Three Dog Night Albums (16)
'35th Anniversary Hits Collection'
Release Date 10/19/2004
Tracks 19
Label Compendia
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What The Critics Say
35th Anniversary Hits Collection is a pleasant set that combines Three Dog Night (with original vocalists Danny Hutton and Cory Wells, sans Chuck Negron) and the London Symphony Orchestra. The fusion of Three Dog Night's patented blue-eyed soul vocals with lush arrangements provides a glimpse of the direction they could have pursued had they not broken up in 1976. Even during their heyday, Three Dog Night incorporated a rich full sound in the studio that occasionally utilized strings and horns on hits like "Celebrate," "Joy to the World," and "Black and White," all included on this package. Among the 19 cuts are live recordings of "Eli's Coming," "Brickyard Blues," "Try a Little Tenderness," "The Family of Man," and two post-breakup tracks, "Sault Ste. Marie" and "Overground." 35th Anniversary Hits Collection reveals Three Dog Night in 2004 not only enjoying the fruits of their labor, but maturing gracefully in the process. ~ Al Campbell, All Music Guide
'With the London Symphony Orchestra'
Release Date 5/21/2002
Tracks 16
Label Image
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What The Critics Say
A very long disc of Three Dog Night's greatest hits re-recorded with, as you might expect, the London Symphony Orchestra. The results are surprisingly upbeat Muzak adaptations that actually work well with the classical combination, in spite of occasionally sounding like something Randy Newman might have thought up. Unless you're already a huge fan looking for something different yet familiar from the group, you probably won't have much use for it. ~ Brian O'Neill, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Bob Monaco, who did some limited production work on the group's previous release -- the Jimmy Ienner supervised Coming Down Your Way -- takes over the production reigns totally here on a more cohesive but still undefined version of the Three Dog Night. Danny Hutton seems to be missing in action -- and not in the band spin-off S.S.Fools -- while this outing feels like a "Two Dog Night" project with the ominous credit "all selections mixed by Chuck and Cory." A couple of decades later, Chuck Negron's name would be erased from the band's website -- totally erased from the visibility of Cory Wells and Danny Hutton's ensemble (isn't that like trying to evict Ginger Baker from Cream???) , so this album is a unique look at what Chuck and Cory did while they were still talking! "Everybody Is a Masterpiece" leads off the disc, the "theme" tune to this album with its picture-frame cover, and you'd swear you are listening to -- the Spinners. As much of a jolt as that is, keep in mind the previous disc sounded like slick "roots" music compared to this quasi-disco recording. Alan O'Day wrote the phenomenal "Heavy Church" from the Naturally LP, perhaps the best non-hit track the group ever recorded. Here they do a strong version of his chestnut "Easy Evil." It's a steamy, classy and interesting take, but up against renditions by Lulu, Dusty Springfield and Genya Ravan, well, it is hard to top the perfection those three gals flirted with on this song. "Mellow Down" captures Three Dog Night from an earlier time, but it is simply not enough to reestablish the group that invented the art of finding raw tunes and refining, redefining, arranging and producing them to a unique pop music majesty that so many other acts tried to duplicate. "Hang On" is much too funky but not half as much as the Hoyt Axton song that follows. "Southbound" is no "Joy to the World" and could be Kool & the Gang covering Sly & the Family Stone -- and it is just way too much of a stretch for the group to morph into some kind of faceless nightclub act à la Wild Cherry. Which is the flaw with American Pastime, a loss of identity. This is Three Dog Night searching the way Rare Earth attempted to get back on track. It completely walks away from the music the group performs in concert and in doing so denies a catchy tune like "Dance the Night Away" the opportunity to appeal to the millions who brought this act its fame. Where a Bette Midler could survive 1979's Thighs and Whispers, a dramatic move like this could -- and did -- make the trek back to Top 40 all the more difficult. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Three Dog Night garnered three hits off of their 1974 release, Hard Labor, with material from John Hiatt, Allen Toussaint, and David Courtney/Leo Sayer. This time around they obtain their 21st and final Top 40 entry with a Dave Loggins song, "'Till the World Ends," and it is no "Pieces of April," the lovely composition from the same songwriter which landed in the Top 20 for the group two-and-a-half-years earlier. The problem with the song is the same dilemma faced by the album, Coming Down Your Way, the band seeking another genre to conquer while keeping their eye off of the precise and major Top 40 activity which was their bread and butter. Keyboard player for the Blues Image, Frank "Skip" Konte, joins Jimmy Greenspoon on the ivories with the Monkees/Barry Manilow bassist Dennis Belfield onboard as well. Their addition makes for a very musical album with Danny Hutton, Cory Wells and Chuck Negron emulating the Band and some kind of pseudo-slickGrateful Dead rather than sticking with the formula which made them so very successful. Jimmy Ienner's production doesn't have the sparkle it did four months earlier on Grand Funk Railroad's "Bad Time," a heavy metal band sounding more like Three Dog Night than Three Dog Night. Tracked at Colorado's famed Caribou Ranch, the disc also fails to come up with something as extraordinary as Elton John's "Island Girl," a song manufactured in the same recording facility and hitting number one two months after " 'Till the World Ends" brought the group's six-and-a-half-year chart run to a close. Jack Lynton's "Coming Down Your Way" is a reflection of Leo Sayer's "The Show Must Go On" and the closest thing to familiar Dog Night as this disc gets. Jeff Barry's "When It's Over" puts it all into perspective, Negron phrasing the lament which states the obvious for the once magnificent radio-friendly pop production machine. A frustrating outing because all involved were certainly proficient enough to come up with something more substantial than these ten performances which play like unfinished outtakes. Associate Producer on this effort, Bob Monaco, would take the remnants of the group down a disco path with the 1976 release, American Pastime, effectively closing the door and pointing the band toward their next phase -- that of an oldies act. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The last studio album from Three Dog Night to crack the Top 20, Hard Labor shows the growing cracks in the band's armor. Where on previous albums they had selected songs that highlighted their harmonic prowess, most of the tracks on Hard Labor are essentially solo efforts with group backing vocals. As a result, the band loses much of their soul and spirit. The lightweight hits, "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" and "Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)," both with Cory Wells singing lead, are most representative of the record. However, the highlights are the Chuck Negron-sung "The Show Must Go On" (written and originally performed by Leo Sayer) and the dramatic, emotional ballad "I'd Be So Happy" (penned by Skip Prokop of Lighthouse fame). More a compilation of individual tracks than a true band effort, Hard Labor is an inconsequential entry in the Three Dog Night catalog. ~ Joseph McCombs, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
This album, while not their most successful, is one of Three Dog Night's most interesting. Cut during a period when they were still very hot but were almost on the downside of their career, this album has a very strong gospel feeling to it. This is most evident on the hit single "Shambala," one of the group's finest later period records. It's a masterful record that shows the factors that made the group successful -- the counterpoint vocals of Wells, Negron, and Hutton surrounded by a very heavy hard rock backing. Guitarist Mike Allsup contributes a few good originals, too. The closing track, "Into My Life," continues the gospel feeling of the record and ends it on a high note. It's nice to know that with all of the debauchery and drugs, Three Dog Night still had their spiritual priorities in some order. ~ Matthew Greenwald, All Music Guide
'Around the World with Three Dog Night'
Release Date 1/1/1973
Tracks 17
Label Dunhill
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What The Critics Say
After six studio albums, beginning in 1969, a single "in concert" disc Captured Live at the Forum, from Los Angeles, September 12, 1969, and the first of many "greatest hits" packages (Golden Biscuits), came the superstar band's ninth album, the double-disc live album from 1973, Around the World With Three Dog Night. Recorded on the tour that supported the 1972 Seven Separate Fools LP, the record label this time gives no indication of the place or date of recording (more cryptic than 1972's Steppenwolf Live), though that album at least informed the listener it was "recorded live at various concerts during early 1970." Around the World With Three Dog Night has most of the major classics in the band's life before the release of "Shambala," "The Show Must Go On," and the group's other four final hit recordings. This is the same crew that created Captured Live at the Forum -- the same band lineup, Bill Cooper still engineering, Richard Podolor producing, even photographer Ed Caraeff's work continuing to grace the cover and gatefold. The recording is much clearer than Captured Live at the Forum, and the band is totally on. The Laura Nyro tune "Eli's Coming" is the only duplicate from the previous live LP, and along with the majority of their hits not included on the Forum live album, there's the Ted Myers/Jaiananda song "Going in Circles" from the 1972 film X, Y and Zee, as well as "Midnight Runaway," "Good Feelin' 1957," a Floyd Sneed drum solo, keyboard riffing from Jimmy Greenspoon, and the concluding number written by all seven members of the group, "Jam," which rocks, but is an odd way to end a very good LP from an important Top 40 group. By this time, Three Dog Night had become superstars, and the slick recording and performance reflects that, making the previous disc almost underground by comparison. Gabriel Mekler's production of Steppenwolf Live and Jack Richardson's brilliant presentation of The Guess Who Live at the Paramount were classic "peer" albums from this time period to go along with this effort from producer Richard Podolor. Not the definitive live disc from this group, the sublime "Celebrate" is strangely missing, it does contain 11 of their hit songs and six additional tracks. Would be nice to see it expanded to a double CD with more material and maybe some credits as to where it was recorded. There are some great photos of all of the bandmembers inside, and it does remain a snapshot of this vital hit group before they went in different directions. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kicking off with the infectious single "Black and White," Seven Separate Fools appears to be another winner for Three Dog Night, a group who had been blessed with an uninterrupted string of six hit albums. And album number seven did indeed turn into a blockbuster, largely because of that irresistible single, but in retrospect it could be seen as the beginning of the end. Throughout the record, Three Dog Night steadfastly sticks to their appealing, polished pop-soul sound, relying on a bevy of outside songwriters for material. The difference is, they didn't have the same knack for picking terrific songs that they did before. Seven Separate Fools begins strongly with "Black and White" and Randy Newman's "My Old Kentucky Home," but then sharply falls off, picking up only occasionally from there on out ("Pieces of April," "Tulsa Turnaround," "Freedom for the Stallion"). These moments are pretty enjoyable on their own, but they're too isolated to make the record a consistently enjoyable listen, even for dedicated fans. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The release of Harmony in the fall of 1971 gave Three Dog Night their seventh gold record in less than three years, yielding two Top Ten singles with Paul William's "Old Fashioned Love Song" (number four) and Hoyt Axton's "Never Been to Spain" (number five). In addition, William's "Family of Man" would just fail to crack the top of the charts, rising as high as number 12 by March of 1972. This continued commercial brilliance would, unfortunately, have negative repercussions on vocalist Chuck Negron's personal life with a car accident, following a substance-fuelled mixing session, signaling the beginning of his protracted slide into drug addiction and eventual transience. Nevertheless, Harmony remains a showpiece for the group's interpretive talents, the album dividing itself between good-natured communal recklessness (the William compositions, the organ-drenched funk of the group's own "Jam") and more reserved, minor-keyed tradings on the last vestiges of flower-powered earnestness (the melancholic "Peace of Mind," and a dubious cover of Stevie Wonder's "Never Dreamed You'd Leave Me in Summer"). In addition to its continued testament to Three Dog Night's musical versatility, Harmony is historically notable for the fact that the decision to play large venues, like Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, during the stateside tour to support the release played a large part in ushering in the era of so-called stadium rock. ~ Andrew Vance, All Music Guide
