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Rating: By their third album, it was already time for the first “Live” record for Three Dog Night, eager to capture on vinyl the energy and richness of their pop rhythm & blues focused on the emphatic layering of their three powerful lead voices.
The Forum hosting the concert is still today a well-equipped, spacious multipurpose hall in Los Angeles, and the ambitious TDN were there, in the heart of 1969, to open the evening for their then more established label-mates Steppenwolf, who themselves were planning to record a live album to be released the following year.
Without hesitation, the band fills the album with six tracks from their self-titled debut and another three from the then very recent “Suitable for Framing.” The unique, charged live atmosphere and the blood-pumping, warmly acclaimed performance make this record even more commercially successful than its two predecessors (6th in the US charts), giving the standout songs from those first two studio albums a significant boost in popularity. As such, a good portion of this album’s setlist would go on to form the core of all future live performances by the Californian septet.
The sound on record is untouched, faithful, and unedited, as was customary at the time, before computers made it easy—and almost... obligatory—to polish, rework, and even add or redo performances. The atmosphere is festive and electric, and the young Three Dog Night give it their all, showcasing their vocal talents and entertaining abilities, supported by their four instrumental colleagues who play straightforwardly and professionally.
The album is short, just 38 minutes, but it probably reflects their entire set, given that they were still just the opening act, which usually meant being allotted half the stage time of the main attraction.
Tracklist
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