Customer Reviews

Afternoon Delight

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This CD is a compilation of Starland Vocal Band's first two albums. Though critically panned at the time, the music and the incredible blend of four part harmony and acoustic accompaniment makes for an enduring listening experience. The only group to be released on John Denver's "Windsong" label, Starland Vocal Band brings an infectious joy to their music making. "Hail, Hail, Rock and Roll" has more references to early Rock (along with fun inuendo) that will catch your ears; the soaring cristal clear tenor and piano work by Jon Carrol on "Starland" will melt your heart. "Rear View Mirror" (title cut from the second album) is a bittersweet song about more than a journey up the California Coast. "The Light of My Life" will become one of your favorite family-type love songs, and Taffy Danoff's lead on the song is perfect for the music! This quartet exudes on the album the same kind of spirit they brought to their concert show. They're fun, cheery, yet deadly serious about making special music with their voices. If all you know is "Afternoon Delight" (named, by the way, after a menu item from a Washington, DC restaurant, actually what Bill and Taffy Danoff thought that menu item ought to be), you'll be delighted into the evening, and even in the morning, with the rest of this CD collection. I just hope the third album also get re-released! I've enjoyed S.V.B. since 1976 when they were premeired on John Denver's summer tour. They still sound just as fresh, just as fun, just as honest today.

I guess like most, I never listened to this group beyond their hit. What a mistake! I happen to be a Paul Simon fan and what they do with American Tune took my breath away. This was an incredibly talented group and I regret not catching more of them while they were active. This CD is underpriced - trust that!

Many people may not recognize the name, but Starland Vocal Band's Bill & Taffy Danoff are the couple who wrote John Denver's "Country Roads". Bill also wrote several other memorable songs for John Denver and co-wrote "Boulder To Birmingham" with Emmylou Harris. Far from a one-hit-wonder or flash-in-the-pan, members of the Starland Vocal Band are still making great music.

Back in the day (long before boy bands took on harmonies)SVB was (and still is) some fo the sweetest, tightest harmonies recorded. The rich depth of some of the songs (Fallin' In a Deep Hole) is offset by fun up-tempo tunes, to keep things from getting too serious.

It's impossible to pick out any one talent as being over and above the others. Equally capable and inextricably blended, the talents came together to record a total of 5 albums (according to research, though I only recall the first 3) under John Denver's "Windsong Records." They remain friends, and Jon Caroll produced Bill Danoff's latest album, his own recordings of songs that John Denver did during his career.

Recommendation? Ignore the ignorant negative reviews. For the price, this compilation is a steal! Those of you who listened to their other songs back when will find "St. Croix Silent Night" "Late Night Radio," "Rear View Mirror" and a long list of others to be a welcome walk down memory lane. If you haven't had the pleasure, you owe it to yourselves to give 'em an ear!

I too had this album in 1978 and have always loved the sound of this group. But all my LP's were destroyed in a flood. I am so grateful to find this and many other hard to find albums. Any one who ever sang in the 70's should have a listen !

The people who wrote negative reviews for this CD, must have been smoking "Wacky Tobaccy". I found this CD refreshing, enjoyable & most of all sentimental. This brought back memories of the enjoyable time of my life-the late 1970s. "Afternoon Delight" was one of the 45s, that I collected. After hearing the samples from "California Day" & "Starland", I had to buy it. "California Day" reminds me of a special lady that I met in the summer of 1979. I'm an old softie & a sentimental guy...so sue me.....

Sound quality sounds like it was recorded yesterday, very crisp & good, quite surprising actually. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because the material, while quite good, is not overly memorable - kinda "fluffy" if you will. Borderline Carpenters, country feel, yet so very much like "Faith To Live By" TV show '70s religious group sound. Reasonable buy for $10.

I can review this album from the original copy I had in 1978. As I enjoy Acapella music ( whether I can spell it or not) I really enjoyed St. Croix Silent Night and have been searching for a new copy since 1978...to no avail ( due to the relative obscurity of the album) until now. Looking forward to hearing it again.

But for those who pan SVB, like a couple of the reviewers below, let me suggest that one's own taste is not all there is. (And for some people in the world, we know that taste is located on the tongue, rather than in the ears.) The harmonies and the vocal maturity of this group are professional and well controlled. Their playfulness with the lyrics (AD is just plain FUN!) is part of their charm.

Of course, for some listeners the problem is that SVB doesn't (didn't) sing about bloodspatters on the wall, about Dead things and people, and "Metal Hurlant" and vile happenings that make normal people puke their toenails up....

There is nothing wrong (AND A WHOLE LOT RIGHT!) with "Nice" and "fun" and really well crafted songs. And that's what you get on this disk.

This is the ultimate collage of Starland Vocal Band songs in CD format. It combines all the songs from several albums and is a MUST HAVE for fans of this group. It is truly a breath of fresh air to listen to these lovely songs again and to hear their amazing blended voices. In these days of boom boom boom thump thump music, this CD and the quality of this group's sound is truly refreshing. It is a true shame that this group disbanded.

The Starland vocal band had a #1 single in 1976 with "Afternoon Delight", a classic slice of easy of the ear Middle Of the Road Country-Pop, that is worthy of the Carpenters and such. They also won 2 Grammy awards, were nominated one more time, scored their own TV show and continued making music until they disbanded in 1981.

This collection sums up their career nicely. To all those Starland Dissers, I disagree with you (and, going by the revivers here, and the fact this band has hundreds and hundreds of people buying their music every year, so do a lot of others -which doesn't suprise me and I think they are better than all those progressive rock bands of the '70s and '80s, who are the real crap in the music world).