When I was a young sprout in the mid '70s, you could not escape The Captain & Tennille. They literally were everywhere on radio and television. Many of us still bear the scars from repeated exposure to the song "Muskrat Love" (which, in all fairness, came from Willis Scott Ramsey, and isn't even on today's album in question).

Then, with little warning, they fizzled out after a few short years. You occasionally would hear them on the AOR stations, but they truly were a shooting star in the world of popular music. Yet they still maintain a solid fanbase, even 50 years after their debut release Love Will Keep Us Together was released. (One wonders, since Daryl "Captain" Dragon and Toni Tennille eventually got divorced in real life, if we could sue for false advertising.)

This first effort from two former members of the extended Beach Boys family - yup, Tennille was part of the lineup, look it up - is very much a product of its time, with light-weight pop songs championing songwriters from their recent past who might not have been getting the attention they should have been (or wanted). And, here's the kicker: it's not bad. (I know that statement is going to make Jason send me for a psych evaluation; I'm well aware of his take on this one.)

Make no mistake, there's a lot of '70s influence present here, especially on what sounds like wah-wah on Dragon's keyboard work. "Broddy Bounce" is pretty much a throwaway track that captures this era in all its sonic overindulgence; other songs feature this trait of the keyboards, but not necessarily as front-facing.

The funny thing is, this is where real criticism of this album stops. Sure, the title track and "The Way I Want To Touch You" seem to be on constant rotation on certain satellite radio stations. But, they've lost little of their power, and the latter actually is one of the best efforts of Captain & Tennille's career.

Yet there are other songs hidden within this disc that could have easily been hits - or at least demand attention from the listener. "Gentle Stranger" - which was the b-side of "Love Will Keep Us Together" - is surprisingly a stronger song, and one that honestly deserved a shot on the charts. "Disney Girls" sounds hauntingly similar to songs that Carly Simon was championing at the same time, while "Cuddle Up" and "The Good Songs" show that - heavens! - there was some substance to this pop act.

Interesting fact that I honestly didn't know: the album's closing track, "I Write The Songs," might be best known as one of Barry Manilow's most popular songs. But he not only didn't write it, he didn't release it first. The track was written by Bruce Johnston of Beach Boys fame, and was released on this disc before Manilow hit the charts with his version. And, honestly? I still don't like the song... but I'd pick this version to listen to if I had no choice.

And while it sometimes feels like they leaned on their Beach Boys connections a little heavier than one would like - "Disney Girls" was another Johnston-penned track, and they cover Brian Wilson's "God Only Knows" - and the title track comes from Neil Sedaka (hence the shout-out in the fadeout), Dragon and Tennille prove they are extremely capable songwriters in their own vein. The success of "The Way I Want To Touch You" is the most obvious example, but songs like "Gentle Stranger" and "Feel Like A Man" are actually better examples.

It's far, far too easy to write Captain & Tennille off into the dustbin of '70s music history. Sure, they more often than not found fame with works written by other artists, but they proved themselves to be no slouches in the songwriting department. Love Will Keep Us Together is a surprisingly pleasant collection of songs to pull at the heart-strings, and deserves a chance to be re-discovered by generations past and present.

Rating: B-

User Rating: C+

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