Three Dog Night : Their Great Singles

Perhaps the ultimate singles band.

Always liked Three Dog Night but only ever owned one studio album of theirs and that was the first one which was quite good.
But! They were never a real album band. Their best stuff was always their singles which were brilliant pop music.

First thing I heard by them was 'Mama Told Me ( Not To Come) ' and thought it was great. It was the first of three Billboard Number One singles followed by ' Joy To The World' ( a monster smash) and 'Black and White" but they had many chart hits which equalled or surpassed them including personal faves 'Eli's Coming' and 'Shambala'.

All I have now by the Dogs is a 2-CD set called ' Celebrate', a fine collection including all the singles , some rarities and choice album cuts. A very good set.

 

Agree. Huge TDN fan, but there's no album that turns me on.

Except..."Captured Live at the Forum". Mainly because it's a greatest hits album (which further proves your point).

Superb performances, capped by an unbelievably moving "Try a Little Tenderness".

 

It's not often you have a band with three distinctive lead singers...probably my favorite is Chuck Negron (whose autobiography I read years ago) on "Easy To Be Hard" from Hair...what a powerful voice.

 

I think their one really great album is Seven Separate Fools. The singles there aren't even the best tracks, with gems like "Tulsa Turnaround" and their best original, "Midnight Runaway."

It Ain't Easy would come close (they did the title song better than Bowie did), if not for the terrible '50s track.

 

Oh! Much better!

 

One thing that was very interesting and unique about Three Dog Night was even though in retrospect they are regarded by many as a 'singles band' they always released full albums a few weeks ahead of any singles from that album, preferring that album radio & the public determine the singles they should run with!

("Shambala" was the only exception to this rule due to producer Richard Podolor finding out that the song publisher had unscrupulously pitched the song to another artist (B.W. Stevenson) and wanted to get the cut out to the marketplace as quickly as possible to get the hit with the song.)

Oftentimes the second (and third) singles from the respective LP were remixed to make it fresher & punchier for the programmers who championed the songs as album cuts.

So in actuality they behaved like they were an 'album band', but the singles from those albums sure shined brightly, didn't they?

Andy

 

“Eli’s Coming”.

 

Great band. I think The Best of TDN sounds better than the Celebrate album, but both sound pretty good!

 

Please listen to the non singles

 

I agree with this. There are some choice album cuts on Seven Separate Fools. Freedom For The Stallion, In Bed, Chained, Going In Circles and Midnight Runaway are all solid songs in my view. Add in the singles Black And White and Pieces Of April (plus Prelude To Morning) and you've got a strong album by this band.

I also like the albums Cyan and Coming Down Your Way as a whole, and the debut is no slouch either. After that their records are more spotty (as in, good half albums). They certainly do excellent covers of Free songs.

 

"Celebrate" is the only CD's I have. Had greatest hits taped and also the "Captured Live" taped.

A toss-up between Mama Told Me and Shambala as my favorite single. Only song I got extremely tired of was Joy to the World. The rest stood the test of time.

 

Without looking try to come up with the first Song on a Studio Album that was not a cover version.

It ain’t easy.

 

Sure as I'm Sitting Here

 

Some were annoying ("Show Must Go On"). Some became annoying ("Joy to the World") Most were solid songs made into great records. "Celebrate", "Out In the Country" "Eli's Coming", and especially "One Man Band" which is one intense performance and imo one of the best records ever made.

You (and 3DN) can thank this guy: RICHARD PODOLOR, 1936-2022 : HITS Daily Double

Always thought they should have covered "It's A Beautiful Day" and "Bitter Wind" by Moby Grape

 

I really like the Harmony album

 

I thought all their albums (well, up to the mid 70's anyway) were quite good. The one I keep returning to most is Hard Labor. I know it was considered a bit of a sellout, but I find it a nearly flawless listen. Damn, I just realized that album is 50 this year!

 

Exemplary run of singles from One through Pieces Of April. I always thought this one from 1975 would have made a great late career single.

Three Dog Night - Midnight Flyer

 

I think it was nifty that each of their three #1 hits had a different one of the guys as the lead singer. And the fact that they had three number ones also seemed appropriate given their name.

My own personal favorite of the three singers was Corey Wells. I like this lip sync video of Eli's Coming. Corey seems to be having a blast, and the pink shirt is far out.

 

I like them too, but "Joy To The World" is hardly what I would call brilliant. On the other hand " Out In The Country" most certainly is.

 

Also loved their version of It's For You, which I only many years later discovered was a Lennon-McCartney song they had given away to Cilla Black:

 

I agree. Great version.

 

I’ve always carried a fair amount of fondness for “Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)”.

 

The early hits album Golden Bisquits was a mainstay on my turntable back in the day. The poster that detached from the cover remained on my bedroom wall forever. Still like their early hits, though a few of their later ones got a little embarrassing.

 

AM Radio band that we made endless fun of as being for little brothers and sisters, moms and dads and squares.

They have aged beautifully. Kinda perfect pop music that it turns out is a step or three above bubblegum.
A greatest hits kind of band.

 

Huge fan of this record.

Anytime Babe...