Super Hits Of The '70S: Have A Nice Day, Vol. 13 CD

On their 15th go at '70s song archaeology, Rhino dishes up the decade's kaleidoscopic music menu in all its intriguing and over-the-top glory. Tapping the 1975-1976 period, the 12 cuts take in indelible novelties (C.W. McCall's 18-wheeler hit "Convoy"), '50s nostalgia (Pete Wingfield's "18 With a Bullett"), Defranco Family-issue kitsch (David Geddes' "Run Joey Run"), and glam pop (Bay City Rollers' "Saturday Night"). There's also plenty of soul and funk variants, like Jigsaw's disco symphonic "Sky High," Joe Frank Hamilton's blue-eyed "Fallin' in Love," and Hot Chocolate's dancefloor-filling "Sexy Thing." The maturation of the singer/songwriter is also essayed (Janis Ian's still-solid "Seventeen"), while a country tearjerker finds its crossover legs (Jessi Colter's "I'm Not Lisa"). A few duds, a few gems, and a fair share of songs you will not need to hear a third time around. ~ Stephen Cook

This might have been one trip into the past that Rhino Records should have thought about very hard before making. Oh, there are two really good moments here, Cliff Richard's sole thrust at U.S. success, "Devil Woman," and the Sanford/Townsend Band's upbeat, catchy "Smoke From a Distant Fire," but otherwise a lot of this CD is given over to records that -- unless you had a lot of good times listening to the radio while driving during the late Ford or early Carter administrations -- it's difficult to imagine anyone wanting to own this terribly much: Rick Dees' brain-damaged dance hit "Disco Duck," which did everyone the service of hammering a nail in the coffin of the disco boom in the course of becoming one of the biggest selling singles of 1976; "Get Closer," which was among the weakest of Seals & Crofts' hits, despite the presence of Carolyn Willis of Honey Cone and Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans fame; the rural melodrama (seemingly by way of Erskine Caldwell) "Judy Mae" by Boomer Castleman (aka Owen Clarke of the Lewis & Clarke Expedition); Dean Friedman's adenoidal tale of Garden State romance, "Ariel" (which, if not for its break, would be uncomfortably similar to the Hollies' "Carrie-Anne"); Engelbert Humperdinck's "After the Loving"; and "Living Next Door to Alice" by Smokie. It's nice to hear this stuff mastered to Rhino's usual high standard, though how nice it is to hear some of this stuff itself is problematic. Peter McCann's "Do You Wanna Make Love" and Hot's "Angel in Your Arms" fill out the middle ground between the peaks and valleys of this disc, and the notes are unusually humorous, even for this series. ~ Bruce Eder

One reason that a lot of rock & roll fans hated the '70s was the lightheartedness that came to characterize radio -- basically, radio became fun, and it was rough, if you were an Allman Brothers fan or a devotee of almost any harder rock sounds, to tolerate a lot of the lighter sounds that filled the airwaves. Volume eight of this series shows

Includes liner notes by Paul Grein.

Digitally remastered by Bill Inglot and Ken Perry.

Includes liner notes by Paul Grien.

Remastered by Bill Inglot and Ken Perry.

Compilation producer: Gary Stewart.

Compilation producers: Gray Stewart, David McLees, Bill Inglot.

Compilation producers: Gary Stewart, David McLees, Bill Inglot.

Compilation producers: David McLees, Gary Stewart, Bill Inglot.Rolling Stone - 4 Stars - Excellent
Rolling Stone - 4 Stars - Excellent
Entertainment Weekly - "...10 zany vols of 70s pop trash..." - Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly - "...10 zany vols of 70s pop trash..." - Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly - "...10 zany vols of 70s pop trash..." - Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly - "...10 zany vols of 70s pop trash..." - Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly - "...10 zany vols of 70s pop trash..." - Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly - "...10 zany vols of 70s pop trash..." - Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly - "...10 zany vols of 70s pop trash..." - Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly (1/11/91) - Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly (1/11/91) - Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly (1/11/91) - Rating: A-
Entertainment Weekly (1/11/91) - Rating: B+
Goldmine - Highly Recommended
Goldmine - Highly Recommended
Goldmine - Highly Recommended
Goldmine - Highly Recommended
Goldmine - Highly Recommended
Goldmine - Highly Recommended
Goldmine - Highly Recommended