Customer Reviews

Have a Nice Day 10

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

 

 

What Rhino's Have a Nice Day series does, is put together a collection not of the biggest hits by the biggest stars, but rather an eclectic collection of big (and not so big) hits by artists who for the most part had very brief careers on the charts. And with volume 10 (which focuses mostly on 1973), they continue to do a very good job.

A noticeable difference with this volume, however, is how many of these were in fact huge hits. All but two of them cracked the Top 10. The first that did not is folk artist Loudon Wainwright's tribute to road kill, "Dead Skunk." [Though this was his lone hit, he continues to record to this day and has a legion of rabid fans--myself included. (Check out my review of his latest SO DAMN HAPPY.)] The other answers the question "What did Looking Glass do to follow up with their No. 1 hit "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)?" The answer is their No. 33 (and last) hit "Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne."

Sometimes it's better to have been just a one-hit wonder. Albert Hammond had a million-seller with "It Never Rains in Southern California," and Stealers Wheel (which included Gerry Rafferty) hit the Top 10 with the infectious "Stuck in the Middle With You." But does anyone remember either of their follow-up hits? [Answer: It was "I'm a Train" (No. 31) and "Star" (No. 29 ) respectively. ("Star" shows up on vol. 12.)]

A couple of the one-hit wonders pulled off the ultimate by taking their only charting single all the way to No. 1. Vicki "Mama's Family" Lawrence did it with "The Night That the Lights Went Out In Georgia," as did Stories' song of interracial love "Brother Louie."

Other one-hit wonders that seldom get anthologized are the 30s-inspired "Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?," Edward Bear's heart-wrenching "Last Song," and Skylark's romantic "Wildflower." [Trivia alert: David Foster, a member of Skylark, went on to be a top producer of hits like "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" and "St. Elmo's Fire."]

All things considered, there's a lot of memories in these songs--some you probably haven't heard since they were hits on the radio. The only reason I've never been able to give any of these a four-star rating (or higher) is the limited bang for your buck that Rhino gives you. Yeah, the smiley face CD is cute, and the liner notes are filled with trivia...but the bottom line is that you are only getting a dozen songs! With that in mind, it's simply a matter of how many memories does THIS particular batch of songs have for you?

Volume 10 of the "Have a Nice Day" series stands head and shoulders above its compatriots and is the centerpiece of the 25 volume set.

There are a number of unusual, difficult to find tracks on this disc, highlighted by the powerful, socially conscious "Brother Louie" by Stories and Stealers Wheel's smash hit "Stuck in the Middle With You." Other strong entries are "It Never Rains in California", "Cover of the Rolling Stone", "Wildflower", and the marvelous "Drift Away." "Jimmy Loves Mary-Ann" and "Dead Skunk" are the stinkers of this collection (sorry, couldn't resist that) and they're not all that bad.

If you can only take one volume from this series, Volume 10 is the one. It provides an excellent microcosm of the music of the 70s; one wonderful musical memory after the other. Highly recommended!

It is hard to find a bad CD in this anthology series, if you are a true fan of 70's Rock and Roll. The diversity of selections in the series is extraordinary. This volume has a number of songs that make you want to sing your heart out along with the group. The best in this category are "Cover of the Rolling Stone" by one of my favorite groups, Dr Hook, "Drift Away" by Dobie Gray, and "Oh Babe, What Would You Say?" by Hurricane Smith. But almost all the songs in this volume have their good points and I would rate 9 of them in the "I want" category. This CD is well worth the price as are most of the other CD's in this series.

Super Hits of the '70s: Have a Nice Day, Volume 10 gives us twelve big hits from the 1970s. The sound quality is perfect and the diversity of songs means that many people will find tunes to like on this album. When you listen to this album it should bring backs loads of memories if you were young and listening to the radio in the `70s.

Albert Hammond's "It Never Rains In Southern California" is a meaningful ballad which can pull on your heartstrings; life isn't always easy. Just one listen to this song and you'll know why it's remembered as a classic hit from the `70s. In addition, I think that the very brightest star on the album comes rather early; listen for Hurricane Smith's stunning love ballad "Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?" Hurricane Smith sings this so sweetly and the strings, horns and other instruments make a powerful arrangement. Hurricane Smith delivers this ballad with heart and soul. If you like romantic and yet somewhat innocent ballads about true love you are bound to be thrilled with Hurricane Smith's "Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?"

Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show deliver a strong "The Cover Of 'Rolling Stone';" this country rock style ballad is very nicely done. Vicki Lawrence's haunting "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" strikes me as one of the better 1970s rock ballads and the country twist enhances the melody.

Stealers Wheel's "Stuck In The Middle With You" takes the blending of country and rock even further to make a smash hit straight out of the `70s; and "Brother Louie" is an excellent, funky tune that really tells it like it is about race relations. "Brother Louie" is an excellent tune!

As usual with this series, I am disappointed that the CDs in this series have only twelve songs. They should have and easily could have thrown in another song or two. I will take off one star for this to make this a four star review. On the bright side, the liner notes throw in some good information and the artwork is good.

Nevertheless, this album still remains a strong entry in this series of some really cool hits of the 1970s. Nobody who fondly remembers the music from those days can afford to go without this fine CD. I recommend it!

Only one dud ("Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne" by Looking Glass) appears on this excellent collection of pop hits from the 70s. Most of these songs are difficult to obtain elsewhere, even though almost all were monster hits. This is perhaps the best volume of the series. All original versions, great sound quality.

I just love every one of the Have A Nice Day series. These are great tunes (love em or hate em) that are hard to find on CD as well as any other format. Hurricane Smith's "Oh Babe, What would you Say" is worth the price of the entire CD on Vol. 10. Not to mention great songs like "Stuck In The Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel and "Cover Of The Rolling Stone" by Dr. Hook. Love these songs or hate them they sure tug on the heartstrings and bring back memories. I almost feel like I'm a kid again back in the 70s listening to my old AM radio!

In 1990, Rhino Records started putting out these "Have a Nice Day: Super Hits of the Seventies" CD's. It was like a re-birth of the K-Tel Records concept. They released 15 Volumes during the first year of these releases. Releasing 5 at a time. I loved it when I first saw the first 5 of the "Have a Nice Day" CD's because I recognized right away that these were collections of the early seventies "one hit wonders". I never imaged that this happen. As I enjoyed every volume of this collection, it was during this second wave of 5 volumes the series creeped right into the early months of 1973 on this Volume 10. This is when I became more excited than ever about these "Have a Nice Day" CD's.

I was in Ann Arbor, Michigan for one year when these songs graced the radio format. I was still collecting 45's and sitting around with friends, taking turns putting on our favorite records. There are a few songs on this volume that I use to have as 45's:

Once again, I own "The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Vickie Lawrence, "Brother Louie" by Stories, "Drift Away" by Dobie Grey, and the landmark classic "Stuck in the Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel. Remember "Last Song" by Edward Bear? That's a perfect radio pop song, but what happened to it? I never hear it on the radio anymore. When I heard it again back in 1990, I got goose bumps while shrugging off a chill. Even "Wildflower" by Skylark, although, it wasn't the most important song to me at the time, I also was overwhelmed with goose bumps. "Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?" by Hurricane Smith really shows the fabulous diversity of AM radio for 1973. And, although, I was never too impressed with Dr. Hook, but their "Cover of the Rolling Stone" is a novelty classic. This song and Gunhill Road's "Back When My Hair Was Short" should have been on the same CD. But, the Gunhill Road track wasn't added to the "Have a Nice Day" series til volume 23.

Albert Hammond's "It Never Rains in Southern California" is probably the most popular song on this collection. He also charted the Top 40 with "I'm a Train" that never showed up in any "Have a Nice Day" CD's, but Hammond's "Free Electric Band" shows up on the next volume. It missed the Top 40, but I am glad to have it. It is a great song.

I'm not entirely impressed with "Dead Skunk" by Loudon Wainwright III, or "Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne" by Looking Glass, but if Rhino doesn't put them here, then they'd probably never been released. Now, The DeFranco Family was another Osmonds/Jackson Five wannabe which had 3 charted singles total, this track "Heartbeat - It's a Lovebeat" is the highest charting. I am so glad that Rhino didn't add any of their other songs. I never liked songs from children anyway and you'll notice that radio avoids them too. So because of this annoying DeFranco Family hit, this volume loses only one star.

For those of you who can remember the 70's, this CD provides some great memory releasers (assuming you have fond memories of the 70's). It's a nice collection of some of the hits of the 70's that were not necessarily Blockbusters. Some of these songs are seldom played on radio stations these days, so you may have forgotten all about them (again, assuming you were there in the first place). So, if you are a very young man like me in your late 40's, this CD may just push your buttons! And if you are much younger, well, you may just catch some great music that your parents listened to decades ago!

This disc will bring back some pleasant memories. Any disc with "Drift Away" on it is almost worth purchasing no matter what else is on it. This one just happens to have "Brother Louie" "It Never Rains In Southern California" and "Stuck In The Middle With You". The sound quality is exceptional, just like any disc by Rhino.

I grew up on the AM radio of the 70's, and I methodically collected this set as it was released. In my opinion Vol. 10 is the best of the set, with its melancholy songs and minor keys it makes it easy to reminisce. Additionally, I had been looking for "Wildflower" for sometime, this may be the only place to find it. The whole collection is worth buying, or perhaps I am just compulsive that way. This set permenantly occupies slots 1-25 in my CD changer.