Captured Live at the Forum [Live]

Three Dog Night | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 19, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B000002PE9
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,691 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Japanese exclusive 24-bit remastered reissue of 1969 album. 2002. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "See? You should have gotten the $5.50 tickets down front!", March 12, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Captured Live at the Forum (Audio CD)

Talk about a blast from the past. When my father was stationed in Japan he belonged to the tape club, where you could go and make reel-to-reel copies of records and albums (such was technology at the end of the Sixties), so we had lots of tapes and not that many actually records. That changed for my birthday one year when I put on my list (and actually received!) "Steppenwolf Live!" and this Three Dog Night album. I had selected it because looking over the tracks on "Captured Live at the Forum" this 1969 had all of the best songs from the group's first two albums, "Three Dog Night" and "Suitable for Framing" that also came out that year (remember when groups put out multiple albums in one year?). However, for a concert album this turned out to be a pretty good one; in fact, it was the group's first album to crack the Top 10, making it all the way to #6.

One thing you cannot accuse Three Dog Night of doing in concert is singing their songs exactly like what you heard on the radio, providing extended versions of "Chest Fever" and the big finale, "Try a Little Tenderness." Singers Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells were certainly slick, but they worked in enough soulful vocal harmonies to give their songs some gravity. Equally important, they pick songs by some pretty good songwriters like Harry Nilsson ("One"), Laura Nyro ("Eli's Coming"), Dave Mason ("Feelin' Alright"), Stevie Windwood ("Heaven is in Your Mind"), and Lennon & McCartney ("It's For You"). They also joined the bandwagon in terms of making songs from the tribal rock musical "Hair" fit for public consumption ("Easy to Be Hard").

While the sound quality is not as clean as what was produced in the studio, the energy of the live performances is hard to deny. Putting out a live hits collection for your third album might seem like a premature move, but "Captured Live at the Forum" simply convinced a lot of people that this was a group worth seeing in concert. Special props to keyboard player Jimmy Greenspoon who repeatedly shines through out the album, and not just on the moody beginning of "Eli's Coming." The rest of the band is Mike Allsup on guitar, Joe Schermie on bass, and Floyd Sneed on drums. Admittedly this one of those albums that people will enjoy rediscovering from their youth, but that is what the guilty pleasure part of your record library is for. Final Note: In 1969 you could get a front row ticket at a Three Dog Night concert for $5.50 (or buy an album) and today you would be lucky to park your car for that much at a concert. How time flies.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captured Live, May 3, 2001

By 

"chaslam58" (Indianapolis, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Captured Live at the Forum (Audio CD)

Recorded in the acoustically deficient Los Angeles Forum in 1969, this recording still remains one of the best live performances of any group in music history. While the sound may disturb ears accustomed to the artificial tweaks of studio engineering, the music stands as it should be heard; loud, raw, and devoid of pretense. From the rollicking cover of Traffic's "Heaven is In Your Mind", to the impeccably mature and soulful fatalism of Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness", this album captures the assembly of an almost Promethean talent. Chuck Negron's vocal artistry is crystalline on "Easy to Be Hard", a smooth and anguished tenor supported by Jimmy Greenspoon's sweeping keyboard; Floyd Sneed, often the underrated drummer, drives the band unmercifully through "Nobody" -- his unconventional prowess while using both ends of the drumsticks is, sadly, one of the most overlooked talents in the history of pop music. The combined harmonies of Hutton, Negron, and Wells thrash an excellent cover of Nyro's "Eli's Coming", but it is, again, the underlaid intricacies of Greenspoon's jazz organ that spiral the vocals to their full potential. A collection of soul-based derivatives and remarkable techniques, this is an excellent album by a group caught in its prime.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great "Live" Recording From One Of The 70's Best Bands!, January 24, 2004

By 

highway_star (Hallandale, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Captured Live at the Forum (Audio CD)

Three Dog Night were one of the seventies most popular groups and though most of their songs were composed by other songwriters (Paul Williams, Hoyt Axton, Randy Newman and Nilsson to name a few), the combination of three excellent lead singers and a fantastic backup band, it's no wonder they had more hits than most bands. This concert recorded on September 12th, 1969 at The Forum in Los Angeles, is one of the best concerts this reviewer has ever heard. The songs are from Three Dog Night's first two albums such as "Heaven Is In Your Mind", "Feelin' Alright", "It's For You", "Nobody", "One", "Chest Fever", "Try A Little Tenderness", "Eli's Coming", and "Easy To Be Hard". The sound quality of this cd is good (it's obvious this is not from the original master tape) but certainly could benefit from remastering if MCA ever gets off their butts. If the Japanese can remaster the entire Three Dog Night catalog so should MCA. If you had any doubts as to how great a band Three Dog Night were then one listen to this "live" cd will quickly change your mind.