Trying to Get the Feeling - Expanded Edition by Barry Manilow

Personnel: Barry Manilow (vocals, piano); Sid McGuiness, Charlie Brown (guitar); Alan Axelrod (keyboards); Steve Donaghey (bass guitar); Lee Gurst (drums); Jimmy Maeulen (percussion). For his third album, coming in the wake of massive success via MANILOW II's "Mandy," Manilow pulled in the reins a bit by working with his regular live band instead of anonymous studio cats. The result was a somewhat more individualistic sound that was still close enough to the radio-ready soft pop of MANILOW II to make for plenty of chart fodder. The title cut is a mid-tempo number that finds our boy longing for passion, ultimately finding it in the Gospel-tinged arrangement. "She's a Star" is a tribute to pal Bette Midler, for whom Manilow previously served as arranger and bandleader. The previous album's "Mandy" was (incredibly) eclipsed in popularity by "I Write The Songs," which ironically, was written not by Manilow but by former Beach Boy Bruce Johnston Minimize