Three Dog Night “An Old Fashioned Love Song” / “Jam”

Here’s a single from 1971 that really does look like they sent it on that first rocket to Mars, left it blow around out there for a while, then brought it on back with some rocks and whatnot. How did it get in this condition, and why do I have it? I had the LP, Harmony, when I was a kid and trashed it beyond playability, but this Martian 45 still plays, though barely. I remembered writing about “An Old Fashioned Love Song” on this website—so I looked it up—a review of a greatest hits record back in 2018 (the review was from 2018… the record from 1974—but why does 2018 now seem as far back as 1974—or even 1758 or so?) Anyway, I knew I’d write the exact same thing—how something lyrically always bugged me about that song (toward the end), but still, it’s one of my favorite songs of theirs (written by Paul Williams) and hearing it, even now, is, for me, pure Hostess Cupcake Jonny Quest Cedar Point Funhouse Fanta Red Cream Soda Nostalgia. The B-side, “Jam” is an up-tempo R&B jam with a lot of “feel all right,” repetition, and Hammond organ. Where would the world be without that Hammond organ? It’d be like Mars, with shallow swimming pools.

4.21.23