Barry Manilow

His diction is impeccable, his choice of the 1970s' greatest songs perhaps questionable -- but Barry is ever Barry on this third in a series of albums celebrating Manilow's take on pop hits over the decades. Rather than imitating the iconic original versions, Manilow instead makes the songs his own, muting the extremes: He tones down Barbra Streisand's bombast on "The Way We Were" and drives some of the plaintiveness out of "Bridge Over Troubled Water." A cozy release for the man's devoted fans.