Have A Nice Decade: The '70s Pop Culture Box

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Music reviews of Have A Nice Decade: The '70s Pop Culture Box

Music Review: Much to love (and loath) from the frivolous decade
Rating: 3 Stars

To break down such a monumental set is not easy, so it behooves me to be as brief as possible. First, let's examine the set's finer points:

(1) The secondary title, "The '70s Pop Culture Box," should give the potential buyer some insight into what this collection is all about: a celebration, but also a sobering, view into what the '70s was all about. There are numerous soundbites spread throughout the discs to not only give a historical significance to the decade, but also are placed in front of certain songs to act as apt lead-ins. For instance, before Ray Stevens' "The Streak," a newscast story about the streaker who invaded the Oscar ceremony of 1974 introduces the novelty song.

(2) For the hard-core collector, there are a lot of tracks simply not to be found anywhere else. Whether from the Motown era, novelty department, funk, soul, disco, or just plain schlock, one can find just about anything of interest.

(3) The 89-page booklet (complete with a picture of a tacky, pine-green shag carpet with the ubiquitous smiley faces dotting the surface) contains a great article by Lisa Sutton on what the Seventies were all about. Each song features some excellent background on each song, helping to shed some light on the more obscure artists represented.

Now, for the lowlights:

(1) The tracks available are the 45 versions, not the full length. The three live tracks that begin Disc Seven ("Do You Feel Like We Do," "Free Bird" and "Ridin' the Storm Out") are expurgated; this was a source of irritation for me, as the full scope of these songs are rendered useless. Some songs (like "Ride Captain Ride" and "Signs") have the endings literally chopped off, even though the under-four-minute rule of 45 length is unaffected. VERY disappointing, as Hacksaw Reynolds would say. Some have the lousiest edits I've ever heard; ELO's "Evil Woman" and Jefferson Airplane's "Miracles" are just absolutely butchered.

(2) There are just so many flatulent songs here that are best left forgotten. A radio station in Boston once attacked a rival in an ad because the other station had a Sunday night program called "Lost 45's," hosted by Barry Scott. The ad summed up my point here by saying, "Those 45's aren't lost; somebody HID them."
Please, how many of you out there really want to hear Morris Albert's "Feelings," Helen Reddy's "I am Woman," Wayne Newton's "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast," or Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" ever again?

Still, the good outweighs the bad. For those who don't mind the editing, or really just liked the sound of AM radio anyway, you'll find so much to enjoy. Most artists who were representative of the period are not here, but as the booklet states, you probably have those songs on other collections. Agreed, but there were certainly tracks included that could have been just as judiciously left off (allowing, perhaps, more room on the discs for the full-length versions).

Keep in mind, too, that some other songs of value have been left off the boxed set, but may be found on the aforementioned "Have a Nice Day" series. Before spending too much on this boxed set, finding a few individual songs on collections like "Nice Day" makes better sense; besides, the price is reasonable for the individual volumes. Should you be willing to shell out the bucks for this extravaganza, you might find that the booklet, with a number of awesome pictures, illustrations, and beaucoup liner notes, will justify much of the expense.

Caution: This product may cause repeated flashbacks for listeners over the age of 40.

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