Search - Three Dog Night :: Greatest Hits Live (Sba1)

Seminal 3DN from the vaults: a cause to celebrate!

Mick | New Jersey, USA | 08/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Regarding whether this will be a positive or negative review, let me start by saying I bought this Tuesday 8/26/08 (the day it was released), and I've thus far given it about a dozen listens. Yes I'm a fan.

And yes, I love this CD. "Greatest Hits Live" is culled from the same three European concerts of 3DN's '72-'73 world tour that provided the tracks for their amazing 1973 live double album "Around The World With Three Dog Night". I've never forgiven MCA for dropping the ball with their CD releases of the 3DN catalog. Not only have they never been given the box set they so richly deserve, but three of their original albums (four, if You count the non-MCA 80's ep "It's A Jungle") have never seen a CD release. "Around The World" was the most puzzling omission of all. It was a gold-selling massive hit, and one of the best live double albums of the 70's. As a side note, Edsel Records (UK) has released "Around The World" as a twofer 2-CD set (coupled with "Seven Separate Fools" as the other disc), which I highly recommend.

"GHL" obviously attempts to both rectify that missing CD release, as well as serve as an "alternate" hits collection. It certainly lives up to it's name. It truly is their greatest hits: no filler - no instrumental solos - and all performed live. It also attempts to fill the gaps of hit songs missing from "Around The World" by restoring "Easy To Be Hard", "Celebrate", "Try A Little Tenderness", and "One" (none of which appeared on "Around The World"). But it goes further than just restoring missing hits. For those who are wondering, even the "Around The World" tracks that do appear here are mostly all different performances from one of the alternate concerts. So this is truly "new" vault material from one of the biggest acts of the early 70's.

The awesome digital mastering really showcases the live power of 3DN: the soaring guitar of Mike Allsup, the fluid bass of Joe Schermie, and (particularly) the power punch drums of Floyd Sneed and the grinding Hammond organ of Jimmy Greenspoon. But it is (and always was) the amazing vocals of Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells that separated these Dogs from the rest of the pack.

Not that "GHL" is without flaw. At under 50 minutes, there could have been a lot more included. At the very least, their 1972 Billboard #1 hit "Black & White" should have been included (it does appear on "Around The World"). In a perfect world, MCA would have released "Around The World" as a 2-CD set, with the original double album on one disc, and these alternate performances on the second. These alternates were probably not originally chosen for "Around The World" for a reason. Presumably they chose the best available version of each song from the 3 concerts recorded back in the 70's for the original LP. It's particularly evident with "One Man Band", which is far superior on "Around The World". The editing here is tight overall. There are no fade in's or out's - it all flows seamlessly, but there's the sometimes obvious "flying in" of applause to mask the seams. Also the track running order on "GHL" is also quite different from "Around The World" (which was the true setlist order?).

Seminal 3DN, featuring the original seven members is a rare treat, and this CD delivers the goods. Until we get that box set with vault rarities we fans covet, this CD is a gem to be treasured. Diehard fan who own "Around The World" will want these alternate live performances. For the casual listener who perhaps only own a 3DN hits disc, this is a reasonably priced collection of those hits performed live back when they were new and fresh, and the group was at the top of it's game and the height of it's popularity."

Not Just Another "Hits" Collection

Patrick Randall | massapequa, n.y. | 10/02/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Well, it took over 20 yrs. for "Around the World with Three Dog Night" to make it's CD debut (thanks to the UK's Edsel label), and now just 2 years later we get a more concise live collection from the same tour. The reason I don't give this a 5 Star rating is that two of the tracks (Family of Man, Liar) are the same performances as on "Around..." (although remixed to change the dynamic between vocals and band). They also missed the chance to rectify the fact that two other songs on the original release (Black & White, Out in the Country) were actually the original studio recordings edited in reasonably well (at least by 1973 standards). It would have been nice to hear how those sounded live back then. I guess they only recorded a small number of shows, and they weren't happy with the results. The only other negative with this release is that the crowd noise is somewhat muddy and "added on" in spots.



As far as the good news.... while the first reviewer here stated there was "no filler", I actually love the fact that there are three separate intros/interludes spread across the disc, from a 25 sec. drum lead-in to "Family of Man" to a 2 min. "mini-jam" just before "Liar". I just think these give a much better feel for what it was like to be at one of these shows, as far as focusing on the musicians as much as the vocalists. Then of course there are the four tunes that weren't included on the original double-LP.... "Easy to Be Hard", "Celebrate", "Try a Little Tenderness", and "One"... all excellent versions. The sound quality in general is very good, and there are no complaints here regarding the editing from track to track.



Some Comparisons to ATW Versions: I'm not sure what Randy Newman's original lyrics were, but this is the first time I've heard Cory sing "she's OD'd on the floor", as opposed to "passed out", in "Mama Told Me".... "Eli's Coming" is a more straightforward version here, without the extended "comic" intro.... Chuck gets a little screechy at the end of "Never Been to Spain".... there's some good audience sing-along stuff in "Joy to the World" that wasn't in the earlier version.



I don't know what it would take to get Chuck and Floyd back with the other four surviving original members at this point (will the Hall of Fame ever get it? Should anybody care anymore?).... but in the event that that never happens (and it probably doesn't help that Chuck refers to himself in the liner notes this way - "the fans called him their star"), hopefully it won't be long until some company steps in and gives us a quality box-set to dig into. None of us are getting any younger.... though collections like this can let us forget that once in a while."

A Hard Night's Dog

PHILIP S WOLF | SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA. USA | 10/08/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Three Dog Night was one of those groups that had serious crossover appeal.

They performed great pop songs by top writers, arranged everything to a rock beat, had three fantasic singers, a crack foursome of instrumentalists to back them, mixed their rock music with pop and soul stylings, had a live act that nobody came close to besting. All of this made Three Dog Night a huge success between 1968-1974.



This new release of: "Live" Dog from the world tours of 1972 & 1973, finds our heroes in Germany and England performing their hits to sold-out venues packed with thousands of fans. All the right stuff is indeed here; "One", "Easy To Be Hard", Mama Told Me {Not To Come}, "Eli's Coming", "Liar", "Celebrate", "Never Been To Spain", "Old Fashioned Love Song", "One Man Band" and the encore/sing-along of: "Joy To The World".



Singers: Cory Wells, Danny Hutton and Chuck Negron are in top-form and doing what they do best, singin' up a storm, joking and vamping, for the girls and entertaining like the seasoned veterans they are. Behind the Three "singing" dogs, was one of the best bands of players in the business. Floyd Sneed: on Drums, Joe Schermie: playing Bass, Mike Allsup: Guitars and Jimmy Greenspoon: on all manner of keyboards. These four instrumental players are the secret weapon of Three Dog Night, they deliver hard rock when needed and can lay back and play softly during the ballads, adding just the right touches of tone and color that brings the show up by more than just a few notches. This is about the most under-rated group of it's day, a first rate rock band that played second-fiddle to nobody else during their heyday.



There are 2 other live CD's available by Three Dog Night: "Captured Live At The Forum" {1969} & "Around The World" {1973}, both of those albums are very good and well worth owning. This one called: "Greatest Hits Live", is the best of the bunch. The sound quality is far better than the 1969 Set, and contains all the Tunes you want to hear from this group {The 73 Lp's contained more album selections, this one is ALL hit songs, one after the next.}



Three Dog Night was known for their Top-40 sucess of classic songs. This CD shows just how good they were as a performing band that pleased the fans from Tulsa to Tokyo. It's hard to listen to this and not smile all the way through. Three Dog Night, playing their "Greatest Hits Live."

Four Stars !!!





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