If, like me, you thought, "Three Dog Night, huh? Yeah, whatever," then let me tell you right now that these guys are pretty damned good. Including Joy To the World, that oddball song about a bullfrog that "...was a good friend of mine.", they enjoyed a run of chart hits in the late '60s and early '70s that would be the envy of almost any band, any time. The stats speak for themselves; in the US alone, Three Dog Night had twenty one consecutive Top 40 hits, eighteen straight Top 20s, eleven Top Tens, seven number ones, seven million-selling singles and twelve straight gold LPs. By late '75, they had sold nearly 50 million records. That's wiped the smile off your face hasn't it?

Boasting a line-up that has remained virtually unchanged since their reformation in 1986, these guys have eked out a living touring songs they didn't write, from albums they recorded decades ago. They have not had a new studio album since 1976, one EP in 1983, and a couple of compilation albums to "maintain the rage." Know this also, Three Dog Night have written virtually none of their own songs, and have relied on the songwriting talents of such artists as Elton John, Russ Ballard, Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Paul Williams and Sam Cooke. Even their name is not original, and comes from a supposed Aussie (Aboriginal) saying, meaning that it is such a cold night, you'll be requiring three dogs around you to keep warm. I have also heard that it is an Eskimo saying - either way it makes for fascinating small talk at your next dinner party. Of course it could also refer to that night about a month ago, when I got blind drunk in a really sleazy bar and ended up with three... oh, never mind.

This concert was filmed in 2000 at the Renaissance Center in Tennessee and features the Tennessee Symphony Orchestra. Trying to pigeonhole the band is difficult, but let's try pop, soul, blues(-ish), and maybe a little country? Any way you look at it, there are several recognisable hits, (yes, they do that bullfrog song), and not one dud selection amongst the whole lot. The orchestral arrangements are magnificent and the whole band and lead vocalists, Cory Wells and Danny Hutton, are fantastic singers and harmonisers. The show runs for 84 minutes, and is punctuated with some pre-recorded segments from the two singers between numbers which, while informative, would have been better as a seperate extra to allow the concert maximum flow. The jury is still out on the overlaid black and white footage from their early days. There are also some average video effects in a few places that I feel are unnecessary. I think whoever is responsible for them should not be allowed to have any new toys in future. Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the band and the transfer as a whole, and will definitely be cranking this up again soon.

Trivia Spot: Third 'Dog' lead vocalist Chuck Negron is not sighted or even mentioned. (See what happens when you dabble in hard drugs, kids? Your friends dump you). From 1969 through 1974 nobody had more US number one songs than Three Dog Night.

Track Listing

Quite spectacular is a phrase that immediately comes to mind. This is probably as good a transfer as I have seen and heard, and is from the team that are fast becoming my favourite, Image Entertainment.

Three Dog Night: Live In Concert (why do they all say "Live" - I mean you can't be "Dead In Concert" can you? Actually, yes you can - remember that Elvis big screen tour from last year?), is presented in a full frame aspect ratio (1.33:1), and hence is not anamorphically enhanced. The image is very good, and very clean. There are no artefacts, and even aliasing is at a minimum. Instruments and musicians scrub up clear, sharp, and defined. Colours are rich, vibrant and slightly oversaturated. Stage lighting is colourful, but there are very few instances of the usual trouble with blue light. Shadow detail is great, and camera angles ensure that there are lots of shots of the entire band and orchestra. The already mentioned 'special effects' get to be a bit much after a while, but this is not a fault of the transfer.

Black levels are very deep, and there is not a hint of noise. Some of the band adhere to the age old rock'n'roll practice of wearing black on stage, and just occasionally, in long shot, they are a touch difficult to make out against the background. This is a minor quibble for the sake of finding something to gripe about. The other is the layer change, and while it is placed as best as it could be, between numbers, it's a pain nonetheless.

The audio, likewise, is spectacular, and the first thing you will notice is how finely balanced it is. There are three options to choose from, Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (nice), Dolby Digital 5.1 (Mmmm - very nice), and a DTS 5.1 (Yeah, baby!). It was the DTS that I listened to in its entirety, later reverting to the others for a comparison. The music is predominantly front heavy, evenly spread across the left, right and centre speakers. The guitar and keyboards are very much in the left and right speaker respectively, with the vocals, rhythm section and orchestra filling out the front. Each instrument is allotted various solo spots, and these too are mixed to perfection. The surrounds are used mainly for crowd response (which is quite significant - complete with regular and obligatory standing ovation. I sometimes think that if a band farted The Star Spangled Banner the crowd would stand and applaud - actually, even I would stand and applaud that!). There is also some noticeable music spillage into the surrounds, which is just at the right level.

The frequency range is quite stunning. Bass levels are rich and warm giving the subwoofer plenty to do without being intrusive. Trebles are crystal clear, harmonies shine through, and percussive instruments can also be heard clearly. Lyrics are clear, and there are no problems with audio synchronisation.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is very similar, so similar in fact that I could not discern any noticeable difference, and after sampling the Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo mix, the only difference is the absence of the subwoofer, which means a little less depth in the overall sound.

There are no extras provided, other than Audio Options and Track Selection which are self explanatory, plus Gallery which is 1:40 of stills, mostly of the venue. Can we say, "Boring?"

Overall: If, like me, you approach bands you know by name only with great trepidation, then you are in for a surprise with this one. Three Dog Night is a combination of slick musicians, good, strong singers with a passion for melody and harmony, and an accomplished and enthusiastic orchestra. There are enough familiar tunes to have you tapping your foot, or dare I suggest, singing along. Be warned, as soon as you hear "Jeremiah was a bullfrog..." you'll be trying to bash it out of your head for days. Welcome to one of the medical world's most recently recognised conditions - STS (Stuck Tune Syndrome).