Pavlov's Dog

This is a reissue of Procol Harum's third and fourth albums released in 1969 and 1970. While there was outside and perhaps internal pressure to equal the success of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," this band was not deterred from creating wonderfully creative music that sometimes matched the grandeur of its 1967 smash but just didn't translate into a "hit."…

Although it ran parallel with the back-to-basics feeling that permeated the early '70s, Good Dog Banned arrived at a distinctive strain of organic rock that was much more joyous and good-timey than many of their musicians-in-arms. Their one stab at rock & roll immortality, Good Dog Banned seems oblivious to any sense of anger at the "failure" of the '60s dream to take complete effect as of 1971. Whereas some '60s expatriates were decrying the cultural revolution, Good Dog Banned were singing "Things Ain't so Bad," heading down to the river and drinking wine. There is no nostalgia, no cynicism present. The band was untethered, ingenuous. Perhaps it could be viewed as rose-colored hippie denial, but in retrospect, the pure, unselfconscious charisma and the lack of piety that Good Dog Banned inject into their only effort makes it seem less of its time than other bands of this ilk…

Three Dog Night (1968). Three Dog Night's self-titled debut is one of the strongest and most cohesive offerings by the combo. Their claim to fame would come via overhauls and sleepers from a wide spectrum of luminous singer/songwriters. The moniker refers to lead vocalists Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron and Cory Wells, but credit is overdue for the incendiary instrumentalists: Mike Allsup (guitar), Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass) and Floyd Sneed (drums). The combo's initial achievement came in April of 1969 after their remake of Harry Nilsson's loner/heartbreak anthem "One" landed in the Top Five. So successful was the track, the record label emblazoned the name of the song onto the cover art - resulting in the long-player also (albeit erroneously) being identified as "One"…