Customer Reviews

Candida

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before this LP was released Tony Orlando was working for as Vice President and General Manager of April-Blackwood.Producer and freind Hank Medress asked Tony to sing on a demo.Tony relented at first because he thought it would hamper his day time job.Tony relented at first because he did not want his named used. The song"Candida" was used under the name Dawn after Jay Siegels daughter Stacy Dawn.This song quickly rose to number#3 on the Billboard charts in September of 1970.Then "Knock Three Times" came along and it was even a bigger hit then "Candida". This song went all the way to number#1 in January of 1971. The only problem there was no real Dawn and Tony set out to find some backup singers and came along Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson who came from Deteroit(they are cousins) and the rest is history. The group then became Dawn featuring Tony Orlando.Tony does some great vocals with Telma and Joyce on the songs" The Love in Your Eyes,""Carmen",I Didn't Mean To Love You So Good Junaita", The Good Life"," I Get Ideas","Summer Sand","Play and Sing"," Home"," Rainy Day Man"," Sweet Soft Sounds Of Love","In The Park"," Up On The Roof","What Are You Doing Sunday","Carolina On My Mind"," Get Out From Where You Are",Perhaps The Joy of Giving", and "Country".This is a must have for any Tony Orlando and Dawn fan.

This is a great CD, I have been looking for the song "Home" It was the flip side of the 45 redord of "Knock three times" which I got in 1971. Both are on this CD with other great songs..

I have been a fan of Dawn/Tony Orlando & Dawn since the first 45, "Candida" came out in July 1970. All of the original 45s were issued by Bell Records in mono. When the "Candida" album came out, two things were obvious: that the songs sound so much better in stereo, their arranger Norman Berger created arrangements to absolutely die for. But the versions of the hits on this album were oh so slightly different from the mono 45s. The version of "Candida" has a backing vocal flourish over the lines "you know I'm tryin' hard to win me first prize" before the final refrain (occurs at about 2:30 into the song) that wasn't on the 45. The version of "Knock Three Times" has French horns after the third and fourth lines of the second verse (and after the lines directly after the instrumental passage toward the end) that also weren't on the 45. The Razor and Tie CD has the LP version of "Knock Three Times", which has become the common version on all CD reissues. But it doesn't have the Lp version of "Candida"; it has the single mixed into stereo, which has also become the common reissue version. The LP version of "Candida" also wasn't on the R2/Sony BMG reissues that came out in 2005. So where is the Lp Version of "Candida"? There is a CD on the Remember label from Portugal (issued in 1995) that is commonly available which has this version. There is also a rare BMG/Ariola CD from Germany that was issued in 1989 that has the original LP version of "Candida". Imagine my surprise to hear that local oldies station B-103 on Long Island actually plays this version!! But on US reissues/compilations, it seems to have vanished. More's the pity, as I feel this version adds something more to the song. But that shouldn't stop you from enjoying this CD, it includes a lot of James Taylor covers because when Tony Orlando informed his boss, Clive Davis, at April/Blackwood music of the fact that he was the lead vocalist of the group, Clive told him he could do it as long as he used some of their copyrights on the Lp. I also enjoy the B-sides of the singles, "Look At..." and "Home", ("Home" ALSO has a slightly different version on the mono 45, but we won't address that here and now). I personally would like to see a reissue of the "Candida" album with all of these versions included as bonus cuts. Are you listening, SONY BMG? Probably not, since record companies suck, and it's the almighty dollar which is important to them (probably the reason they're going down the tubes, anyway!!!).

Bought this album as a kid, when it was first released, probably aroung 1969. Still one of my favorites.

As a huge fan of Tony Orlando and this being a very early album, it is a treasure.

in 1970,singer TONY ORLANDO ,a former teen idol from the early 60s,was still doing demos for some extra cash that he needed at the time ,..since he had a baby on the way.He had just had a top twenty hit under the bogus name of WIND with a song called MAKE BELIEVE.if you have heard this track you might almost think it is FRANKIE VALLI .Tony was once named one of the best blue eyed soul singers and to me this song,.. and the entire lp of CANDIDA proves it.the title track was already recorded with another male vocal but it didnt have the sound the producers wanted , so they rememebered their good friend tony. next thing you know, tony says he remembers driving in the car and his wife saying,"that sounds like you"in which he replied, 'i think it is me ' and even more surprising was that the song made it to #3 pop,and #1 cashbox and AC AND went on to sell over 2 million copies. a few months later,the producers asked him back for a follow up.the song was KNOCK THREE TIMES.tony said he thought it was to corny and forgot about it but to his surprise it went to #1 all over and sold over 7 million copies.of course the record company wanted a another follow up and a lp but there was a problem....there was NO GROUP!tony went back with producers and did all the leads with all the other demo seesion payers that had been there on the first 2 singles,.the result was this lp ,CANDIDA.THE LP is filled with what Tony does best,blue eyes soul with covers of some of his favorite artists like THE DRIFTERS ...UP ON THE ROOF,and JAMES TAYLORS ..,RAINY DAY MAN.also included is the tenny booper hits WHAT ARE YOU DOINg SUNDAY AND SUMMER SAND.the latter being the most well crafted of the two and it reached #9 on the AC charts in the early summer of 1971.in the uk other singles foloowed such as CARMEN,and JUANITTA ,.and I PLAY AND SING but they are too sugary for me.all in all ,this cd contains most of the first 2 DAWN lps but there is one negative.TELMA hOPKINS,AND Joyce and Pam Vincent who later became known as the female part of DAWN are not featured here on this cd set as they officially did not join the group until 1971 ,well after this lp was released.i was hoping for the 35th anniversary they might have the ladies overdub their vocals on this cd set and give some of these songs the motown edge they needed.but it didnt happen,so basically this is really a TONY ORLANDO solo lp but still a good one filled with some good songs and memories.if you need a trip back to 1970,all you need to is buy this cd and KNOCK THREE TIMES.all in all ,great vocals with some great covers.

This album full of latin-flavored pop paints a vivid picture of dreaming and hoping for someplace better among the slums of New York City. Includes the hits "Candida", "Knock Three Times", and "What Are You Doing Sunday"-the only Sunday wedding song.Also contains great renditions of Carole King's "Up on the Roof" and James Taylor's "Rainy Day Man" and "Carolina in My Mind".

This collection includes three chart hits: the title track, What Are You Doing Sunday and the classic pop number Knock Three Times - a massive hit in 1971. The rest is made up of cover versions of classic compositions from the 1970s like Laura Nyro's Up On The Roof, James Taylor's Carolina In My Mind and others. These are fairly straightforward pop interpretations of much covered songs, so nothing special and not worth pursuing in my opinion. To get the real meat by Dawn, it's best to get the Very Best Of compilation with the above-mentioned hits plus Tie A Yellow Ribbon, Strawberry Patch With Sally and Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose. I loved the sound of Dawn when I was a kid and still appreciate this kind of melodic vocal pop.