Track Listing

1. Candida - Tony Orlando & Dawn, Tony Orlando
2. Knock Three Times - Tony Orlando
3. Carmen - Tony Orlando, Tony Orlando & Dawn
4. I Play and Sing
5. Summer Sand
6. What Are You Doing Sunday
7. Medley: Runaway/Happy Together
8. Vaya Con Dios (May God Be with You)
9. You're a Lady
10. Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree - Tony Orlando
11. Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose - Tony Orlando & Dawn, Tony Orlando
12. Who's in the Strawberry Patch With Sally
13. It Only Hurts When I Try to Smile
14. Steppin' Out (Gonna Boogie Tonight)
15. Look in My Eyes Pretty Woman
16. Skybird
17. He Don't Love You Like I Love You - Tony Orlando & Dawn, Tony Orlando
18. Mornin' Beautiful
19. Carmen - Tony Orlando, Tony Orlando & Dawn

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28732 in Music
• Brand: Arista
• Released on: 1998-10-27
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Customer Reviews

I really liked it!
In 1970, a new singing group burst onto the American music scene, an interracial trio of Tony Orland, Telma Louise Hopkins and Joyce Vincent-Wilson. A studio creation, this trio took off with three #1 singles - Knock Three Times, Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree, and He Can't Love You Like I Love You - and even starred in their own television variety show on CBS (from 1974-76). Singing a combination of doo-wop, street Latin, and bubblegum pop, Tony Orlando & Dawn made their mark on American culture, with yellow ribbons still appearing to this day as statements of solidarity with those who are far away.

OK, let's get down to brass tacks. Tony Orlando & Dawn produced some great, bouncy little tunes that still sound really good today. Though they are sometimes dismissed as musical lightweights, they were a part of the glitzy 1970s, made-for-television music scene, but they did succeed in standing out by producing some really interesting sounds.

I got this CD purely for nostalgic reasons, but I must say that it is good beyond that. If you like good singing, with that glitzy 70s sound, then this is the album for you. I really liked it, and think that you will too!

So close to five stars but...
The music of Dawn with Tony Orlando, derided by the critics and at times dismissed even by Orlando himself, wound up being some of the most engaging pop to come out of the 70s. Beyond its massive musical appeal, their world-wide multi-million selling "Tie A Yellow Ribbon..." spawned a whole new cultural symbol in the form of yellow ribbons. Even if no musical barriers were broken here, the clever blending of Brill Building-style pop, vaudeville and Motown with polished performances makes these feel-good tunes totally fun listening. This compilation brings together seventeen of their charted singles with one album cut thrown in. Though titled "The Definitive Collection", the rub here is that two of their Electra singles have been left off. This is both a bit surprising and annoying in that other Electra sides were cross-licensed for this piece. Grabbing those two additional singles would have truly justified the title. Beyond that shortfall, this piece still remains the best collection to date. Sound production is excellent with the work having been done by Bob Irwin of Sundazed Music. Completing the set is a 12-page liner notes booklet with pics and an excellent recap of the group's musical life. So close to being perfect... still highly recommended.

Excellent Sampler, but less than "Definitive"
Arista Records has a hard time fathoming the meaning of the word, "definitive." This is but one in a string of compilations for various artists that they've slapped that label on, and I have yet to hear one that is true to the word.

Like a number of acts from the original Bell Records roster, Tony Orlando & Dawn's catalog predates the advent of CDs by at least ten years. Of course, by 1984 (or thereabouts) most of these acts were profoundly un-hip to like or listen to. That may explain why it has taken so long for Arista (and other labels) to re-issue similar material, but it doesn't explain how such compilations fail to "define" the works of a singer or group.

Case in point: Bell/Arista released at least five original albums by Orlando & Dawn between '69 and '75. Of these, only the first three albums are well-represented here. "Prime Time" and "Skybird" were pretty catchy albums, but each of them is represented by one track here. Maybe "hit singles" are 'defining moments', in Arista's view, but there is a lot of great material that got passed over for the sake of including all the hits.

Similarly, the group's first Elektra album ("He Don't Love You...") is poorly represented (two cuts) and not a single track from "To Be With You" made the cut. "Cupid" was a Top 40 hit with an inventive arrangement, and the group's cover of "Midnight Love Affair" was also a keeper....but they're nowhere to be found. This is label laziness at it's most annoying, and I can't blame any fan who feels cheated by relevant omissions.

On the plus side, as I said, all the (Bell/Arista) hit singles are here. The earliest tracks are the simplest and perhaps the most effective; the Brill Building influence is very much in evidence. It also struck me how '70s-Urban these tracks sound...maybe not a 'multi-cultural' musical touchstone, but definitely a latin/soul/pop synthesis that produced some compelling material.

This "streetwise" influence faded with time, though the Medress/Appel productions continued to be tuneful and fairly intricate. Starting with "Dawn's New Ragtime Follies" and the inevitable "Tie A Yellow Ribbon...", the group veered for the middle of the road and never left. This is also due to the success of their TV variety show, where they were expected to clown around as much as they sang. Reduced to a guilty pleasure for fans, it's unlikely they would have survived the '70s if Tony hadn't already quit.

Still, even as frothy Pop music, Orlando and Dawn were competent and very listenable. And while there is reason to dispute the title of this collection, there is much to recommend in it. My favorites include "Summer Sand," "I Play and Sing," "Steppin' Out" and "Skybird." Fans who only know the group's biggest hits should be pleased by the lesser knowns here, like "Mornin' Beautiful" and "Carmen." The group's cover medley of "Runaway" and "Happy Together" pales in comparison to the original single versions, but that's about the only "stiff" in this collection.

As a sampler, this CD is more than adequate for providing hits. As a comprehensive collection of the group's "best," it is flawed, but not useless. A two disc collection would have been a blessing, particularly if Arista unearthed some genuine rarities. Since it's unlikely that a real "definitive" collection is in the works, Orlando & Dawn fans will have to be happy with this CD.

-Mic