The Way We Were is the thirty-second studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in the spring of 1974 by Columbia Records and was a return to singing songs that his audience was already familiar with after Solitaire, his previous LP that was less reliant on covers of recent pop hits, did not perform well. This was his first studio album out of 25 released by Columbia that didn't make either the Billboard 200 or Christmas Albums charts, but it did reach number seven in the UK during a 10-week run that began on June 15 of that year. The UK release featured a different cover photo, but the track listing for both versions was the same. On December 1, 1974, the British Phonographic Industry awarded the album with Silver certification for sales of 60,000 units in the UK. The single "Love's Theme" entered Billboard magazine's list of the 40 most popular Easy Listening songs of the week in the US in the issue dated June 8, 1974, and stayed on the chart for 11 weeks, peaking at number 16. The Way We Were was released on compact disc for the first time as one of two albums on one CD by Collectables Records on January 22, 2002, the other album being Williams's Columbia release from the spring of 1972, Love Theme from "The Godfather". Collectables included this CD in a box set entitled Classic Album Collection, Vol. 2, which contains 15 of his studio albums and two compilations and was released on November 29, 2002. Reception Billboard felt that the album would succeed. "Once more, Williams brings home a winner. Well-paced throughout, this disk delivers Williams at his best—gliding smoothly through each tune with his unique ability to finesse a lyric to the fullest. Full arrangements and studio mix a definite plus." Track listing Side one "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me" (Jim Weatherly) - 4:20 "I Won't Last a Day Without You" (Roger Nichols, Paul Williams) - 5:19 "Killing Me Softly with Her Song" (Charles Fox, Norman Gimbel) - 4:31 "Touch Me in the Morning" (Michael Masser, Ron Miller) - 3:55 "Love's Theme" (Aaron Schroeder, Barry White) - 2:59 Side two "Sunshine on My Shoulders" (John Denver, Dick Kniss, Mike Taylor) - 3:11 "The Way We Were" from The Way We Were (Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Marvin Hamlisch) - 3:18 "The Most Beautiful