The Complete Hit Singles

by Three Dog Night, Hoyt Axton, John Hiatt, Dave Loggins, Randy Newman

Overview

Three Dog Night ran off a string of 21 Top 40 hits between 1968 and 1975, including three number ones: "Joy to the World," "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)," and "Black & White." Despite this, they are often written off as a lightweight band who couldn't write their own songs. Granted they were laid-back and very easygoing, but they had some heft. The vocals of Chuck Negron, Danny Hutton, and Cory Wells were surprisingly soulful and the band that backed them was solid, and even rocked pretty hard on occasion. They didn't write songs -- it is true -- but their genius was picking songs. Along with producer Richard Podolor, the group found songs by writers like Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, Laura Nyro, Hoyt Axton, Paul Williams, and John Hiatt and turned them into hits. So the group had laudable credentials, but more importantly, the songs collected here play like the soundtrack to the '70s. If you were just a casual fan, listening to Complete Hit Singles provides moment after moment of "I didn't remember these guys did that song!" exclamations. The hits just keep coming one after the other: "Joy to the World," "Celebrate," "Shambala," "Liar," "An Old Fashioned Love Song," and "Let Me Serenade You." Never sappy, never overbearing, always settled into a low-key, hooky groove, these songs are about as good as early-'70s pop gets. Another impressive thing about Three Dog Night is that they never showed any signs of slowing down. 1974's "Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)" is just as good as "Eli's Coming" from 1969. The only thing that stopped them was the inevitable bout of creative differences that split the band up in 1976. This collection basically supplants the excellent Best of Three Dog Night from 1983. It boasts improved sound and one more song, their last Top 40 hit, "Til the World Ends," from 1975.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/25/2004
Label:	Utv Records
UPC:	0602498614709
catalogNumber:	000177902
Rank:	5799

Tracks

1. One
2. Try a Little Tenderness
3. Easy to Be Hard
4. Eli's Coming
5. Celebrate
6. Mama Told Me (Not to Come)
7. Out in the Country
8. One Man Band
9. Joy to the World
10. Liar
11. An Old Fashioned Love Song
12. Never Been to Spain
13. The Family of Man
14. Black and White
15. Pieces of April
16. Shambala
17. Let Me Serenade You
18. The Show Must Go On
19. Sure as I'm Sittin' Here
20. Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)
21. Til the World Ends

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Three Dog Night   Primary Artist
Cory Wells   Vocals
Mike Allsup   Guitar
Jimmy Greenspoon   Keyboards
Danny Hutton   Vocals
Skip Konte   Keyboards
Lee Loughnane   Trumpet
Mickey McMeel   Percussion
Chuck Negron   Vocals
James Pankow   Trombone,Trumpet
Walter Parazaider   Saxophone
Jack Ryland   Bass
Joe Schermie   Bass
Floyd Sneed   Percussion,Drums
Ron Stockert   fender rhodes
Rusty Young   Pedal Steel Guitar
Gordon de Witty   Organ
Patrick Sullivan   Cello
Michael Allsup   Guitar

Technical Credits

Hoyt Axton   Composer
John Hiatt   Composer
Dave Loggins   Composer
Randy Newman   Composer
Harry Nilsson   Composer
Laura Nyro   Composer
Leo Sayer   Composer
Jimmy Campbell   Composer
Earl Robinson   Composer
Russ Ballard   Composer
David Courtney   Composer
January Tyme   Composer
Thomas Jefferson Kaye   Composer
Galt MacDermot   Composer
Garry Bonner   Composer
Jack Conrad   Composer
Bill Cooper   Engineer
John Finley   Composer
Alan Gordon   Composer
Jimmie Haskell   String Arrangements
Jimmy Ienner   Producer,Audio Production
Gabriel Mekler   Producer,Audio Production
Daniel Moore   Composer
Richard Podolor   Producer,Engineer,Audio Production
Allen Toussaint   Composer
Paul Williams   Composer
David Arkin   Composer
James Rado   Composer
Gerome Ragni   Composer
Vartan   Art Direction
Harry Woods   Composer
Reginald Connelly   Composer
Billy Fox   Composer
Roger Nichols   Composer
Glenn Barry   Production Design