The Best of the Lovin' Spoonful

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The Best of the Lovin' Spoonful
Best of the lovin spoonful.jpg
Greatest hits album by
ReleasedMarch 1967 [1]
RecordedJune 1965 March 1966 [2]
Genre Folk rock [3]
Length29:10
Label Kama Sutra
Producer Erik Jacobsen
the Lovin' Spoonful chronology
Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful
(1966)
The Best of the Lovin' Spoonful
(1967)
You're a Big Boy Now
(1967)

The Best of the Lovin' Spoonful is a 1967 compilation album by the Lovin' Spoonful featuring hits and other tracks from their first three albums. It charted the highest of the group's career, hitting number three on the Billboard Top LPs chart.

Contents

The album also included 9" x 12" individual color photos ("Suitable for framing", as labeled) of John Sebastian, Joe Butler, Steve Boone, and Zal Yanovsky.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
MusicHound Rock 3.5/5 [4]

In his Allmusic review, music critic William Ruhlman wrote "this compilation is an attempt to balance group concerns rather than present their most successful performances. Nevertheless, it picks the strongest material from the group's three previous albums..." [1]

Track listing

All songs written by John Sebastian, except where noted.

Side one

  1. "Do You Believe in Magic" 2:04
  2. "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" 2:00
  3. "Butchie's Tune" (Steve Boone) 2:34
  4. "Jug Band Music" 2:49
  5. "Night Owl Blues" (J. Sebastian, Zal Yanovsky, Boone, Joe Butler) 3:00
  6. "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" (J. Sebastian, Boone) 2:29

Side 2

  1. "Daydream" 2:18
  2. "Blues in the Bottle" (traditional, adapt. and arr. by the Lovin' Spoonful, Steve Weber, Peter Stampfel) 2:10
  3. "Didn't Want to Have to Do It" 2:06
  4. "Wild About My Lovin'" (traditional, adapt. and arr. by J. Sebastian) 2:38
  5. "Younger Girl" 2:23
  6. "Summer in the City" (J. Sebastian, Mark Sebastian, Boone) 2:39

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for The Best of the Lovin' Spoonful
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [11] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Ruhlman, William. "The Best of The Lovin' Spoonful > Review". Allmusic . Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  2. Nelson, Paul (1980). "Folk Rock" . In Miller, Jim (ed.). The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll (Revised and Updated ed.). New York City: Random House. pp. 231–234. ISBN   0-394-73938-8 via the Internet Archive.
  3. Rucker, Leland (1996). "Lovin' Spoonful / John Sebastian" . In Graff, Gary (ed.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit, Michigan: Visible Ink Press. pp. 422–423. ISBN   0-7876-1037-2 via the Internet Archive.
  4. "RPM 25 Top LPs". RPM . May 13, 1967. p. 5.
  5. "The Lovin' Spoonful Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard . Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  6. "Top 100 Albums". Cash Box . May 20, 1967. p. 49.
  7. "Top 100 LP's". Record World . May 20, 1967. p. 60.
  8. "Top Records of 1967 (Based on Billboard Charts)". Billboard . December 30, 1967. p. 42.
  9. "Best Albums of 1967". Cash Box . December 23, 1967. p. 24.
  10. "American album certifications – Lovin' Spoonful – The Best of the Lovin' Spoonful". Recording Industry Association of America.