums on one CD by Collectables Records on January 22, 2002, along with Williams's 1972 Columbia album, Love Theme from "The Godfather" . [8] Collectables included this CD in a box set entitled Classic Album Collection, Vol. 2, which contains 15 of his studio albums and two compilations, and was released on November 29, 2002. [9]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Billboard Top Album Pick [11]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]

William Ruhlmann of AllMusic said that the album showed Williams "returned to his usual formula for LP-making with picking songs from among the previous year's hit parade." [10]

Billboard felt that the album would succeed. "Once more, Williams brings home a winner. Well-paced throughout, this disk delivers Williams at his best—gliding smoothly through each tune with his unique ability to finesse a lyric to the fullest. Full arrangements and studio mix a definite plus." [11]

Cashbox magazine praised Williams for his "interesting new approach to contemporary music" [13]

Record World wrote in their review stated "Andy returns to what he does best: Singing today's favorites ... and possibly tomorrow's standards." [14]

Track listing

Side one

  1. "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me" (Jim Weatherly) - 4:20
  2. "I Won't Last a Day Without You" (Roger Nichols, Paul Williams) - 5:19
  3. "Killing Me Softly with Her Song" (Charles Fox, Norman Gimbel) - 4:31
  4. "Touch Me in the Morning" (Michael Masser, Ron Miller) - 3:55
  5. "Love's Theme" (Aaron Schroeder, Barry White) - 2:59

Side two

  1. "Sunshine on My Shoulders" (John Denver, Dick Kniss, Mike Taylor) - 3:11
  2. "The Way We Were" from The Way We Were (Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Marvin Hamlisch) - 3:18
  3. "The Most Beautiful Girl" (Rory Michael Bourke, Billy Sherrill, Norris Wilson) - 3:12
  4. "Seasons in the Sun" (Jacques Brel, Rod McKuen) - 4:41
  5. "If I Could Only Go Back Again" (Mike Curb, Alan Osmond) - 3:06

Personnel

From the liner notes for the original album: [3]

References

  1. ↑ (2002) Album notes for Love Theme From "The Godfather"/The Way We Were by Andy Williams, [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music.
  2. ↑ "The Way We Were - Andy Williams". AllMusic. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  3. 1 2 (1974) The Way We Were by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 32949.
  4. ↑ Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 406. ISBN   0-8108-2005-6.
  5. ↑ "Andy Williams". Official Charts. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  6. ↑ "BPI search results". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  7. ↑ Whitburn 2007 , p. 296.
  8. ↑ "Love Theme from "The Godfather"/The Way We Were". AllMusic. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Classic Album Collection, Vol. 2". AllMusic. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  10. 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. "Andy Williams – The Way We Were: Album Ratings & Reviews". AllMusic . Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  11. 1 2 "Top Album Picks". Billboard . May 11, 1974. p. 78.
  12. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1498. ISBN   9781846098567 . Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Cashbox Album Pop Picks Reviews: The Way We Were". Cash Box . Vol. 35, no. 45. May 11, 1974. p. 24.
  14. ↑ "Album Picks Reviews" (PDF). Record World . May 11, 1974. p. 16. Retrieved May 27, 2025.

Bibliography

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