The Lovin' Spoonful Greatest Hits

The Lovin' Spoonful Greatest Hits
The Lovin' Spoonful Greatest Hits
Compilation album by The Lovin' Spoonful
Released	February 22, 2000
Recorded	June 1965 – May 1968
Genre	Folk rock
Length	67:28
Label	Buddha Records
Producer	Rob Santos
The Lovin' Spoonful chronology

The Lovin' Spoonful Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the folk rock group The Lovin' Spoonful, released on Buddha Records on February 22, 2000. The album contains every Top 40 hit single enjoyed by the band in the United States including its only chart-topper, "Summer in the City." The original recordings were produced by Erik Jacobsen, and originally released on Kama Sutra Records.

Content[]

This compilation contains all eleven singles released by the band in the United States during the 1965–1968 tenure of its principal songwriter, John Sebastian. Of those, all charted and the first seven made the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. The song "Never Going Back" appeared in the summer of 1968 as the first single after Sebastian had left the band. An additional single, "Jug Band Music," was released in Canada only but appeared on the band's second album in the US. The title song to the Francis Ford Coppola film You're A Big Boy Now was intended as a single but withdrawn at the time; it and its b-side "Lonely (Amy's Theme)" are included in this compilation.

Five of these tracks appeared as b-sides, and all 26 tracks appeared on the five albums and two soundtrack albums released by the group during its lifetime. The song "Younger Generation" was performed by Sebastian in his unscheduled appearance at Woodstock; it also appears in the film.

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]

In his Allmusic review, music critic Hal Horowitz wrote "...the 2000 issue of the umpteenth collection from this short-lived '60s band gets the nod over all others. Taken from the original first-generation masters, apparently for the first time, the sound quality – with a crispness and definition previously unheard – and even track selection, is the finest yet."^[1] This release is the website's album pick in the compilation section of the band's AllMusic discography.

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by John Sebastian except as noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Do You Believe in Magic" (Kama Sutra 201 Billboard No. 9)		2:07
2.	"You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" (Kama Sutra 205 Billboard No. 10)	John Sebastian, Steve Boone	2:29
3.	"Daydream" (Kama Sutra 208 Billboard No. 2)		2:21
4.	"You Baby"	Barry Mann, Phil Spector, Cynthia Weil	2:56
5.	"Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" (Kama Sutra 209 Billboard No. 2)		1:59
6.	"Wild About My Lovin'"	traditional	2:36
7.	"Younger Girl"		2:20
8.	"On the Road Again" (Kama Sutra 201b)		1:51
9.	"Didn't Want to Have to Do It" (Kama Sutra 209b)		2:06
10.	"Jug Band Music" (Kama Sutra 301x RPM No. 2)		2:53
11.	"Summer in the City" (Kama Sutra 211 Billboard No. 1)	John Sebastian, Mark Sebastian, Steve Boone	2:45
12.	"Rain on the Roof" (Kama Sutra 216 Billboard No. 10)		2:13
13.	"Pow! (Theme from What's Up, Tiger Lily?)" (Kama Sutra 216b)	John Sebastian, Skip Boone, Steve Boone, Joe Butler, Zal Yanovsky	2:26
14.	"Nashville Cats" (Kama Sutra 219 Billboard No. 8)		2:35
15.	"Lovin' You"		2:29
16.	"Darlin' Companion" (Kama Sutra 220b)		2:22
17.	"Coconut Grove"	John Sebastian, Zal Yanovsky	2:43
18.	"Full Measure" (Kama Sutra 219b Billboard No. 87)	John Sebastian, Steve Boone	2:42
19.	"Darling Be Home Soon" (Kama Sutra 220 Billboard No. 15)		3:34
20.	"Lonely (Amy's Theme)" (Kama Sutra 231b withdrawn)		3:20
21.	"You're a Big Boy Now" (Kama Sutra 231 withdrawn)		2:32
22.	"Six O'Clock" (Kama Sutra 225 Billboard No. 18)		2:43
23.	"She Is Still a Mystery" (Kama Sutra 239 Billboard No. 27)		3:01
24.	"Money" (Kama Sutra 241 Billboard No. 48)		1:55
25.	"Younger Generation"		2:42
26.	"Never Going Back" (Kama Sutra 250 Billboard No. 73)	John Stewart	2:48
Total length:			67:28

Personnel[]

John Sebastian — vocals, guitars, autoharp, harmonica, organ all tracks except "Never Going Back"
Steve Boone – bass, vocals
Joe Butler — drums, percussion, vocals
Zal Yanovsky — electric and acoustic guitars, vocals tracks 1–22
Jerry Yester — guitars, banjo, keyboards, vocals tracks 23–26

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Horowitz, Hal. "Greatest Hits > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved October 19, 2017.

[HH-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b Horowitz, Hal. "Greatest Hits > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved October 19, 2017.

[1]

hide v t The Lovin' Spoonful
Steve Boone Joe Butler Mike Arturi Phil Smith John Sebastian Zal Yanovsky Jerry Yester
Studio albums	Do You Believe in Magic Daydream Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful You're A Big Boy Now Everything Playing Revelation: Revolution '69
Compilations	What's Shakin' The Best of The Lovin' Spoonful The Very Best of the Lovin' Spoonful Anthology Greatest Hits
Live albums	Live at the Hotel Seville
Singles	"Do You Believe In Magic" "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" "Daydream" "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" "Summer in the City" "Darling Be Home Soon"