Nov. 25th, 2012
Cripes, I've been doing these for more than a year, and I'm still in the C's?
Album Title: The Complete Greatest Hits, America
Why I Bought It: One of my first LP purchases, back in the mid-70s, was their History album. When I started buying CDs, I couldn't find that one, but I found this, which contained most or all of the songs from that album.
What I Like (Sweet): "Daisy Jane". I bought History, probably, for either "A Horse With No Name" or "Ventura Highway", but this one quickly became one of my favorites from that album. Honorable Mention: "Sister Golden Hair" - a little less sweet, but still good.
What I Like (Hopeful): "Lonely People". I file this one near, but a little behind, "The Rose"; "Love Is The Answer" is somewhere in the vicinity.
What I Like (Radiant): "World of Light". This was much later than History. It's a beautiful song, with a definite Christian flavor. Honorable Mention: "Paradise". The same comments apply.
What I Like (Quirky): "Only In Your Heart". An "I'd like to meet you" song, made distinctive by old-movie references. Some people know this as "Rudolph Valentino", from the chorus; Greta Garbo gets a mention, too.
What I Like (Weird): "Ventura Highway". I have no idea what the song is about, but the image of airborne alligator lizards is only one of the treats it offers. Honorable Mention: "A Horse With No Name", better known and a skosh more comprehensible.
What I Don't Like ('Nuf Said): "Muskrat Love". This is the original; the Captain and Tennille's version was more successful, possibly because of the animal noises in the background of C&T's cover. (Addendum: In comments on LJ,![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dan_ad_nauseam informs me that it was actually recorded, as "Muskrat Candlelight", by the writer, Willis Alan Ramsey, a year before America got to it.)
Overall: There are twenty-two tracks on this album. Also memorable are "Everyone I Meet Is From California", "Today's the Day", "You Can Do Magic", and "The Border"; there's also an odd cover of "California Dreamin'". I'm less fond of "Another Try", and the History tracks "Sandman" and "Tin Man" don't quite provide the entertainment value of the Weird songs above. "Don't Cross the River" is a little better than those two. All in all, though, I like this album a lot - not enough for "favorite" status, but not far short.
Album Title: The Complete Greatest Hits, America
Why I Bought It: One of my first LP purchases, back in the mid-70s, was their History album. When I started buying CDs, I couldn't find that one, but I found this, which contained most or all of the songs from that album.
What I Like (Sweet): "Daisy Jane". I bought History, probably, for either "A Horse With No Name" or "Ventura Highway", but this one quickly became one of my favorites from that album. Honorable Mention: "Sister Golden Hair" - a little less sweet, but still good.
What I Like (Hopeful): "Lonely People". I file this one near, but a little behind, "The Rose"; "Love Is The Answer" is somewhere in the vicinity.
What I Like (Radiant): "World of Light". This was much later than History. It's a beautiful song, with a definite Christian flavor. Honorable Mention: "Paradise". The same comments apply.
What I Like (Quirky): "Only In Your Heart". An "I'd like to meet you" song, made distinctive by old-movie references. Some people know this as "Rudolph Valentino", from the chorus; Greta Garbo gets a mention, too.
What I Like (Weird): "Ventura Highway". I have no idea what the song is about, but the image of airborne alligator lizards is only one of the treats it offers. Honorable Mention: "A Horse With No Name", better known and a skosh more comprehensible.
What I Don't Like ('Nuf Said): "Muskrat Love". This is the original; the Captain and Tennille's version was more successful, possibly because of the animal noises in the background of C&T's cover. (Addendum: In comments on LJ,
dan_ad_nauseam informs me that it was actually recorded, as "Muskrat Candlelight", by the writer, Willis Alan Ramsey, a year before America got to it.)Overall: There are twenty-two tracks on this album. Also memorable are "Everyone I Meet Is From California", "Today's the Day", "You Can Do Magic", and "The Border"; there's also an odd cover of "California Dreamin'". I'm less fond of "Another Try", and the History tracks "Sandman" and "Tin Man" don't quite provide the entertainment value of the Weird songs above. "Don't Cross the River" is a little better than those two. All in all, though, I like this album a lot - not enough for "favorite" status, but not far short.
