MY TOP MUSIC OF THE WEEK (4-30)

1.  Greatest Hits 1985-1995 - HEART **1 week #1**

2.  Cosmic Thing - THE B-52'S

3.  Beautiful People/Circles - THE NEW SEEKERS

4.  Dreamboat Annie - HEART

5.  Greatest Hits...And Then Some - THE WILKINSONS

6.  The Divine Anthology 1972-2006 - BETTE MIDER (NEW - Home compilation, 2nd draft)

7.  25 Years: The Chain - FLEETWOOD MAC

8.  The Definitive Collection - ABBA

9.  The Very Best Of BARBRA STREISAND (Home compilation)

10.  The Divine Anthology 1972-2006 - BETTE MIDLER (Home compilation, 1st draft)

11.  Some People's Lives - BETTE MIDLER

12.  Platinum & Gold Collection - ARETHA FRANKLIN


Notes:

#3 by The New Seekers combines the group's 1st and 3rd US albums from 1971 and 1972, respectively.

MY TOP MUSIC OF THE WEEK (4-23)

1.  The Divine Anthology 1972-2006 - BETTE MIDLER **1 week #1**
     (Home compilation)
     * NEW *

2.  The Essential HEART 3.0
     (Epic/Capitol/Legacy - 2008)

3.  The Definitive Collection - ABBA
     (Polar/UTV - 2001)

4.  California - WILSON PHILLIPS
     (Columbia - 2004)

5.  Nine Objects Of Desire - SUZANNE VEGA
     (A&M - 1996)

6.  Some People's Lives - BETTE MIDLER
     (Atlantic - 1990)

7.  If I Could Turn Back Time: CHER's Greatest Hits
     (Geffen - 1999)

8.  Break Every Rule - TINA TURNER
     (Capitol - 1986)

9.  Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition - CARPENTERS
     (A&M/UTV - 2004)

10.  All The Way...A Decade Of Song - CELINE DION
       (Sony - 1999)

BETTE MIDLER: The Divine Anthology 1972-2006

I've had an idea for a Bette Midler collection for quite some time and finally put it together this week. I took all the songs from her two compilations, Experience The Divine: Greatest Hits and Jackpot!: The Best Bette, added singles that weren't included, threw in a few bonuses, and voila!

Disclaimer:  This set is part of a collection of homemade discs I compiled for listening purposes only.  NOT FOR SALE.

Disc 1:

Friends
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (Single version)
Do You Want To Dance
Chapel Of Love
Hello In There
In The Mood
Shiver Me Timbers
When A Man Loves A Woman
The Rose
Favorite Waste Of Time
All I Need To Know*
Only In Miami
Beast Of Burden
Wind Beneath My Wings
I've Still Got My Health
The Glory Of Love
Baby Mine

Disc 2:

From A Distance
Miss Otis Regrets
Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
The Gift Of Love*
In My Life
One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
To Deserve You
My One True Friend*
Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
This Ole House
Tenderly
Fever*
Cool Yule
Friends (Ad Lib)**
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (Album version)**
Something Your Heart Has Been Telling Me (Unreleased demo)
From A Distance (Christmas version)**

* Songs I added that weren't included on the forementioned compilations

** Bonus tracks I added

Note:

All I Need To Know was later recorded as Don't Know Much by Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville.

.

MY TOP MUSIC OF THE WEEK (4-16)

All titles issued in the US except where noted,


1.  The Very Best Of BARBRA STREISAND (NEW) **1 week #1**
     (Home compilation)

2.  Emotion - BARBRA STREISAND
     (Columbia - 1984)

3.  Jackpot!: The Best Bette - BETTE MIDLER
     (Rhino - 2008)

4.  What A Life - DIVINYLS
     (Chrysalis - 1985)

5.  Winter Light - LINDA RONSTADT
     (Elektra - 1993)

6.  Bubbles - THE FREE DESIGN
     (Siesta) Spain

7.  Experience The Divine: Greatest Hits - BETTE MIDLER
     (Home edit of 1996 Australia import)

8.  Collector's Edition - CARLY SIMON
     (Madacy Entertainment - 2009)

9.  Boxed (Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)) - EURYTHMICS
     (RCA - 2005) Europe; Expanded edition of 1983 in a box set

10.  Relish - JOAN OSBORNE
       (Mercury - 1995)


Notes:

I deleted one of two versions of To Deserve You from #7.  I personally didn't care for the single mix included.

THE VERY BEST OF BARBRA STREISAND (A NEW ORIGINAL)

Last week I was asked to play music for a couple of events at the hospital where I volunteer. Easy listening was requested and Barbra Streisand was one of the artists I played. I hadn't listened to her in ages and it made me want to more. An idea came over me to compile a single-disc career-spanning retrospective since none has been commercially released. I used Billboard magazine as a guide and put together 19 of Barbra's 21 top 40 hits. The exceptions are Where You Lead and Kiss Me In The Rain because I don't have them on compact disc...yet. However, the former is included in a medley on my compilation.

Following is my end result. The songs are in order from highest to lowest charting:

Woman In Love
Love Theme From "A Star Is Born" (Evergreen)
The Way We Were
No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (with Donna Summer)
You Don't Bring Me Flowers (with Neil Diamond)
Guilty (with Barry Gibb)
The Main Event/Fight
My Heart Belongs To Me
People
Stoney End
I Finally Found Someone (with Bryan Adams)
What Kind Of Fool (with Barry Gibb)
Comin' In And Out Of Your Life
Love Theme From "Eyes Of Laura Mars" (Prisoner)
'Til I Loved You (with Don Johnson)
Songbird
Second Hand Rose
Sweet Inspiration/Where You Lead
The Way He Makes Me Feel

I'm looking forward to reacquainting myself with my Streisand collection in general.

MY TOP MUSIC OF THE WEEK (4-9)

All titles issued in the US unless otherwise noted.

1.  Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me) - CASTING CROWNS **1 week #1**
     (MP3, 2009)

2.  The Singles 1969-1973 - CARPENTERS
     (A&M - 1973)

3.  BARBRA STREISAND's Greatest Hits, Volume 2
     (Columbia - 1978)

4.  Greatest Hits Volume 1 - BARRY MANILOW
     (Arista - 1989)

5.  BETTE MIDLER
     (Atlantic - 1973)

6.  The Essential HEART 3.0
     (Epic/Capitol/Legacy - 2008)

7.  Heaven/Earth - THE FREE DESIGN
     (Light In The Attic - 2005) Expanded edition of 1969 album

8.  Beg, Steal Or Borrow - THE NEW SEEKERS
     (Rotation - 2001) Holland

9.  Women & Song - FLEETWOOD MAC
     (Home compilation)

10.  The Ultimate 5TH DIMENSION
       (Arista/BMG Heritage - 2004)

11.  Most Of All: The Best Of DEBORAH HARRY
       (Chrysalis/EMI - 1999) UK

12.  HELEN REDDY's Greatest Hits (And More)
       (Capitol - 1987)

13.  Celebration - ABBA
       (Panther)

14.  Body & Soul: Slow And Easy - VARIOUS ARTISTS
       (Time-Life Music - 1999)

15.  The Singles + - MOUTH & MacNEAL
       (BR Music - 2001) Holland


Notes:

I played the Casting Crowns track 5 times this week to study it for a church service yesterday, hence its position.  This makes only the 2nd time a Contemporary Christian artist has been #1 on my list since I started it in 2006.  Sandi Patty was #1 for 2 weeks last year with Where The Nails Were, another song I was learning for church.

Barry Manilow becomes the highest-charting male solo artist on my list this week since Lindsey Buckingham was #1 in 2008 with his Go Insane disc.

#9 by Fleetwood Mac is an original collection of mine consisting of songs by Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, and Bekka Bramlett.

#13 by ABBA is one of many bootleg discs in print by the group.  The date of release is unlisted.

#14 is a collection of R&B hits.

MY TOP MUSIC OF THE WEEK (4-2)

All titles issued in the US except where noted.

1.  Private Audition - HEART **1 week #1**
     (Epic - 1982)

2.  The Very Best Of FLEETWOOD MAC
     (Reprise - 2002)

3.  Hotcakes - CARLY SIMON
     (Elektra - 1974)

4.  The RCA Years - MIDDLE OF THE ROAD
     (7T's - 2010) UK

5.  Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition - CARPENTERS
     (A&M/UTV - 2004)

6.  Jackpot!: The Best Bette - BETTE MIDLER
     (Rhino - 2008)

7.  THE GROOP
     (Sundazed - 2007) Expanded edition of their 1969 album

8.  Rare Gems - ABBA
     (Home compilation)

9.  Kites Are Fun - THE FREE DESIGN
     (Light In The Attic - 2003) Expanded edition of their 1967 album

10.  Signature - MOYA BRENNAN
       (Universal - 2007)

11.  Faster Than The Speed Of Night - BONNIE TYLER
       (Columbia - 1983)

12.  More Than You Know - TONI TENNILLE
       (Varese Sarabande - 2003) Expanded edition of her 1984 album

Notes:

#4 by Middle Of The Road is comprised of the group's first three albums, Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep (1971), Acceleration (1972), and Drive On (1973) with 6 bonus tracks included on the first album when released in Italy.

#8 by ABBA is a disc I put together using rare and unreleased tracks.  I took them from various compilations.

#12 by Toni Tennille inlcudes 9 bonus tracks taken from her second solo album, All Of Me, from 1987.