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RATING: 3 to 4 Stars Content/5 Stars Audio
"...Want Some Whisky In Your Water...Sugar In Your Tea..."
On a very cold evening in the Australian outback, an Aborigine hunter would dig a furrow in the ground and bring his dog into the hole with him for bodily warmth. Two dogs were needed for a bitter night, but the worst night of all was called a THREE DOG NIGHT. Not sure anyone needed to know that, but anyway that's how they got their name!
The band were:
DANNY HUTTON, CHUCK NEGRON and CORY WELLS – Lead Vocals
MICHAEL ALLSUP – Guitars
SKIP KONTE (1974-1976) and JIMMY GREENSPOON – Keyboards
JOE SCHERMIE (1969-1971) and JACK RYLAND (1971-1975) – Bass
FLOYD SNEED – Drums and Percussion
As a rock group with worldwide record sales of over 50 million, THREE DOG NIGHT were a genuine chart phenomenon – especially in the States where they released 23 singles on the Dunhill/ABC label between 1968 and 1976. No less than 21 of them charted in the Top 200 (they were handled by Stateside and Probe in the UK and Europe) and its they that are represented here in truly fantastic sound Erick Labson Remastered quality.
US released 25 May 2004 - "The Complete Hit Singles" by THREE DOG NIGHT on Geffen/UTV Records B0001779-02 (Barcode 602498614709) is a CD Compilation of 7" Single Versions. Most tracks are specific 7" single mixes recorded precisely for that purpose, many are cover versions and then you had the alternate lead vocalists or combinations of all three. Here's a detailed breakdown (74:32 minutes):
1. One
(April 1969 US Third 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4191, a HARRY NILSSON cover - Chuck Negron Lead Vocals - B-side was "Chest Fever")
2. Try A Little Tenderness
(January 1969 US Second 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4177 - song made famous by OTIS REDDING - Cory Wells Lead Vocals - B-side was "That No One Ever Hurt This Bad")
3. Easy To Be Hard
(July 1969 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4203 - Chuck Negron Lead Vocals - B-side was "Dreaming Isn't Good For You")
4. Eli's Coming
(October 1969 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4215, a LAURA NYRO cover - Cory Wells Lead Vocals - B-side was "Circle For A Landing")
5. Celebrate
(January 1970 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4227 - Hutton, Negron & Wells Shared Lead Vocals) - B-side was "Feeling Alright"
6. Mama Told Me (Not To Come)
(May 1970 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4239, a RANDY NEWMAN cover - Cory Wells Lead Vocals - B-side was "Rock & Roll Widow")
7. Out In The Country
(October 1970 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4250, a PAUL WILLIAMS/ROGER NICHOLLS cover - Hutton, Negron & Wells Shared Vocals - B-side was "Good Time Living")
8. One Man Band
(November 1970 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4262 - Negron & Hutton Shared Vocals - B-side was "It Ain't Easy")
9. Joy To the World
(February 1971 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4272, a HOYT AXTON cover - Chuck Negron Lead Vocals - B-side was "I Can Hear You Calling")
10. Liar
(June 1971 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4282, a RUSS BALLARD of Argent cover - Danny Hutton Lead Vocal - B-side was "Can't Get Enough Of It")
11. An Old Fashioned Love Song
(November 1971 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4294, a PAUL WILLIAMS cover - Chuck Negron Lead Vocals - B-side was "Jam")
12. Never Been To Spain
(December 1971 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4299, a HOYT AXTON cover - Cory Wells Lead Vocals - B-side was "Peace Of Mind")
13. The Family Of Man
(March 1972 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4306, a PAUL WILLIAMS/JACK CONRAD cover - Hutton, Negron & Wells Shared Vocals - B-side was "Going In Circles")
14. Black & White
(July 1972 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4317 - Danny Hutton Lead Vocal - B-side was "Freedom For The Stallion")
15. Pieces Of April
(November 1972 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4331 - Chuck Negron Lead Vocals - B-side was "The Writings On The Wall")
16. Shambala
(May 1973 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4352, a DANIEL MOORE cover - Cory Wells Lead Vocal - B-side was "Our "B" Side")
17. Let Me Serenade You
(October 1973 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4370, a JOHN FINLEY of RHINOCERUS cover - Cory Wells Lead Vocals - B-side was "Storybook Feeling")
18. The Show Must Go On
(March 1974 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4382, a LEO SAYER/DAVID COURTNEY cover - Cory Wells Lead Vocals - B-side was "On The Way Back Home")
19. Sure As I'm Sittin' Here
(June 1974 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-15001, a JOHN HIATT cover - Cory Wells Lead Vocals - B-side was "Anytime Babe")
20. Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)
(September 1974 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-15013, an ALLEN TOUSSAINT cover - Cory Wells Lead Vocal - B-side as "I'd Be So Happy")
21. 'Til The World Ends
(July 1975 US 45-single on ABC Records ABC-12114, a DAVID LOGGINS cover - Chuck Negron Lead Vocals - B-side was "Yo Ti Quiero Hablar (Take You Down)")
The two singles missing from the set that didn't chart are their First - "Nobody" (credited as 3 Dog Night) from October 1968 on Dunhill/ABC D-4168 and their last - "Everybody Is A Masterpiece" from June 1976 on ABC Records ABC-12192.
Album versions of most of the songs are to be found on the following US LPs:
"Three Dog Night", 1969 (1 and 2)
"Suitable For Framing", 1969 (3, 4 and 5)
"It Ain't Easy", 1970 (6 and 7)
"Naturally", 1970 (8, 9 and 10)
"Harmony", 1971 (11, 12 and 13)
"Seven Separate Fools", 1972 (14 and 15)
"Cyan", 1973 (16 and 17)
"Hard Labor", 1974 (18, 19 and 20)
"Coming Down Your Way", 1975 (21)
96K/24-Bit Remastered by ERICK LABSON of Universal from the original tapes, the sound quality is BEAUTIFUL if such a word can be applied. I've waited years to hear non-hissy clean CD versions of "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)", "Out In The Country" and "Joy To The World" – and this set delivers them in spades. The CLEAR SOUND is startling and makes you reassess each song.
It's not all peaches and cream of course – some of the tunes like "Black & White" and "Til The World Ends" have dated badly, while the truly cringing Leo Sayer song "The Show Must Go On" is beyond liking and the screeching vocal butchery of Laura Nyro's "Eli's Coming" is hard to bear. But then there's the slightly psych feel to "One Man Band" and the lovely David Cassidy-sounding "Pieces Of April" - both forgotten oldies worth rediscovering. "Shambala" and "Let Me Serenade You" are not that commonly known on this side of the pond either - and again - deserve rehearing.
And while the total playing time of 74:32 minutes represents good value for money no doubt, some of those cracking B-sides like "It Ain't Easy" (Bowie, Dave Edmunds and John Baldry covered this Ron Davies song) and "I Can Hear You Calling" would have been such tasty inclusions. But what you do get - that superlative Audio on all tracks – is Gorgeous George all the way.
"The Complete Hit Singles" by THREE DOG NIGHT is that rare combo - a cheap CD to acquire that isn't cheap where it counts - content and remaster. A must have for fans then and a great sounding CD for lovers of 60's and70's 45-RPMs...
