"Volume 12 of the "Have a Nice Day" series is one of the sillier, more inconsistent discs in the collection, but the good songs are so strong that they make the weaker offerings tolerable. Blue Swede's massively successfull remake of B J Thomas' "Hooked on a Feeling" sets the tone, ably assisted by Bill Stafford's "Spiders and Snakes" and Ray Stevens' "The Streak." But don't make the mistake of thinking this is a comedy collection! Rick Derringer's "Rock 'n Roll Hootchie Koo" and David Essex' "Rock On" are powerful mainstream rockers, while Mocedades adds a beautiful downtempo ballad in "Eres Tu." Sister Janet Mead's "The Lord's Prayer" and Stealers Wheel's "Star" are more than a bit out of place here, but do little to detract from the overall appeal of the disc.This is one of the few really strong Volumes in the series and does just fine as a stand alone, despite it's overall light-hearted tone. Highly recommended."
All of my favorite silly songs, plus a few classics!
Michelle Pace | 07/30/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I loved "Spiders & Snakes," "The Streak"--but they weren't songs I'd buy a whole album for. Now there're all here in one place, along with a HUGE favorite of mine (that never gets air-time on our local Oldies stations) Eres Tu (Touch the Wind) by Los Mocedades."
One Eclectic Collection
Michelle Pace | 09/09/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Once again, the folks at Rhino induge our senses of humor by assembling a compilation of such diverse songs. I never expected to see "The Lord's Prayer" and "Eres Tu" on the same disc. In fact, I forgot that there was a pop version of "The Lord's Prayer"! This disc gives a nice overview of pop music-mid 70's style."
My only five star collection of the "Have a Nice Day" series
Rykre | Carson City, Nevada | 01/18/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I almost got sexually excited when I first saw this CD at the record store back in 1990. Back in 1974, which this volume represents, I lived in Corvallis Oregon for one year before my parents and I returned to Detroit Michigan during this era. I discovered girls, cranberry juice, "Happy Days", "M*A*S*H", and "Monty Python's Flying Circus" on PBS back during this era. And, of course, Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells", the album! A totally unique landmark album of the era, second only to Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" for changing the way we interpreted music.
"Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks. What a fabulous song. He was the male of the duo The Poppy Family who did "Which Way You Goin', Billy?" (which is on a previous volume of "Have a Nice Day.") Sadly, The Poppy Family had two other radio gems: "That's Where I Went Wrong" and "Where Evil Grows" that Rhino didn't get for us for the "Have a Nice Day" collection. Two other interesting notes about Terry Jacks is that he had another solo hit called "If You Go Away" that just missed the Top 40 but played on Detroit radio anyway. And another obscurity from Terry Jacks that I wonder if anyone remembers is "Cause We're in Love" by the Hood (featuring Terry Jacks). It didn't even grace the Top 100 Billboard chart, but all the girls I knew in Detroit loved it. I have a Canadian greatest hits collection of Terry Jacks which every song is so great. He is definitely a fabulous overlooked dark folk artist. His collection is one of my favorite CD's, and it's definitely out-of-print. I've had it for almost 20 years.
Jim Stafford's "Spiders and Snakes" is a classic. I only wish Rhino gave us his "Wildwood Weed" too. "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" by Rick Derringer is a one hit wonder that still gets album rock play. So is David Essex's "Rock On." If you ever heard Jeff Wayne's musical version of "War of the Worlds", you'll hear David Essex on this album. He plays the Artilleryman.
My stand out favorites on this CD which are hard to find elsewhere are "Eres Tu" by Mocedades, and "Star" by Stealer's Wheel. I never heard this song before I heard this CD and it became my most favorite song of this whole CD, and definitely one of my Top 10 favorites of the entire 25 volume collection of the "Have a Nice Day" series.
"Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede and "Eres Tu" by Mocedades always takes me back to my favorite year of my teenage life back in the safe haven of Corvallis Oregon. So does, "The Lord's Prayer" by Sister Janet Mead, and "The Streak" by Ray Stevens. (Rhino has the best collection of Ray Stevens on CD, hands down!)
This collection has the 45 edit of Redbone's "Come and Get You Love" and it also features "Jim Dandy" which I don't ever remember hearing on the radio. But I do remember hearing it in the 1993 film "Dazed and Confused." If you love the seventies, then you should definitely see "Dazed and Confused".
To end this volumes review, I will suggest that Marvin Hamlisch's soundtrack to "The Sting" was probably one of the biggest Number One albums of 1974. I think the soundtrack was a greater success than the movie. Top 40 radio back in 1974 was so wonderful. And to hear "The Entertainer" from Marvin Hamlisch represents just how diverse radio use to be. I truly miss this year of my life. Although, my mom was miserable being in Oregon, I was very happy there but then I became very depressed when we returned to Detroit. Radio definitely shapes our memories. All the good as well as the bad.
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1
