Now Yearbook 1976 - Collectors Edition

CD1 Queen – You’re My Best Friend; Elton John – Bennie And The Jets; Paul McCartney & Wings – Let ‘Em In; Electric Light Orchestra – Evil Woman; 10cc – Art For Art’s Sake; Bryan Ferry – The Price Of Love; Andy Fairweather Low – Wide Eyed And Legless; Kiki Dee – Loving And Free; Neil Diamond – If You Know What I Mean; Johnny Nash – Wonderful World; Johnny Wakelin – In Zaire; KC & The Sunshine Band – (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty; Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons – Silver Star; Jimmy James & The Vagabonds – I’ll Go Where Your Music Takes Me; The Trammps – That’s Where The Happy People Go; Barry White – Baby We Better Try To Get It Together;
The Stylistics – Sixteen Bars; Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass – Wake Up Everybody; The Manhattans – Hurt;
Gladys Knight & The Pips – So Sad The Song;

CD2 Donna Summer – Could It Be Magic;Tavares – Don’t Take Away The Music; Tina Charles – Dance Little Lady Dance; The Real Thing – Can’t Get By Without You; Gloria Gaynor – How High The Moon; Diana Ross – I Thought It Took A Little Time (But Today I Fell In Love);
Johnnie Taylor – Disco Lady; Billy Ocean – Stop Me (If You’ve Heard It All Before); The Drifters – Hello Happiness; Bay City Rollers – I Only Wanna Be With You; Marmalade – Falling Apart At The Seams; Hot Chocolate – Man To Man; David Essex – If I Could; Dana – Never Gonna Fall In Love Again; Barry Manilow – I Write The Songs; Demis Roussos – When Forever Has Gone; Elvis Presley – Hurt; Simon May – The Summer Of My Life; The Wurzels – I Am A Cider Drinker (Paloma Blanca); Rick Dees And His Cast Of Idiots – Disco Duck; Paul Nicholas – Grandma’s Party; Mike Oldfield – In Dulce Jubilo;
CD 3 Elton John – Pinball Wizard; Roxy Music – Both Ends Burning; Status Quo – Rain; Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak; The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Boston Tea Party; Sweet – The Lies In Your Eyes; Smokie – Something’s Been Making Me Blue; Be Bop Deluxe – Ships In The Night; Boz Scaggs – Lowdown; Daryl Hall & John Oates – Sara Smile; Hook – If Not You; Don Williams – I Recall A Gypsy Woman; Gallagher And Lyle – I Wanna Stay With You;
Frankie Valli – Fallen Angel; David Ruffin – Walk Away From Love;
The Stylistics – Funky Weekend; The Spinners – The Rubberband Man; Barry White – Don’t Make Me Wait Too Long; Brass Construction – Movin’; Ohio Players – Love Rollercoaster; Osibisa – Sunshine Day;

(Sony Music/EMI)

The latest Now compilation looks back at the music of 1976—a year that not only gave the country a hot summer but also a range of music that crossed from rock to pop to disco. The collection not only focuses on the big hits but also some lesser-known ones.

With punk rock pulling at the coattails of popular music, many of the acts contained on this three-CD and vinyl collection were soon to become unfashionable by the following year.

Hearing the depth of quality songs here, the majority have stood the test of time, beginning with the opening track on CD1 – You’re My Best Friend by Queen – although many will struggle to recall Hurt by The Manhattans and So Sad, the song from Gladys Knight and the Pips.

CD2 features a disco flavour with hits like Dance Little Lady Dance by Tina Charles, Don’t Take Away The Music by Tavares, and Stop Me (If You’ve Heard It All Before) by Billy Ocean. Unlike many of the acts contained here, Ocean is still touring – and selling out audiences.

Actor Paul Nichols also had a musical career with tracks that were surprisingly better than might be expected; Grandma’s Party might be a cheesy cut, but the track still remains a big cheese.

CD3 includes the Bradford band Smokie with their song Something’s Been Making Me Blue, which sits comfortably alongside Status Quo's Rain and Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak. This collection closes with Osibisa's Sunshine Day, a track that became one of the songs of the summer of '76.