like most bands at the time, 3dn's best material was not their big pop hits. this 1972 release is a brilliant example. this was their 6th studio album, excluding greatest hits compilations, and the band was at the peak of their popularity. by this time, the non-stop demands of the music biz and numerous drug abuse problems were already taking their toll, but 3dn was still managing to stay at the peak of their creativity, at least thru this album. their popularity would start to slip shortly after this.....and then it nose-dived 'til the group crashed-and-burned to an ugly break-up in '76. still, this album was done when they were still hot in both record sales and creativity. it certainly is one of their very best, though the damage they were incurring can be felt on this disc. in fact, this was the last studio album they released with the original 7-man line-up. during the worldwide concert tour to promote this album, bassist joe schermie's drug abuse caused so many problems, they were forced to fire him at the end of the tour. he was 3dn's first casualty....and i believe joe's eventual death in the 1990s was drug related. but this fine album was a spectacular way to go out!the album opens with the pop hit 'black & white'.....not the album's best tune, but a fun pop tune to open with.....and the problems were already being felt.....not because 3dn had young children singing the chorus with them.....but because the lead singer on this tune (danny hutton) was so coked up, he had a really hard time making it thru the tune. still, they eventually pulled together this pop classic. the next tune allowed singer cory wells to give a country flavor to randy newman's light-hearted bust on the old stephen foster classic 'my old kentucky home'. a very pleasant rendition. next, a short instrumental 'prelude to morning' serves as an appropriate intro to the mellow pop hit sung by chuck negron called 'pieces of april'. the story goes like this: when the album was completed, keyboard player jimmy greenspoon decided to celebrate by dropping a bunch of acid and tripping at his home. he was still tripping in his backyard by the pool as he watched the sunrise. shortly after dawn, he got a phone call saying the piano track to pieces of april got ruined and needed to be rerecorded. so while still tripping and with no sleep, he rushed back to the studio to rerecord the track....and afterwards while still recording, he just kept playing.....improvising a piano theme that was inspired by watching the sunrise on acid. then, he figured the piece needed some organ and a touch of synth. afterward he pinned it to the beginning of POA as an intro. everyone loved it, so they kept it like that for the album. after POA, they kept the mellow groove going with a melancholy tune they recorded for the movie 'xyz'. the song was a gorgeous choice featuring all 3 singers called 'going in circles'....a great song! then, 3dn decided to end side 1 of the album with a rocking bang and took a piece written by argent's russ ballard. russ had written 3dn's earlier big hit 'liar'.....but by this time, argent was hitting it big with their prog-rock tune 'hold your head up'.....so 3dn took ballard's tune called 'chained' and gave it the royal hard-hitting rock treatment while leaning a bit in the prog-rock direction with solos by jimmy on piano and michael allsup on electric guitar. 'chained' is a definite 3dn career high spot!for side 2, 3dn decided to be more rockin' overall than the mellower first side. cory opens side 2 by adding a country flavor to a rocking number called 'tulsa turnaround' where michael's guitar solo flirts with both country and rock & roll (and jimmy does the honky-tonk piano)! next, a more pop tune with a rocking edge called 'in bed' features danny and cory on lead vocals, with fine interplay by the 3 singers at the end. then a mellow tune with a gospel flair features all 3 singers in a song called 'freedom for the stallion', which was a great choice. danny follows up singing in fine, hard-hitting form by singing the rocking piece 'the writings on the wall' which features a great guitar solo by michael. and the album ends with a fabulous song which chuck got from the recording studio janitor. i believe the janitor was even allowed to record the mellow acoustic guitar which opens the tune before it kicks in with a hard rock, acid rock feel with michael on electric.....this tune called 'midnight runaway' allows chuck the chance to scream out his need to (at least temporarily) escape the never-ending demands of the music biz as well as his own drug abuse problems (which included his newly-found taste for heroine). this closing piece which includes an organ solo by jimmy joins 'the writings on the wall' as 2 more 3dn career high spots in the rock world.in closing, there is wonderful song selection thru this album.....it is diverse, cohesive and well-paced, almost going from mellow to heavy......despite their problems, 3dn was able to make this one of their very finest albums.....which is good, because the train would start to de-rail not long after this. if you want to hear this group at their best, this album (which also boasts fine work from joe on bass and floyd sneed on drums) is a great place to start!