Released shortly before their run of hit singles came to a close, 1974's Joy to the World provides a convenient greatest hits package for the casual Three Dog Night fan. It serves as a collection of hit singles rather than a historical overview of the band, and, to that end, it covers most of the necessary ground. There are some glaring omissions of the group's early tracks - their first hit, "Try a Little Tenderness," the Laura Nyro-penned "Eli's Coming," and the Randy Newman-written number one hit "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" being the most obvious - but anyone who's acutely aware of these absences is most likely going to spring for a more definitive greatest hits album anyway. Joy to the World is a decent compilation for those who prefer the band's later, less soulful work.

Three Dog Night (1968). Three Dog Night's self-titled debut is one of the strongest and most cohesive offerings by the combo. Their claim to fame would come via overhauls and sleepers from a wide spectrum of luminous singer/songwriters. The moniker refers to lead vocalists Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron and Cory Wells, but credit is overdue for the incendiary instrumentalists: Mike Allsup (guitar), Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass) and Floyd Sneed (drums). The combo's initial achievement came in April of 1969 after their remake of Harry Nilsson's loner/heartbreak anthem "One" landed in the Top Five. So successful was the track, the record label emblazoned the name of the song onto the cover art - resulting in the long-player also (albeit erroneously) being identified as "One"…

The last studio album from Three Dog Night to crack the Top 20, Hard Labor shows the growing cracks in the band's armor. Where on previous albums they had selected songs that highlighted their harmonic prowess, most of the tracks on Hard Labor are essentially solo efforts with group backing vocals. As a result, the band loses much of their soul and spirit. The lightweight hits, "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" and "Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)," both with Cory Wells singing lead, are most representative of the record. However, the highlights are the Chuck Negron-sung "The Show Must Go On" (written and originally performed by Leo Sayer) and the dramatic, emotional ballad "I'd Be So Happy" (penned by Skip Prokop of Lighthouse fame).

This album, while not their most successful, is one of Three Dog Night's most interesting. Cut during a period when they were still very hot but were almost on the downside of their career, this album has a very strong gospel feeling to it. This is most evident on the hit single "Shambala," one of the group's finest later period records. It's a masterful record that shows the factors that made the group successful - the counterpoint vocals of Wells, Negron, and Hutton surrounded by a very heavy hard rock backing. Guitarist Mike Allsup contributes a few good originals, too. The closing track, "Into My Life," continues the gospel feeling of the record and ends it on a high note. It's nice to know that with all of the debauchery and drugs, Three Dog Night still had their spiritual priorities in some order.

Since Three Dog Night's albums were typically short, single-disc compilations that pair two of them together are not only logical but a good value, too. Case in point: this one, with 19 tracks from two of the band's releases from 1970, it clocks at just over 68 minutes. The sequencing of It Ain't Easy has been changed from the American edition that led off with the disc's biggest hit, "Mama Told Me Not to Come." That song appears here buried in the programming at cut seven, which changes the feel of the finished product. The easy rolling version of Paul Williams' "Out in the Country" was the only other charting nugget, although the first appearance of Elton John's "Your Song," which predated John's own version on his debut by a few months, proves how sharp the group's knack for finding great tunes was…

Weighing it at a generous 20 tracks, The Best of Three Dog Night may be a little much for some casual listeners, yet it's unquestionably the definitive collection, featuring all of their hits, plus a nice selection of album tracks. There isn't anything major missing, and while some of the non-singles material isn't particularly strong, there are enough worthwhile moments to make this a fairly consistent, enjoyable listen, in addition to being the one Three Dog Night album most fans will need.