Customer Reviews

More Than Dancing & Much More

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The Captain & Tennille's "More Than Dancing...Much More" CD was released on July 23, 2002, which is 20 years after the original release of "More Than Dancing" on Wizard Records in Australia. The original album was the intended USA follow up to their 1980 album "Keeping Our Love Warm" on Casablanca Records. The 1982 release was commissioned by Wizard Records in Australia, and gave Daryl and Toni the budget to create their brand of music. The Captain & Tennille were having difficulty during this time of finding a home with a US recording company after Casablanca Records was absorbed into Polygram. They left Polygram and went to Columbia/Sony which did not understand their music and approach. The Captain & Tennille left Columbia/Sony without releasing any new music on that label and this is when Wizard Records came into the picture.

The Captain & Tennille have an international following and why not take the chance on recording an album of new music in Australia. The album was recorded at Rumbo Recorders (Captain & Tennille's recording studio) and then released only in Australia. Unfortunately the album didn't catch on internationally and was soon forgotten. There wasn't any major hits and little to no radio airplay. The album was never mentioned by the Captain & Tennille during any concert appearances and they never performed any song live, so obviously it was an undiscovered gem in hiding.

Most fans are not even aware of this album unless they were truly devoted and discovered that it was available on Ebay for very high prices. I came across the album in 1988 when I just happened to see the cassette version in the bargain discount bin at a Tower Records. I couldn't believe my eyes and at first thought it was an album of material recorded prior to 1975 with updated photography, ala other music performers like Madonna and Donna Summer. I played the cassette and really enjoyed many of the tunes.

With the re-release of the album onto CD, you can get a feel of the musical direction that the Captain & Tennille were heading in at the time. The first song on the CD is called "Don't Call It Love" which I think was intended to be the first single release. It was previously recorded by Kim Carnes on her "Mistaken Identity" album in 1981. At the time I was suprised that Kim Carnes didn't release it as a single, which would have been a good hit for her after "Bette Davis Eyes". I am sure that is why Daryl & Toni recorded it seeing the opportunity that Kim Carnes passed up. The song is fun and fits the typical Captain & Tennille like a glove. When you listen to the song today, it is a little dated due to synthesizer influences from the 1980's. A little more trivia for you is that two years after Captain & Tennille recorded this song, Dolly Parton included it on her "Real Love" album and scored a major country hit with the tune.

The other really good songs from "More Than Dancing" are "Don't Let Love Go", "I Must Be In Love" and "Come to Me" (with Bobby Caldwell). These are ballads which show the warmth and romantic vocals of Toni Tennille. Toni wrote only one song on the original release which is called "Davey I Misbehave" a midtempo number. Bruce Johnston contributed a song called "Let's Visit Heaven Tonight" which is light and fun. Bruce wrote songs on many of Captain & Tennille's previous albums such as "Disney Girls", and "Thank You, Baby". The song is reminiscent of some songs Daryl and Toni recorded on the earlier albums like "Butterscotch Castle" for example.

Now for the "....Much More" portion of the CD. I am thrilled to have these new songs in my collection. I feel like someone who just bought a new car. The excitement is there and it takes me back to a feeling I had when the Captain & Tennille were in their heydey. I used to anticipate the release of their new music like we do today of the current popular artists. This CD contains 5 new songs which are terrific and could've and should've been potential hits for Daryl and Toni. It is clear to me that they were really trying hard to get back in the music mainstream. The songs represented here take you back to the sound of the mid to late 1980's. Three of the five songs were written by Toni and are quite good. Toni is a gifted song writer who has written two of the biggest hits the Captain & Tennille ever recorded, "Do That To Me One More Time" and "The Way I Want To Touch You". These songs are melodic, catchy and have a lot of spirit and energy to them. "Get Ready Teddy" and "Denny's Such A Flirt" make you tap you feet or get up and dance. "Boy Crazy" sounds like a trip back in time to hearing the early influences of the Beach Boys. I really enjoy the Rosemary Clooney updated song "Come On A My House"! This song could be remixed with the assistance of one of todays current Djs and made into a major dance/club hit. This song is energetic, fun, creative and and is among my all time favorites by Captain & Tennille.

The remaining bonus songs were previously released on the Captain & Tennille's 1995 CD "Twenty Years of Romance". A couple of the songs were available only on the international version such as the Vanessa Williams hit "Save The Best For Last" and Bette Midler's hit "Wind Beneath My Wings". These songs are good and represent a period in Daryl and Toni's career which they stopped writing and recording original material. K-Tel records commissioned the Captain & Tennille in 1995 to re-record many of their previous hit songs and include some versions of hit songs that were made popular by other artists. This CD did include two new songs by Toni, however they were written many years earlier.

This CD "More Than Dancing...Much More" is a must for any Captain & Tennille fan. It is feel good music that will have you relaxing and humming along in no time. Support this release and hopefully from the sales impact that is created will result in more of Captain & Tennille's earlier catalog being released.

Captain & Tennille fans rejoyce! You can't go wrong with a funky cover of "Come On A My House" or the 1980's sound of "Denny's Such A Flirt" or "Mr. Persuasion". Tennille's vocals are in top form. You'll be tapping your foot and smiling all the way through this cd. This will have to do until MAKE YOUR MOVE and SONG OF JOY are reissued on cd.

Let me start off by saying that I never thought the Australian-only album would ever be released on cd. To have the official release of it on cd is wonderful!! To top it off, 11 "bonus" tracks make this a nice Captain & Tennille collectible.

My favorite "new" undiscovered hit from Toni & Daryl is "Get Ready Teddy." This cut has me hit the repeat button until I can't get enough! Toni's vocals, Daryl's keyboards and even the drum machine (from the 80's) are all incredible!!!

The only flaw that I find on this cd is the same flaw that I found on their "Complete Hits" package on Rhino Records. The flaw of 1 omitted cut that probably could have been on the album. On the "Complete Hits," it was "This Is Not The First Time" from their second Casablanca album. What I truly longed for with this "More Than Dancing..." collection was their recording of "Pete Won't Dance" (if it was recorded!) Toni wrote it and they performed it "live" in concerts so I suppose it was recorded and could be found in the vaults somewhere. Let's hope that the next cd will be called "The Missing Hits... And More."

Overall, the sound is sensational and if you're a Captain & Tennille fan, it's mandatory that you own this fantastic cd!!!

Let's hope that A&M and Polygram Records will someday see fit to release the "Song Of Joy" through "Keepin Our Love Warm" cd. Now, wouldn't that make a GREAT holiday gift, hmm???

I just received this cd and played it as soon as I could,its GREAT and has bonus tracks which were never heard before,Iliked "Boy Crazy" and I hope that we will see more cd's like this.Buy this cd!,you will not be dissapointed

Finally, the pop duo's final album of all-new material is available on CD, previously released only in Australia. Recorded in 1982, it definitely sounds it, and that is not a bad thing. A mish-mash of light pop and smokey ballads, the album's standout numbers are the title track and "Come to Me," a duet with Bobby Caldwell. Either of these could have been hit singles in the U.S., if only they'd had a recording contract at the time!

But some of the biggest gems are the unreleased tracks, 11 in all -- especially the late 80s recordings. Their haunting disco rendition of Rosemary Clooney's "Come On A My House" is killer -- club DJs, take note -- and the Tennille-penned tunes "Denny's Such A Flirt" and "Boy Crazy" are wonderful, harkening back to an innoccent, early-sixties bubble-gum sound. The bonus tracks continue with "Love Survives," Tennille's agonized farewell to her friend, songwriter Howard Greenfield, and conclude with excellent cover versions of several 70s and 80s hits.

If you're a fan of Captain & Tennille or 70s music in general, buy this CD!

This CD is a real treat for any fan of The Captain & Tennille.
The original "More Than Dancing" album is perhaps the most
commercially consistent sounding album that they ever made.
Had it been released in the US at the time, it probably would
have produced many hits. Very ironic (and somewhat sad for us
fans, that it was not).
The first five bonus tracks are amazing. Captain and Tennille are so versatile as is evident by the way they superbly
adapted their talents to the time of the late 80s. My favorite
is "Come On A My House" which is very rythmic, sensual, and
displays Toni's deep voice in a very powerful manner.
The tracks taken from the "20 Years of Romance" CD are the
only disappointment for me. While Toni sings the songs beautifully, the instrumentation sounds like it is in the demo
stage, (which is noted by the Captain in the notes)and need to
be polished to match the mastery of the rest of the package.
All in all though, a must have for any fan of C & T

There's nothing groundbreaking here, but it's pleasant enough. One curiosity: "Get Ready, Teddy" gradually drops in pitch throughout the track, as if an old Victrola were winding down. If you've been blessed (or cursed!) with perfect pitch, skip this track, or you'll be tempted (as I was) to fling the disc out the window. I wonder why someone as fastidious in the studio as Daryl Dragon is would allow something like this to be released?

The track that gradually slows down is "Denny's Such A Flirt". It's still annoying as all get out, though.