Three Dog Night
Seven Separate Fools

At a steady pace, the young Three Dog Night of the early seventies continue to enrich their already well-established career with an album per year, garnering excellent results in their home country, the United States, as well as in nearby Canada. Sales and fame are in fact much more modest in the rest of the world, except for some successful exploits with their luckier singles.

This sixth studio album, dated 1972, sees them covering—or alternatively enlisting in the songwriting—people like Earl Robinson, a Black soul singer, Randy Newman who is always with them, Dave Loggins who is the cousin of the better-known Kenny, Ted Myers who honestly I have no idea who he is, the Englishman Russ Ballard who always has a song for them, Alex Harvey the seasoned rocker, Wes and Lynn Henderson who are Black as well, Allen Toussant always a soul singer and always African-American, Domenic Troiano the Apulian guitarist emigrated to Canada, up to Gary Itri who I sincerely have no clue who the hell he could be.

The only track signed by a band member is by the blond keyboardist Jimmy Greenspoon: “Prelude to Morning”—but it's an instrumental, two minutes long, a prelude indeed. The most dazzling covers are “Black&White” by Robinson, sung by Danny Hutton, as well as “Going in Circles” by Myers, where the voices take turns through the verses so each listener can pick their favorite, then come together to thunder out the choruses boldly together.

Among those tracks kindly lent to them by talented songwriters there is “Chained”, in the usual fiery and rocking style of young Russ Ballard, bolstered by a striking echoing chorus: definitely my favorite of the ten… already that big guitar riff in the opening is worth a lot. Also spellbinding is the closing “Midnight Runaway” written by that Itri guy. It's real hard rock, screamed out and then tenderly caressed by the virtuoso Chuck Negron.

A far more rock-blues and less pop album compared to previous efforts by the Seven Separate Fools, as the title suggests. In truth, the line-up is still well united and their respective alcoholic/powdery vices have not yet undermined their internal relationships. Four stars.