Very Best of the Lovin' Spoonful [BMG]

Personnel: John Sebastian , Zal Yanovsky (vocals, guitar); Steve Boone (vocals).Recording information: 1965-1968.An attractive package of great Lovin' Spoonful material, BMG/Camden's Very Best of the Lovin' Spoonful doesn't neglect the many and varied hits of one of America's most fun-filled '60s groups, but it also pitches in a few left-field classics that didn't make the charts. Any listener who still needs to own the band's most familiar songs -- "Daydream," "Summer in the City," "Do You Believe in Magic," etc. -- will find them in abundance. But the 18-track compilation also allows space for a host of examples of John Sebastian's winning flair for quirky, melodic songwriting: "(Sittin' Here) Lovin' You," "Nashville Cats," "Darling Companion," and "Lonely (Amy's Theme)." ~ John Bush