The essential England & John Ford Coley

We have always known that they made a lot of hits once upon a time. We also know and continue to sing the music and most of the words to some of their songs. But we must admit we didn't think much or for that matter heard a lot about England Dan and John Ford Coley. Not the way we read about an Eagles or Bee Gees reunion or how Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks figured in another controversy or another visit to Manila by the Air Supply.

Then suddenly last February, John Ford Coley without England Dan was in town. He was among several foreign acts, which descended on us to perform during this year's Valentine season. And it was only then that I realized that the reason we do not even remember what they looked like must have been because this duo was so quiet, so self-effacing, so uncontroversial and in many ways so unlike the usual pop stars.

Like most pop stars though they did have a lot of hits and this was most evident when Coley performed several of them during the concert at the Folk Arts Theater. Although stripped of the trademark harmonies, the audience still sighed and swooned over the spate of memories that came about when he sang their famous songs. I'd Really Love to See You Tonight, It's Sad to Belong, Just Tell Me You Love Me, Love is the Answer, Broken Hearted Me, Where Do I Go from Here? were all there. The only one lacking to complete the magic was England Dan.

I do not know if these two will soon be reunited on stage here or elsewhere but thanks to the magic of technology, all of their rock-oriented pop songs can still be enjoyed via the all-hit compilation series Essentials. Bargain hunters will be glad to know that there are a whopping 20 cuts in the collection. These are mostly the original recordings from the '70s but probably digitally remastered because the entire album sounds so good.

Best of the lot of course are the Todd Rundgren composition Love is the Answer and Parker McGee's I'd Really Love to See You Tonight. Aside from those already mentioned the other hits included in the album are: Wanting You Desperately, Some Things Don't Come Easy, Why Is It Me?, You Know We Belong Together, We'll Never Have to Say Goodbye, Part of Me, Part of You, What's Forever For, Only a Matter of Time, Nights are Forever Without You, What Can I Do With This Broken Heart, Lady, Gone Too Far, Who's Lonely Now, and The Prisoner.

Rick Price is definitely not in the same hitmaker league as England Dan & John Ford Coley but he has the pop idol looks and if we are to believe some rumors that surfaced during his recent visit here, also the temperament. Still he has already managed to rack up a respectable number of hits to merit regular tours and a special unplugged album.

Price was the Australian singer/songwriter who zoomed to the top early during the last decade with his sweet falsetto in the phenomenal tune Heaven Knows. The song was a huge seller than and nearly 10 years later is at present giving Price another round at the charts when it was reissued in connection with his recent tour. The song is a little gem that we can expect to listen to for many years on end and one on which Price can depend on for a lifetime career as a performer.

It is therefore no wonder that two versions of Heaven Knows appear in the beautifully packaged collection, Rick Price Unplugged. One is with the original arrangement and the other is an acoustic version. His other sellers like Nothing Can Stop Us Now and a live version of Walk Away Renee also make an appearance. Some nice surprises in the album are his duets, one is the pop standard Where is the Love with Margaret Ulrich, while the other is Trust Me This is Love with another Australian pop idol, Tina Arena.

Also included in the album are Foolish Heart, Strangers, You're Never Alone, If You Were My Baby, Wishing, Tenterfield Saddler, Not a Day Goes By, What's Wrong with That Girl, Fragile, We've Got Each Other and Where are You Now.