the absolute best ever Three Dog Night song!

As per usual with these kinds of threads, [insert favorite song here]

So today it's [Family of Man]

 

Post #1 indicates to me that the op is stating that the 45 single edit/mix of "Liar" is THE best one of the band's entire output.

I kinda sorta agree on that one. Very imaginative, very active, fader-ups on the single....way different.....way more concise edits. A joy to listen to. And at the time, there was the cool story of how the tiled bathroom was chosen for the three guys to do the overdubs in, crammed in like sardines.

There's a certain lo-fi nature to a lot of the band tracks. I often look at session pics from when the band was tracking. Definite mojo out there at that room. Floyd's drumming and Jimmy's keyboard ideas are (to me) textbook perfect fits for the artform known as the "3-minute Pop Single". Such incredible nuances. Yummy every time, every track.

All that being said, Eli's Comin is pretty perfect too via Corey doing that flat-out crazy, nutty Laura tune that's as out-there perfect as Stone Soul Picnic.

I also agree with those who love Out In the Country.

This was definitely a well-integrated, cohesive, imaginative, 7-man band. I would've given anything to watch them come up with these arrangements!

 

Floyd A Most underrated drummer

 

Three Dog Night's version is pretty decent, but it's not really any improvement on the original.

So then it comes down to whether you'd watch Chuck Negron's coked-out performance, or Leo Sayer's clown getup era performance

 

Well, the Three Dog Night studio version is much better than the live clip posted earlier!

Actually, Chuck's vocal is very intense and borderline deranged, and you get the feeling that he must be going thru some dark times- which he probably was.
At the end of the album version, the circus theme gradually slows down to a halt. Very effective.

 

Another vote for Family of Man. A great band performance, meaningful lyrics, and it gets bonus points for that irresistible main riff - it’s just “All Too Much”.

 

The rare band that with such a varied, rich catalog that really differs in style, it’s just too hard to pick one. Like someone else said, it really depends on my mood. Joy To The World…Liar. What a contrast! Hard to believe it’s the same band. But both equally good imo. What a great band to own a compilation of. I still play my vinyl comp regularily.

 

Gimme the coke every time!

 

Impeccable choice of material, a phenomenally talented band, and three unique and distinctive vocalists. A perfect combination for artistic and commercial success. No surprise they were one of the biggest hits of the ‘70s.

Near impossible to pick one:

Out In The Country
Pieces Of April
Eli’s Coming

 

Family of Man might be #2 for me. Again, a fabulous B-3 opening.

 

still waiting for someone to demonstrate the fill at 18 seconds on Family of Man, as a lousy drummer i know enough, and i won't accept anything that doesn't fully measure up

his ghost beat drumming was unique, or at least especially in his day, and without recording gimmicks, One and Easy To Be Hard are other clinics

i see Floyd is alive and painting, did he just drop out of the band? I never read a reason for his staying away.

Enjoyed reading Allsup's journals awhile back on the internet...

 

If you were listening to AM radio back circa June 1971, Joy To The World was inescapable!

Re: Danny Hutton-I was lucky back in the 90s and found a copy of his compilation LP "Pre-Dog Night" in a thrift store, it collected many of his solo songs. I remember seeing him in cartoon form on the Flintstones singing Roses And Rainbows...of course he was on Hanna Barbera records when he recorded that song. Another Danny Hutton song I first heard in early 1971 was "Funny How Love Can Be"...at the time I thought it was a new song (it actually came out in 1966). Cool drumming on this as well. The flutes on this reminds me of when we used to play similar sounding toy flutes in music class in elementary school.

 

A young drummer friend of mine took lessons from Floyd a few years back. This was in Los Angeles, but I think Floyd moved to Idaho or something.
My friend said that Floyd was a very nice person, very down to earth, and an amazing drummer.

 

The last thing I heard about Floyd is he was playing in the live show with Chuck but that was about 10 years ago.

 

Shambala

 

Not to me, I'm pretty quick on the trigger when it comes to changing the station!

Yeah, I have that LP too, but I believe I grabbed it out of a delete bin back in the '70s somewhere, at some time.

I can't say I'm fussed about that song. If it's on the LP then I've probably listened to it at least once, and dismissed it.

I didn't really pay attention to the drums but it might be Earl Palmer, who did the honours on Roses and Rainbows.

 

All their hits are good but I also like You.

 

Never Been to Spain gets my vote

 

The fact that so many different songs have been mentioned just on page 1 is a pretty good indication that 3 Dog Night had a whole bunch of great songs!
(by the way my choice was Shambala)

 

My favorite Three Dog Night song is very obscure and comes from the mega-obscure 1983 E.P. of theirs called "It's A Jungle". The song is "Livin' It Up" sang by Chuck Negron. It's my favorite because it affects me so personally. I've had horrible, debilitating depression since childhood. A couple of suicide attempts in my teens, and a horrible marriage I luckily got out of. I have some handicaps that people in southeast Kentucky have been horribly mean to me about and got me cruelly took advantage of....But in 2014 I met a wonderful woman named Robin who was/is the total opposite of people I've had to deal with. She has gotten me to take part in things that I never got to do.

 

Never been to Spain

 

Has anyone heard the UK Stateside pressing of their 1st album? “One” has a very dry mix on it and it’s a jaw dropping, veil lifting, blanket off the speaker kinda experience. If ya find it, grab it!

 

Celebrate has everything I need but many others already mentioned are nipping at it's heel. And I wasn't a fan of Liar in the early 70s and can admit I was wrong.

 

Danny sang lead on one of their best-loved album tracks, "My Impersonal Life".
"Out In The Country" didn't have a solo lead, but it's Danny and Cory together on the verses and Chuck joins them on the chorus.
"Celebrate" and "Family of Man" both have significant leads by all three members.
I always thought it was nice that it worked out that each lead singer had exactly one #1 Billboard hit: Mama Told Me - Cory; Joy To The World - Chuck; Black and White - Danny
3DN was a major major band for me and around 9 songs tie for favorite. Impossible to pick one.
I chose this just to show their mastery at switching leads.

 

I agree with john54, their very best song is “My Impersonal Life.” (echoes of Phantom of the Opera?)