The Best of Three Dog Night

Three Dog Night

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1983
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B000002O4I
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #28,800 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

What's not to like about Three Dog Night? Well, their overwrought cover of Otis Redding's version of "Try a Little Tenderness," for one thing. But almost everything else on their 20-track best-of--a remarkably high percentage of which actually ended up high on the charts back in these guys' day--might remind you fondly of your teen years, or maybe the nine months you spent in third grade. Besides giving John Hiatt one of his first professional breaks (they made a hit of his "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" in 1974), the Dogs managed some truly graceful moments with the likes of "Celebrate" and "Out in the Country." --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Music (Skimpy Packaging), April 21, 2000

By	Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

From 1969 to 1974 you couldn't turn on the radio without being bombarded by the latest Three Dog Night hit--and they're all here from "Try a Little Tenderness" to "Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)." The only missing single is their final Top 40 "Til the World Ends" (No. 32) from 1975. If your a completist you'll have to spring for the double-disc "Celebrate: The Three Dog Night Story," which includes that song as well as some album tracks and a few pre-Three Dog Night songs.

What you get on "The Best of Three Dog Night" is just that--all the hits, no filler. Over a five-year period they had twenty Top 40 hits, seven million-sellers, and three No. 1 hits. They didn't write their own hits, but they picked from among the best songwriters of the period: Randy Newman ("Mama Told Me Not To Come"), John Hiatt ("Sure As I'm Sittin' Here"), Hoyt Axton ("Joy to the World," "Never Been to Spain"), Laura Nyro ("Eli's Coming"), Paul Williams ("Family of Man," "Out in the Country"), and Harry Nilsson ("One").

The emphasis was on the trio of vocalists--Cory Wells, Chuck Negron and Danny Hutton--but the band provided more than adequate instrumental support in their mixture of pop, rock and soul. While they were never the critics' darlings, their radio-friendly pop are enjoyable reminders of the period.

My only complaint with this release is the skimpy packaging. No liner notes. No band history. No recording information. (By the way, the songs are not presented chronologically.) But the music is excellent. This is everything you'd ever want to hear from Three Dog Night. Buy and enjoy (before MCA decides to replace it with one of their 10-track 20th Century Masters rip-offs)! RECOMMENDED

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A decent, but flawed, collection, June 24, 2001

By	rockland6674 (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

"The Best of Three Dog Night" is a decent, single-disc T.D.N. collection. Only their final top-40 hit, "'Til The World Ends," is missing. There are some shortcomings, however, which make me limit my rating to three stars: First, there is the packaging, with a colorized cover photo and no liner notes. Second, the sound quality is a little tinny when compared to other Three Dog Night CDs. Third, if you're looking for the 45 versions you remember, you won't find them here. These are the LP versions ("Liar" and "Family of Man" are edited, but they're not the 45 mixes.) Finally, "Shambala" is presented here in a fake-stereo version which sounds like two synchronized mono tapes, each with different equalization (This song first appeared as a mono 45, and the mono master was electronically rigged into fake-stereo several months later for the "Cyan" LP. An authentic stereo version of this song has never been released.)

In spite of this CD's drawbacks, it's still the title to get for the casual T.D.N. fan who's looking for a single-CD collection with (almost) all the hits, and no filler.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my "new" favorites, July 13, 2000

By	J. R. Norton (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm 18, and I've always liked Three Dog Night. Well, to be honest, I've always liked three of their songs: "Joy To The World," "One is the Loneliest Number," and "Mama Told Me Not To Come." I soon found out that these weren't the only great songs they sang. After getting word that Three Dog Night was coming to our fairly small town, I immediately made plans to go see them, and I'm glad I did. While I must admit that the best times of the concert came when they sang the aforementioned three songs, I was introduced to a whole lot of other songs, and decided to stay after the show to buy a CD. I decided upon their "Greatest Hits" CD so I could get the best of all the worlds. Then out comes Three Dog Night to sign autographs! I had them sign the booklet of my new CD, and exchanged words and handshakes with them before departing for home with one of my friends. Ever since I played that CD in my car on the way home, I've become hooked. They've got great, catchy songs like "Family of Man," "Shambala," "Old Fashioned Love Song," "Black and White,"...it goes on. There isn't one song on this CD that I don't enjoy listening to, as I can just press "play," kick back, and let the CD run itself out. It's great, and I recommend it to anyone who may be thinking about buying it. If you're a fan of mellow rock or good ol' rock & roll, you will love this CD, guaranteed!