NOW Yearbook '76 and EXTRA '76 [2025]

After throwing a low-key tantrum and swearing off all future NOW Yearbooks featuring music from the '90s because they have proven to be a waste of my time, we're back again with the (probably) good NOW Yearbook '76, released on August 29, 2025, in the usual three formats pictured above. 

Featuring 84 songs across four compact discs, or if you prefer to overspend on vinyl, you get 47 tracks across three slime green translucent discs. (This color scheme is almost as bad as the bright pink that fried our pupils a while ago.) We were ten years old for most of 1976, listening to WLS, and had been buying 45s for nearly two years. We also bought our first album in 1976, so we might be a little excited to see this offering from NOW Towers.

Queen kicks things off with "Somebody To Love" and I am here for it. Next up is Electric Light Orchestra's "Livin' Thing" which I bought back in 1976 on Kelly Green vinyl. The third song is a charm with Fleetwood Mac's "Say You Love Me". Track four reminds me I need to listen to more 10cc beyond "I'm Not In Love" and "The Things We Do For Love". The fifth track is another 45 I bought. "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" has always been a favorite, and though I only came across The Real Thing's "You To Me Are Everything" twenty-five years late, it feels like it's always been a favorite. My absolute favorite song from 1976 is "December, 1963 (Oh What A Night)", another 45 from the collection. Big fan of Candi Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free", Paul Simon's "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover", and Diana Ross's "Theme From Mahogany" to close out the disc. CDOne score: 52.38.

CDTwo begins with the lovely duet between Elton John and Kiki Dee before going into another 45 I bought back in 1976: Cliff Richard's "Devil Woman". I'm back for "Save Your Kisses For Me" and the speaker-busting rock of "The Boys Are Back In Town" by Thin Lizzy, another purchase. Dad had "Squeeze Box" 45. It seemed to be the only song by The Who that he showed any interest in. "Music" by John Miles is another late find. I sometimes serenade my wife with "Jeans On" as it is always a treat when she wears either of the two pairs she owns. The biggest disappointment on this disc is the horrible track from Bay City Rollers. As a big Rollers fan, I can count on five fingers the songs I can't stand listening to, and "Love Me Like I Love You" is one of them. CDTwo score: 38.10

CDThree begins with a magnificent seven-song run from Donna Summer, Andrea True Connection, Diana Ross, Vicki Sue Robinson, Tavares, The O'Jays, and The Miracles. While I really enjoy listening to Barry White, "Let The Music Play" fails to make the cut. I'm back for "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" from Lou Rawls and Marvin Gaye's "I Want You". Staying to catch "Midnight Train To Georgia" and "Kiss And Say Goodbye" from The Manhattans. Got me up on my feet for Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music" and James Brown's "Get Up Offa That Thing", but scratching my head upon hearing Lalo Schifrin's take on the theme from Jaws. CDThree score: 61.90

CDFour begins with another one of my favorite songs ever, another 45 I bought: "Silly Love Songs" by Wings. I'm gonna repeat this one. Twice more. It's a bit of a buzzkill coming after the first song, though I like Elton John's "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word". I've always been a fan of Dennis Locorriere's smooth vocals on Dr. Hook songs, but finding "A Little Bit More" here comes too close to his recent passing. Give me a minute. I have something in my eye. Dolly Parton's "Jolene" is still powerful stuff vocally and musically; that guitar riff is gorgeous. I know it's novelty fluff to most listeners, but I loved "Convoy" back in '76 enough to seek out the 45 and buy the Black Bear Road album. I'm fully on board with Climax Blues Band's "Couldn't Get It Right" and Linda Ronstadt's wounded cover of "Tracks Of My Tears". The final track on the disc that snagged my attention is track 16, "She's Gone" by Hall & Oates, though I would have gladly dropped any of the five songs after it to hear the full album version. CDFour score: 38.10

NOW Yearbook '76 played really well. Enough tracks to keep me interested and not too many disappointing tracks by favorite artists. I have a few tracks in mind I'd love to hear on NOW Yearbook Extra '76. Would have loved to count the 1966 song "I'm Your Puppet" on disc three, but it is a 1976 re-recording. That opening seven-song salvo on disc three is very tasty. NOW Yearbook '76 scores a nice 48.81, just one song shy of a 50.00.

Featuring 63 more songs from 1976, NOW Yearbook Extra '76 was released on October 10, 2025, in the same 3CD standard card sleeve format as all the other NOW Yearbook Extras. How many of those 63 tracks are Essential? I'll tell you which ones are essential to me.

Queen once again nabs the pole position, this time around with "You're My Best Friend". Elton John takes track two with the faux live "Bennie and the Jets" followed by "Let 'Em In", Electric Light Orchestra's "Evil Woman", and another great 10cc track. I like Neil Diamond's "If You Know What I Mean", if you know what I mean. Johnny Wakelin's "In Zaire" is new to my ears, although it turns out I have the song on four other albums. Gimme "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" all day long; it was another 45 I rushed out and bought in 1976. The last two essentials for me on CDOne are The Trammps at number 15 and "Wake Up Everybody" at number 18. CDOne score: 50.00

I prefer Donna Summer's full-length album version of her Barry Manilow cover "Could It Be Magic", yet still find a few good lines in the single edit. On another day, I might have enjoyed any or all of the disco tracks from 2 through 6, but today my essential is track 7, Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady" with its little keyboard squiggle. The Bay City Rollers come through this time with their much-loved Dusty Springfield cover "I Only Wanna Be With You", another 45 purchase. I also bought 45s for Manilow's "I Write The Songs" and "Disco Duck". CDTwo score: 22.73

CDThree starts with Elton John's triumphant cover of The Who's "Pinball Wizard" as featured in the film Tommy. Things get rocking my way again with Thin Lizzy's excellent "Jailbreak" at track four. The music of Be Bop Deluxe is another relatively recent find. I really enjoy their unique fusion of glam and prog with lots of inventive, melodic guitar work, as on "Ships In The Night". Boz is an essential, as is "Sara Smile". "If Not You" is one of Dr. Hook's more country-tinged tracks and pairs well with "I Recall A Gypsy Woman". David Ruffin tears it up on the Van McCoy-produced "Walk Away From Love", setting the stage for "The Rubberband Man", another 45 purchase. Brass Construction's "Movin' " is horn-based funk at its finest. And who can listen to "Love Rollercoaster" without turning the volume way, way up? Not I. CDThree score: 52.38

The song selection on NOW Yearbook Extra '76 exceeded our expectations. We were pleased by the inclusion of more than a few album versions, even though edited single versions were available. Likewise, why were some of the single edits used instead of their slightly longer album counterparts? Guess some sort of uniformity is too much to ask. Still, despite this minor quibble, the two NOW Yearbooks for 1976 may have received the highest scores yet. NOW Yearbook Extra '76 score: 41.27