Super Hits of the '70s: Have a Nice Day, Vol. 14

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Free Music Notes for Super Hits of the '70s: Have a Nice Day, Vol. 14

Free Music Review: A microcosm of the barren wasteland that was 70s pop "music"
Hit: 1 Stars

Actually, I've discovered that the best mid-70s pop tunes ain't all that much better than the worst ones. But, for some reason, the former have a strange hold on me that I just can't seem to shake. They're kinda cheesy and downright sappy at times, but they also have a bizarre charm that maintains my attention. Y'know, kinda like that weird relative that nobody in the family except you likes to hang with? Yeah, NOW you're grabbin' my meanin', ain'cha?

Weak analogies aside, the decent tunes among this ocean of schlock are present in four of the last five tracks. The Ozark Mountain Daredevils' `Jackie Blue' was especially seductive, and was the primary reason I decided to give this compilation a whirl. Just days before purchasing this CD, I heard `Jackie Blue' over the muzak sound system at the local Carl's Jr., and the lyrics got stuck in my head and droned on and on nonstop, forcing me to the brink of insanity. When this happens, I try to exorcise the song by listening to it a zillion times in a row so that I get really sick and tired of it, and it no longer bothers me. Now don't you all go blowin' a few neurons trying to figure out the logic of how repeatedly playing a song I have stuck in my head ad nauseam will rid me of the cranial annoyance-- `cuz there's absolutely NO logic to it at all! Let's just say it works for me and leave it at that, hmm?

Then there's the other four tunes that I didn't need to have forcibly removed from my mind. Who can forget Michael M. Murphey's sappy, tragic ballad of the pony named `Wildfire', and the woman who loved him (not in THAT way you sickos!)? I tell ya, every time this pathetic track plays, I find my testosterone plunging to dangerously-low levels as I hold back the tears. Thank God this song isn't part of the soundtrack to `Snoopy, Come Home!', or else I'd be a sobbing mess of a girly-man right now. I also finally got the chance to listen to Pilot's `Magic' in its entirety, which was something I never before experienced. I heard the "Oh-Oh-Oh It's Magic... You Know-ow-ow" part on some commercial or other, and wanted to take my ear to the entire tune. Sadly, it wasn't as good as I'd hoped it'd be- `Magic' ain't quite as bad as this disc's first seven cuts, but it's not quite as good as the other songs on the back end of the play list. Finally, there's `I'm Not In Love' and `How Long', both of which are rather enjoyable, if not highly laudable pop diversions.

Now I'm bettin' that, after having read all of the stuff above, you're probably wondering why I gave this CD the lowest possible rating that Amazon.com allows. Well, I have a very good reason: it's because I discovered that three of the four tracks I like on this collection are cut-down radio edits, instead of the full-length LP versions. And I HATE it when I don't get the entire song! `Jackie Blue' has a verse missing that brings it down into the 3:30 range (the full-length tune is over four minutes in duration). The LP rendition of `Wildfire' is nearly two minutes longer than its bastardized-for-AM-broadcast version which (dis)graces this disc. Finally, `I'm Not In Love' has had over two minutes excised from it when it made its transition from wax to the broadcast airwaves.

Bottom line: Unless you actually enjoy listening to a CD chock-full of mostly lame songs with a fair helping of decent tracks that have been gutted when there was no reason to do so (Rhino? is infamous for skimping on the goods), I suggest you look elsewhere to complete your collection of mid-70s chart-climbing tunage. You've been warned!

`Late

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