Like most people my age, Paul Williams was that enigmatic figure, a name behind tons of compositions we heard by some of our favorite AM Radio friendly music artists like Three Dog Night and The Carpenters, as well as one-off compositional surprises like David Bowie's Fill Your Heart from Hunky Dory, Evergreen from A Star Is Born, and of course the immortal Muppet Movie chart-topper Rainbow Connection. We rock aficionados with a bent towards the weird and unusual first saw Paul Williams as the literally devilish Swan in Brian De Palma’s rock fest of a comedy horror Phantom Of The Paradise and this would be the place many of us first his voice in song (Hell Of It on this album is picked ripe from that movie). The first thing of note is Paul Williams signature and one of a kind voice which both warmly enveloping and distinctively creative, causing pause and wonder that he didn’t at least get the kind of recognition and fan following that John Denver, another song-crafter turned pop star, did. Williams voice is at once effectual and sanguine, then somber and reflective, he emotes as he sings and the comforting vibrato he uses as a weapon of choice disarms the listener into a euphoric state. There is no classical progressive rock structure or flights of art rock fancy, no folk-jazz fusion or improvisational noodling to be found in his records. What Paul Williams provides is real life heart and life lyrics with ponderings and light bulb moments, crafted poetry and solid musical expertise that weaves a much simpler magic around his compositions. There is plain wilderness beauty captured in Out In The Country and an eternal nostalgia built into An Old Fashioned Love Song, both hits by Three Dog Night; The Carpenters classics Rainy Days And Mondays, and We’ve Only Just Begun were not just pretty pop songs, they have a beguiling nature that captivates and enslaves the listener, both in enticing lyrics and in enthralling melody; and The Carpenters’ Let Me Be The One was nothing less than mesmerizing. All these songs and more are encapsulated on this collection and maybe for the first time you will hear what the original composer heard in his music. Williams can be lighthearted and even whimsical and funny as well (which is why his movie roles are usually strange or comedic (he plays “Boy” in The Cheap Detective, “The Butcher” in Baby Driver, and he was Virgil in the 5th and final of the original Planet Of The Apes franchise movies). This where you might detect a hint of sea shanty lying just under the surface of That’s What Friends Are For, or a honky tonk piano hidden in the distance of his version of The Family Of Man (another Three Dog Night classic), Williams can be brilliantly subtle. Ordinary Fool demonstrates an Uber classy angle on the off-melody jazz style employed by Willie Nelson in his singing, Paul hangs those jazzy lyrics just enough off center that you are pulled straight in without realizing why or how.EVERGREENS by Hip O Select in collaboration with A&M records (his original vinyl album label) has remastered these songs to perfection, clean and vibrant recordings with no muddiness or compression. Since the CD is no longer available and third party sellers want your first born child for it, have no fear that you can purchase the digital download album, burn it to your own CD and even capture the original album art, make your own listening CD for the car or house, or just Bluetooth it to your stereo. The sound is immaculate, the performances vintage and classic for all ages who love ballads, pop, and intuitive love songs. Paul Williams was a master of his art, and this is the definitive “best of” collection.