Customer Reviews

Love Will Keep Us Together

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The Captain and Tennille exploded on the music scene in the last half of the Seventies in the same sort of way that the Carpenters did at the start of the decade. The similarities were obvious, with Toni Tennille doing the singing while spousal unit Daryl Dragon, who had played keyboards with the Beach Boys, playing anything with a keyboard. The big differences, of course, were that Tennille played piano instead of the drums and the couple were married instead of siblings. Musically the signature sound of the Captain and Tennille were their vibrant harmonies, courtesy of background vocals that usually include sisters Melissa and Louisa Tennille. The title song from this 1975 album, co-written by Neil Sedaka as if you could not tell, sold a million copies and made it to the top of the charts while the album itself peaked at #2. The album produced another #1 hit with a reissue of "The Way I want To Touch" you, an original Tennille composition. The key thing is that once you get past the hits you might find you like some of the other songs on the album better. There are a pair of covers of songs by another former Beach Boy, Bruce Johnston ("Disney Girls" and "I Write the Songs"), "Cuddle Up" was co-written by Dragon and Dennis Wilson, and an emotionally charged cover of Brian Wilson's "God Only Knows" that show cases Tennille's depth as a singer. But while the Beach Boys related songs tend to dominate the album (and make you wonder why Tennille did not just go become a Beach "Girl") the original compositions by the Captain and Tennille are really the heart of the album. "Gentle Stranger" and "Honey Come Love Me" are love songs spawned by a happy marriage, which is exception and not the rule both in terms of performers and songwriting contexts. Toni Tennille's voice combines tenderness and maturity, with a touch of southern sultriness, that obviously contrasted with the more cynical rock `n' roll singers of the time. If you have followed her career at all during the last two decades then you know the woman can sing just about anything. Daryl Dragon was never compared to Elton John, but his keyboard playing always added a nice musical contrast to his wife's voice.

As a child growing up in the 70's, I adored Captain & Tennille. For this I endured the merciless teasing of my peers, as the duo was deemed not cool enough for general pre-adolescent consumption. Never the less, there was something about them that always appealed to me.

Gripped by nostalgia, which seems inevitable as one approaches midlife in this post "9/11" world, I re-listened to the debut album of this apparently all but forgotten 70's husband and wife team. (For those of you too young to remember, Toni Tennille sang lead vocals backed by her husband, keyboard player, arranger and former Beach Boys touring musician Daryl Dragon.)

What I discovered was a pop gem that is as fresh and fun today as it was in 1975. High quality production and musicianship are consistent throughout all 11 tracks of the album. Ms. Tennille's straight forward approach to the vocals is complimented well by her husband's intricate, layered, almost "Baroque" arrangements - a style they perfected on subsequent recordings.

The title track, Love Will Keep Us Together, written by the legendary Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield is probably all that most people remember about Captain & Tennille. But it is the lesser known tracks on the album where the pair's talent and creativity shines through.

Most outstanding are the emotionally charged cover of Beach Boy Brian Wilson's God Only Knows, and the beautiful vocal harmonies on I Write the Songs. Also noteworthy are the tender ballads Cuddle Up and Gentle Stranger, penned by Daryl Dragon and Toni Tennille.

Overall, there is a warmth and sweetness about this album which is evocative of more innocent times.

I grew up on this kind of music; my Mom and Dad had their albums and recorded them onto cassettes so we could listen to them when we traveled. Having them again in my own home brings back alot of memories (although my teenager just rolls her eyes!)about what music used to be like. I really couldn't beat the price either. Thank you for such wonderful service!

Light, interesting production, Toni Tenille's strong voice, all remind you of the best of 70's AM radio.

The story is that Daryl Dragon joined the band for "Mother Earth," an ecologically minded musical review that was written by Toni Tennille. When the show closed Dragon went backup musician for the Beach Boys when they went on tour, and got Tennile hired as a pianist and backup singer. Nicknamed "Captain Keyboard" by Mike Love because he appeared on stage wearing a yachting cap, Dragon became romantically involved with Tennille. He left the Beach Boys, and the duo started performing in Los Angeles Clubs as "Captain & Tennille." The pair would not marry until 1975, which was actually two years after their debut album came out.

"Love Will Keep Us Together" was both the title of the album, which went to #2, and the hit single written by Howard Greenfield and Neil Sedaka, which went to #1 and also won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year (Sedaka has already recorded the song on his "Sedaka's Back" comeback album). However, the song that got them the record deal was the Tennille original, "The Way I Want to Touch You," which made it to #4 on the pop chart, but like the title track was #1 in the Adult Contemporary category. Once you get past the two hits on the album, you find several songs that have links to the Beach Boys, which is really not surprising. Former Beach Boy Bruce Johnston wrote both "Disney Girls" and "I Write the Songs," the latter actually preferable to the Barry Manilow version in my eyes (or ears, I guess). Dragon and Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson co-wrote "Cuddle Up," and there is a rather dramatic cover of "God Only Knows" that is one of the albums stand out tracks.

For the most part the original compositions stand up in comparison to these other songs. Together the duo wrote "The Good Songs," "Honey Come Love Me," "Feel Like a Man," and "Gentle Stranger," which show their strength in coming up with romantic songs that smack of more maturity than you expect from pop singers. Dragon also penned an instrumental ditty, "Broddy Bounce." The key things here are that Tennille sounds like a mature woman singing love songs and Dragon knows how to arrange songs for multiple keyboards. She is playing piano (and having her sisters sing backup), while he is playing organ, synthesizer, pinao, celeste, chimes, clavichord, Hammond organ, clavinet, Wurlitzer, clavietta, Mini Moog, and pretty much anything else with keys that he could get his hands on, which serves as a reminder that both halves of this duo contributed to the success of their debut album. Critics at the time could not believe this was happening, but I liked these songs then and I like them now.

Ordering was simple delivery was great, What a great way to find what you need.

I hearded this disc in the original vinyl lp, when I was very young; I fell in love with this music; unfortunately, I lost the original lp, and for many years i was looking in many places to buy it again... And i found it at amazon!!! IT'S A PLEASURE TO HEAR THIS PRECIOUS MUSIC AGAIN... AND IN COMPACT DISC!!! this is one of the most fabulous debut albums in pop history; I like all the songs, are fresh, romantic and unforgettable!! Tennile's voice is fine and poweful, the captain arrangements are symply perfect!! I RECCOMENDED IT TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO LOVES THE MUSIC!!

This is the Captain & Tennille's first album. It contains two top ten hits: the title track & "The Way That I Want To Touch You". It also contains "Disney Girls", which evokes memories of days long ago. Solid engineering, vocals, and vocal arrangements. Noteable cuts are: "The Good Songs", "Honey Come Love Me", and "God Only Knows".