Various Artists - Have a Nice Day 14 (12 tracks) +Album Reviews

Ho, Ho..It's Magic ---The Groovy 70's!

paperbackriter | USA | 08/18/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Another Groovy Collection of 70's Hot Wax from the folks at Rhino. This one is worth the price of admission for Ace's underrated pop-classic "How Long", Pilot's McCartney-esque "Magic" and the atmospheric wonders of "I'm Not in Love" by 10cc. Also worthy is Michael Murphey's "Wildfire", a haunting ode to a pony which was one of the most memorable hits of 1975. Sugarloaf's "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" not only rips the Music Biz, but also rips-off the Beatles' "I Feel Fine". (Quite humorously I might add...) Of course, the real treasures of these "Have a Nice Day" discs are those dreadful "only in the 70's" songs which are so bad that ultimately you just gotta love 'em. Volume 14 serves up two such "classics": Sammy Johns' stoned-out hippy anthem Chevy Van" and Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting". Both are laughably dreadful. In fact,"Kung Fu" may be the worst song of the 70's but, I must admit, camp-classics like these bring me back to the "Have a Nice Day" series over and over again! This one's a keeper -- a trip down memory lane draped in bellbottoms, black-lights and lava-lamps."

Must For Baby Busters

Anthony Brancato | San Francisco, CA (USA) | 02/04/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Overall a solid, representative example of what life in popular music was like after Elton John got "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" out of his system. I'm sure Ringo Starr didn't mind Jerry Corbetta's snub of him in "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You:" After all, Ringo had two hits of his own ("Only You" and "The No-No Song") sandwiched around Corbetta's offering. The cute little "boingy" sounds featured on "Up In A Puff Of Smoke" bring to mind the DeFranco Family's "Abracadabra" of a year earlier, only they're more effective - and more mature-sounding - here. "Long Tall Glasses" did for this generation of high-schoolers waht "Up On Cripple Creek" did for the previous batch, and "Wildfire" has to rank among the top ten "death pop" records ever (see what you started, Gilbert O'Sullivan?). Don't try to figure out what it was about 1975 that brought out all these "magic" and "miracle" songs - Barry Manilow's "It's A Miracle" and "Could It Be Magic?" and Jefferson Starship's "Miracles" - in addition to Pilot's "Magic." Just enjoy the Pilot cut - it won't be difficult. The lone complaint here concerns "Jackie Blue:" This CD uses the 45-rpm edit rather than the LP version, which contains an additional verse."

Musical Memories From the Ford Administration

Anthony G Pizza | FL | 03/02/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Chapter 14 of the "Have A Nice Day" musical saga focuses on 1974-75 with, as Paul Grein's excellent liner notes attest, many performers content to mimic the era's superstars (Eagles, Elton, McCartney).Lyrical themes string some songs together: Hollywood stardom (the Hudson Brothers' lame power ballad, Hot Chocolate's "Emma") country-rock about the mysterious and fantastic (Michael Martin Murphy's signature #2 hit "Wildfire," the Ozark Mountain Daredevils' obtuse southern rock lite "Jackie Blue") and the requisite male fantasy (Sammy Johns "Chevy Van"). But it also includes Leo Sayer's best hit song ("Long Tall Glasses"), Paul Carrack's lead vocal debut (Ace's "How Long," about a band breakup), and two exceptionally well-produced singles (Pilot's Alan Parsons-produced "Magic" and 10CC's #2 "I'm Not In Love," heard in an edited version.) As always with this series and other various artist compilations, the ratio of familiar, well-liked hits should determine whether to purchase."

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