Epic/Legacy's The Best of Billy Swan is a fine 16-track collection that features highlights from his recordings for Monument, Columbia, and Epic in the '70s and '80s.
Swan's unexpected crossover hit, "I Can Help," is here, but the remaining 15 songs veer closer to country, bearing just a slight resemblance to the bouncy pop/rock of the hit. Among the remaining songs are the country hits "Everything's the Same (Ain't Nothing Changed)," "You're the One," "Shake, Rattle and Roll," "I Just Want to Taste Your Wine," "Do I Have to Draw a Picture," "I'm Not Lovin' You," "Stuck Right in the Middle of Your Love," "With Their Kind of Money and Our Kind of Love," and "Your Picture Still Loves Me (And I Still Love You)," as well as "Lover Please," the
Clyde McPhatter song
Swan wrote when he was in high school. Not all of the songs meet the standards of "I Can Help" and "Lover Please," but many of them are interesting and are among the better country-pop of their era. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine