Customer Reviews

Captain & Tennille: The Compete Hits

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I reviewed this awhile back and it wasn't published but that's just as well because I've lived with the disc for awhile now and have become a lot more fond of certain songs that I dismissed before. This is a much better collection than either "Greatest Hits" or "Scrapbook". It might not include every fan's favorite album cuts but it has all of the hit singles plus a lot more. It's hard for me to argue with the track selection. To begin with, their recording of "Love Will Keep Us Together" is one of the greatest pop singles of the 70s. The arrangement is innovative and Daryl Dragon's magnificent keyboard work seems tailor-made for the beautiful and exciting vocal style of Toni Tennille. More classic hit singles abound: "The Way I Want To Touch You", "Lonely Night", "Shop Around", "You Never Done It Like That", "Do That To Me One More Time". But the two stand outs for me after listening a few times were definitely "Wedding Song" and "Song Of Joy". I never cared much for Paul Stookey's "Wedding Song". It was a sentiment lost on me. But reading in the liner notes that Toni Tennille was herself pretty much a newlywed when C&T recorded this song sheds a new light on it. Her voice puts more of a spotlight on the lyrics than Stookey's did. "Song Of Joy" is just absolutely gorgeous from the opening piano chords to the majestic finish. Tennille's voice is really allowed to soar on this one. All in all, this is a great compilation with terrific remastering, insightful liner notes, beautiful photos and all the most memorable songs. The good: "I'm On My Way", the bad: "Happy Together", the questionable: "Can't Stop Dancing" and the rare: "Por Amor Viveremos". Oh, and also "Muskrat Love" which I still claim not to like but never skip. It's like looking at a car wreck. I don't want to see it, but stare anyway in curiosity. And as silly as the song is, I love the way it ends.

When will The Captain and Tenille be discovered again? I thought that the funny cell phone tv commercial would do it ("he thought you said 'Captain and Tenille'...").

It's true - they are the 70's incarnate (and some people won't appreciate that). I, however, was always a Captain and Tenille fan. Tenille's voice, as deep as Cher or Karen Carpenter, but as soulful as can be, was part of the attraction. The fact that they appeared to be a happily married show-biz couple was also attractive. But, most importantly, they made happy, pop music - and that's nothing to sneeze at!

This compilation features their well-known hits (although a few tracks that I enjoy are missing: I *love* "Smile For Me One More Time!"

"Love Will Keep Us Together" was their big hit. I prefer Tenille's singing on "I Write the Songs" better than Barry Manilow's version. I've always had a special place in my heart for "Lonely Night (Angel Face)" (with those crickets!). "Shop Around" is pure Motown fun. "Muskrat Love" is a camp classic and has some nice 70's keyboard tricks in it. And "Can't Stop Dancing" has a driving beat.

My personal favorite of all is "Come in from the Rain". The duo opens the track with the sound of rain. And Tenille's voice is perfect for this bittersweet song. Gorgeous and unaged.

The Captain and Tenille were one of my favorite 70's act - I watched their short-lived tv show all the time. If you like 70's pop and haven't experienced C&T, then try this cd. It'll bring back good memories.

I have been a Captain and Tennille listener for over 25 years now dating back to 1975. I have attended many of their shows and have also held a special place in my heart for their music and philosphy. They are simply irresistable and likeable.

I have always hoped that one day we may get their entire collection of music released on compact disc. Over the past 10 years most of their music has reemerged though mostly on Japanese imports of their A&M years. I hope that one day the "Make Your Move" and Keeping Our Love Warm" albums will be released on CD. Even if they were on one compact disc. These albums displayed a new attitude and different music style that the Captain & Tennille displayed during the 1970's. It reflected an adult oriented sound and most of this music still sounds current today.

This collection captures the image and sound of the Captain & Tennille. I recommend this collection over the 1977 Greatest Hits collection which I feel was issued too soon into their career. The "Ultimate Collection contains some songs that are truly lost gems such as "Song of Joy", "I'm On My Way", "Love on A Shoestring" and "Keeping Our Love Warm".

I give this a 5 star review because it is beautifully packaged although it contains a discrepancy regarding the song "Don't Forget Me" in the liner notes. This song was never released as a single. Ironically, the song still didn't make it into this collection. The song that should have been included was "This Is Not The First Time" that was written by Toni Tennille and issued as a single back in the fall of 1980. It was originally written for Cher as was several other songs on the "Keeping Our Love Warm" album. Toni remarked at the time that Cher turned down the song "This Is Not The First Time" because it wasn't "rock enough" If you ever have an opportunity to listen to this track you will definately hear a very rock oriented sound from the Captain and Tennille. I wish that this track was included because then it would have been completely "ultimate".

A couple of my other favorite songs that never made it onto CD are: "Never Make A Move Too Soon", "Since I Fell For You" and "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)" The ultimate collection could have displayed one more track in honor of Daryl Dragon, which should have been "Song For My Father". It is perhaps his best solo work on the Captain and Tennille albums and unfortunately is another lost gem.

Enjoy this collection and share it with some friends. It will bring back fond memories and great conversation. If you ever get the chance to see the Captain and Tennille/Toni Tennille live in concert make sure you see them. They are a class act!

Listening to Universal's recent 22-track compilation of the squeaky-clean Toni Tennille and her captain Daryl Dragon is the essential stroll down memory lane. The musical duo epitomised the adult-contemporary scene of the mid-seventies, and they even scored a few big cross-over hits which became staples of seventies FM radio. Admittedly, their single releases (nearly all of which are compiled here) are largely mid-tempos or ballads, so fans of the group's 1979 disco/pop album 'Make Your Move' might be safer with the more uptempo compilation CD 'Scrapbook'. However for those wanting to relive their youth or people like me who can appreciate an age of musical innocence and lyrical naivety, 'Ultimate Collection: The Complete Hits' is a good place to start.

It's difficult to fault this compilation in terms of what it is. I would mourn the loss of the silky disco tune 'No Love In The Morning' or the R'n'B-infused 'Until You Come Back To Me', but as this is explicitly a hits compilation it's a relatively futile exercise. For the casual fan, all the big songs are here in shimmeringly clear, digitally-remastered quality - 'Do That To Me One More Time', 'Love Will Keep Us Together', 'Lonely Night (Angel Face)', even the semi-hideous / semi-beautiful 'Muskrat Love'. For the slightly more versed fans, their more moderately-successful singles such as 'Can't Stop Dancin'', 'The Way I Want To Touch You', 'Shop Around', 'You Need A Woman Tonight' receive another well-deserved outing here. And for all Captain & Tennille diehards, tunes like 'Love On A Shoestring', a disco reading of 'Happy Together (A Fantasy)', and 'Keeping Our Love Warm' round out this comprehensive compilation.

The combination of Daryl's production with Toni's deep vocals and lyrical know-how made for some of the best songs of their era. I was hoping to find something wrong with this collection to at least warn people about, but it's a class package from top to bottom. A very complete tracklisting, lovely artwork, and a bumper booklet with photos, comprehensive write-ups and even snippets from a new interview with Toni and Daryl makes 'The Ultimate Collection' the perfect introduction to new fans and a fitting tribute to long-time fans for their loyalty.

Isn't there anything simply screams guilty pleasure like the Captain & Tennille? I mean, their cheesy yet infectious hits meant back in the 1970s' you were on a one way ticket to lameville. Well, 30 years later, the world is more accepting to the Captain & Tennille, so now me and many others feel comfortable saying how much we enjoy their music.

"Ultimate Collection: The Complete Hits" is the most complete representation of the duo's hits you could possibly find. Indeed, most of us will be happy to hear songs like "Love Will Keep Us Together", "Muskrat Love" and "Do That To Me One More Time". And diehards who went and bought the actual albums rather than just singles will be happy to learn that forgotten radio staples like "Circles", "Song Of Joy" and "Wedding Song (There Is Love)". Contrary to one reviewer's critique on the album, the sound is excellent. Everything sounds splendid.

This is a must have album, but only if you're a fan. This duo certainly isn't for everyone, but people who like this type of music will pick this up immediately

The Captain & Tennille released their original "Greatest Hits" album in 1977, which establishes the need for this "Ultimate Collection: The Complete Hits" on two scores. First, the pop duo had several more hits after that point in time, primarily "You Never Done It Like That," co-written by Neil Sedaka (who co-wrote their first big hit, "Love Will Keep Us Together") and "Do That to Me One More Time," written by Tennille herself. Second, the original hits collection predated the invention of the CD, which matters because that is why they can get another ten tracks onto this album with all that wonderful modern technology. The new songs are not all post-1977; "Gentle Stranger" goes back to their debut album. The result is a collection of soft pop songs that goes well beyond the hit level, which is fine as long as you like Toni Tennille's vocals and the keyboard work of Daryl Dragon (I do). The true testament to the quality of their music is the old standard that the best songs are not the hits that everybody knows. "Love Will Keep Us Together" is actually an atypical song for the duo in terms of its sheer bounciness and "Muskrat Love" still gives me the willies no matter who sings it. The best songs on the album are: "Come In From The Rain," written by Melissa Manchester and Carole Bayer Sager, which offers simple accompaniment to Tennille's sultry vocals, and "Wedding Song (There Is Love)," the Paul Stookey song, which features Tennille on piano playing a lovely keyboard duet with her husband throughout the song. Be warned: after hearing this version you would only want it at your wedding if you could have two piano players too. Even with 22 tracks there are going to be complaints, and mine would be that this collection omits Tennille's great cover of Brian Wilson's "God Only Knows," which provides a whole new level of depth to that Sixties classic. However, the additions to the previous hit collection (all of the songs of which are included here), makes this the preferred member of your music library. Sometimes more actually is more.

This collection of Capt & Tennille tracks shows for me how diverse the group's recordings were. Generally speaking, their recordings fell into one of several categories. They sold heavily with the Beach Boys-Neil Sadaka-Alan O'Day singles. These were accompanied by poppish tracks like "Can't Stop Dancing" and "I'm On My Way." The duo interspersed love songs ("Come In From The Rain") and odes to the carnal joys of marriage ("Gentle Stranger" and "Do That To Me") with school-chorus favorites ("I Write The Songs," "Circles") and novelties ("Broddy Bounce" and "Muskrat Love"). In their last three albums released in the US, they included slightly darker Adult Contemporary fare like "Love On A Shoestring" and "This Is Not The First Time." Despite the wide array of recording styles, I am of the belief-- probably heresy to fans-- that Toni Tennille never realized her potential.

In interviews during the 70s, Daryl Dragon made the observation that Tennille's musical tastes were extremely conservative. This inclination hobbled her gifts. She had difficulty recognizing what her voice was best suited for. The upbeat pop tunes the group favored were too insubstantial to support the incredible power of her voice. She either had to reign in her delivery or her projection blew out the bounds of these compositions. Dragon's playful approach-- Erasure-on-Venice-Beach-- didn't always support the earthy smolder of his wife's drawling diction, even if this approach did match the pop sensibility of the singles. In her solo ventures, Tennille's preference for Swing standards had her admirably fronting orchestral sections for live takes, but the wall of sound in the big-band arrangements competes with rather than supports her voice.

Tennille's voice was its own wall of sound. Her singing fared best with simple arrangements. Backed by a piano, or Hammond organ with bass and drums, or seasoned with brass flourishes: these organic sounds gave her the room to breathe that she needed. The material for her pipes was not upbeat ditties but bluesy, torchy songs like "Your Good Thing," "Never Make A Move Too Soon," "Since I Fell For You," "Love Me Like A Baby." Her timbre called out for a lyric of heartache, anger, betrayal, unrequited desire. She was, I think, a soul singer who didn't realize it. Her delivery was best informed not by Sarah Vaughn or Bobby Short but Ann Peebles or Dorothy Morrison. Capt & Tennille might have done better to looks less at California and Hawaii than at Memphis and Atlanta for the most fruitful sources of material. Dragon, a gifted keyboardist, didn't need sound gimmicks to provide the Charles Earland style soul backing that would have put Tennille's voice in its best setting.

Listening to their non-single album tracks, I can't help but wonder what heights they could reach if they tried their hand at covering not pop songs but soul songs. Their proven ability to pull off Isaac Hayes and even out-and-out dance in the smoldering "How Can You Be So Cold" suggest a southern soul outing would be an artistically successful change of pace.

Captain & Tennille's Ultimate Collection: The Complete Hits really does a great job of giving us the very best (or almost all of the very best) by Captain & Tennille on just a single CD. The sound quality is awesome and the artwork is very nicely done. Oh, by the way, Captain & Tennille are really named Daryl Dragon and Toni Tennille.

"Love Will Keep Us Together" starts the album with Captain & Tennille doing their trademark soft rock/70's pop style love song. They sing and play this very well; and it always brings back great memories for me. "The Way I Want To Touch You" is a softer rock/pop tune that features this duo singing and playing their hearts out. Toni Tennille sings passionately and she never misses a beat. You also get the feeling that she really is "into" the song; it's just something you can sense when you hear this number. Moreover, "Lonely Night (Angel Face)" is an excellent example of how well they could incorporate rock into a pop ballad and make it all come out so remarkably well. "Lonely Night (Angel Face)" played so frequently on the radio when I was a kid that I can't help thinking of junior high school years whenever I hear this torch song.

"Shop Around" has a great backup chorus to enhance the performance; "Shop Around" is a great cover that easily rivals the original version from the 1960s. The drums, percussion and guitar all work together to make "Shop Around" one of the very best hits ever for Captain & Tennille.

"Muskrat Love" is cute although it can strikes me as a bit silly. On the other hand, listen for the very touching "Come In From The Rain." This gets the royal treatment and I love every minute of this ballad. Toni Tennille sings this with all her heart and soul; this always tugs hard at my heartstrings whenever I hear it. "You Never Done It Like That" has a cool rockin' sound that is practically irresistible; and I also really like the highly romantic "Do That To Me One More Time." The flute on "Do That To Me One More Time" fits in just right!

"We Never Really Say Goodbye" is a ballad I am less familiar with; but I like it very much. The lush musical arrangement complements Toni Tennille's vocals very well. The album then ends with Captain & Tennille performing "Por Amor Viviremos;" this Spanish rendition of "Love Will Keep Us Together" is completely new to me but I love it very much. I always like Spanish music!

This is an excellent CD for people who love Captain & Tennille. I highly recommend this CD for people who enjoy great music from the `70s, too.

I can honestly say that I have been a Captain and Tennille fan ever since "Love Will Keep Us Together", exploded on the charts in 1975. Most people don't know it stayed on the charts for nearly six months and was done by the same artists in Spanish, making Love Will Keep Us Together doubly loved by Captain and Tennille fans, being that while the English version was already topping the charts, the Spanish version "Por Amor Viviremos" was climbing the ladder not far behind, Making the Captain and Tennille the first duo ever to have two versions of a number one song on the charts at the same time in Billboard history. Every song on the greatest hit album has been digitally remastered and the sound is incredible. Some of the artists greatest achievements are included on this album, including "Lonely Night" (angel face), "Shop Around" (a great rendition taken from popular artist Smokey Robinson), Captain and Tennille's version is a more streamlined version and is sung from a womans point of view. Toni Tennille has given her all in all of these songs and shines at the pinnacle of her career. This is a great album, no Captain and Tennille fan should be without.!!!.

In 1970s', the married duo of the Captain And Tennille were one of those artists who you were practically not aloud to like. If you told the cool kids at school you owned a Captain And Tenille record, they'd kick your butt like they did with the Barry Manilow and ABBA lovers. But now, nearly 30 years after they burst on the scene, everyone feels comfortable admitting to their old friends that they liked Captaind And Tennille (plus ABBA and Manilow; I have all 3 of these artists in my record collection).

"The Ultimate Collection" collects all their biggest hits plus some minor hits and album tracks. Whether you're a hardcore or casual fan, you'll recognize many of the songs here - the infectious joyfests ("Love Will Keep Us Together", "Lonely Night (Angel Face") and the sultry, double - entendre ballads ("The Way I Want To Touch You", "You Never Done It Like It That", "Do That To Me One More Time"). And while I'm a big fan of Motown, I must admit that I like their version of "Shop Around" better than the Miracles original. And what about "Muskrat Love"? People either like or dislike this song love. I happen to love it. While even the idea of a song about two muskrats named Susie and Sam falling in love is corny (okay - it's downright stupid), is it a crime to be lighthearted?

This cd also gives lesser known songs deserving more recognition a place of their own. These include the beautiful ballad "Come In From The Rain", the surprise disco hit "Can't Stop Dancing", the mellow "You Need A Woman Tonight", the wedding staple "There Is Love" and the syncopated country dity "I'm On My Way". This cd does, however, have its share of flaws. I actually like the Spanish version of "Love Will Keep Us Together" and the disco remake of "Happy Together". But I don't really crave to hear their cover of the Beach Boys masterpiece "Disney Girls" or the original version of "I Write The Songs". Actually, "Disney Girls" isn't so bad once you get used to it, but when it comes to "I Write The Songs", nobody can beat Barry Manilow.

This cd comes with a booklet with an essay by Lisa Sutton that chronicles their career and provides a nice read. It also includes track information such as composer credits, peak positons on the Hot 100 and "easy listening" charts, composer credits and what album this song is from. Definitely recommended. Also, here's hope that Daryl and Toni will have many more wonderful years together as a couple.