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Their first and biggest hit, I'd really love to see you tonight, was the sort of song you might expect to hear from Bread. It reached number two in the American pop charts. The follow-up, Nights are forever without you, also made the top ten. Despite this promising start, they only had a few more hits. We'll never have to say goodbye again and Love is the answer both made the top ten. It's sad to belong and Gone too far made the top thirty. What can I do with this broken heart just made the top fifty. In Britain, their chart record was almost non-existent.

This collection contains all their pop hits, plus the best of their other music, including a couple of singles that were minor hits on the adult contemporary chart. They split in 1980, after which Dan was a successful country singer, but that music is outside the scope of this collection. John has done little of note since the split.

England Dan and John Ford Coley made some great music that should appeal to fans of Bread in particular, but also to fans of great seventies pop music in general.


'70's AOR/Pop At Its Finest!   May 21, 2001
 32 out of 33 found this review helpful

If you were near a radio in the late '70's, then chances are, you were bombarded by the latest hit single from England Dan & John Ford Coley. This collection of their very best hits contains some of their most memorable songs: Their first and follow-up singles "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight" and "Nights Are Forever Without You". ED & JFC also struck it rich with the following: "We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again", "Gone Too Far", "It's Sad To Belong" and "Love Is The Answer". But, not only do you get the above mentioned AOR/Top 40 songs featured here, you also get the country-esque "Lady" and "Showboat Gambler", including a little disco flavor in "What Can I Do With This Broken Heart", as well as many other hidden gems performed in a style that only England Dan & John Ford Coley can muster. Dan Seals, without the "England", would later find success on the country charts in the mid-'80's, both as a solo and as a duet artist with songs such as "Meet Me In Montana" (with Marie Osmond) and "Bop". As for John Ford Coley, last I heard, he was selling used cars in Podunksville, Texas, although I could very well be wrong, which I am! Even though JFC may no longer be involved with the music business today, he sure left behind a lot of good music during his brief partnership with (England) Dan Seals (whose brother is Jim Seals of "Seals & Crofts", who had a plethora of early '70's pop hits as well). "The Very Best Of England Dan & John Ford Coley" is a very suitable and soothing collection of songs for any connoiseur of this style of music to have in their collection(s). But, like all good things, this CD won't be around forever. So you better purchase this priceless gem of must-have songs before it becomes a thing of the past. Buy yours today!


masterful soft rock   September 6, 2004
 15 out of 15 found this review helpful

I'm assuming most of the reviewers here were around (probably in their 20s or early 30s) when this stuff first hit the airwaves, & that a good number of them found themselves getting mighty nostalgic with the appearance of this best of CD on Rhino. I used to think I knew of most of the "well-known" '70s bands, but it turns out an enormous amount of it had completely evaded me. England Dan & John Ford Coley's hits still kinda get a lot of airplay even today, and most newer listeners around my age (23) who's ears are attuned to more "modern pop music", so to speak, & didn't grow up with this stuff probably would just ignore it altogether as dated, Muzak-y, generic background music. I was pre-conditioned to do the same. But, a funny thing can happen when you actually LISTEN. I just happened to hear "We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again" & couldn't shake its sentimental chorus. Tracked down the song & discovered it was by England Dan & John Ford Coley. Hmmm. A bit later I was grabbed by the chorus of "Nights Are Forever Without You"--turns out it's by the same guys. Ultimately I picked this CD up. You get lots of great melodies, vocal harmonies, tasteful instrumentation/ production values here, not to mention songs that are undeniably high quality. Of course, the generally terrific hits "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight", "It's Sad To Belong", Coley's "Gone Too Far", & the beautiful anthemic "Love Is The Answer" (far superior to Utopia's original version) are here. There are other great songs as well like the wistful "Lady", the super-catchy country-western tune "Showboat Gambler", and the melancholy acoustic ballad "Who's Lonely Now". "Why Is It Me", written by Dan Seals and originally released on ED & JFC's 1979 "Best of...", is somewhat slight, but it's irresistible catchy--it has a grooving, late '70s Doobie Brothers quality to it. There are also a couple great songs that I believe had never been officially released on CD before--the moody Dan Seals rocker "Some Things Don't Come Easy", and the piano-based soundtrack tune "Part Of Me, Part Of You". The sound quality here is terrific, and extensive and interesting liner notes are included. All that said, this CD certainly doesn't have all of their great songs, and there are some iffy inclusions, not to mention a lot of empty space on the disc--in other words, this could have been better, but still, Rhino did do a fine job. At the time of this disc's release in 1996, I think the only available CD of these guys (aside from appearances on various artists' compilations) was a compilation originally released in 1979. This Rhino disc contains all the songs from that 1979 comp except for "In It For Love" and "Falling Stars". The subsequently released "The Essentials" disc from 2003 does have "In It For Love" and "Falling Stars" while also giving CD release to a couple other tunes left off this Rhino disc. Yet another compilation, an Asian release titled "Essentials" contains the most tracks & gives CD release to a few more songs, yet again leaves off "In It For Love", & also leaves out "Showboat Gambler" from this Rhino disc. Now I know that sounds like a headache, but don't blame me--it wasn't my idea to release compilation after compilation with certain songs repeated each time, yet with each one having something the other didn't. Their first Big Tree album "Nights Are Forever" & their last, "Dr. Heckle & Mr. Jive" have appeared on CD as imports, so if you really were to track down each of these aforementioned discs, you get most of their 1976-1980 output, yet it still leaves terrfic must-have tracks like the title track & "Don't Feel That Way No More" from 1977's "Dowdy Ferry Road", & "Just The Two Of Us" from 1978's "Some Things Don't Come Easy" stranded on the original vinyl. In short, it'd be really nice to see a collection that salvages all of the great tunes from these talented and sincere guys including the ones from their earlier A&M Records period, or failing that, perhaps a reasonably-priced 2 or 3 CD set that contains everything they recorded for Big Tree including the "It's Sad To Belong" b-side "The Time Has Come". True, they did do material from a lot of different songwriters in addition to their own material, but there are plenty of gems deserving a place in your collection. Keep your eyes peeled for CD issues of the 1976-1979 albums on Wounded Bird Records sometime in 2005 which hopefully will be released as twofers which in effect would nearly be a full collection of their Big Tree material. I can't help feeling that an act like England Dan & John Ford Coley (unlike for instance the Beatles) will be very much forgotten as time goes by, which is a great shame. Yes, the music on this CD, admittedly, is tied to its era in the sense that it really doesn't sound like what dominates the charts these days--with their under-3-minute, catchy and compact pop songs, they're a definitive example of a band who's hit singles were ideal for '70s AM radio, but I don't mean that at all as a criticism. Their excellence goes way beyond the big hits--this music is sheer high quality & it truly transcends its time.

(P.S. Also check out both Dan Seals' 2 early '80s solo records "Stones" & "Harbinger", as well as the self-titled 1980 LP "Leslie, Kelly & John Ford Coley"--they're a key piece of the ED & JFC legacy.)


Nights are Never Forever with this duo!   January 22, 2002
 11 out of 12 found this review helpful

Of all the duos of popular music in the 70's, these two stand out as the best with their great, down to earth lyrics and music. Their "Nights Are Forever" album yielded the best collection of songs by the two, many of which are on this album including the title cut, and remain one of the best duo albums ever. With the influence of his brother Jim Seals, England Dan has a great talent for lyrics and wonderful vocal range in song styling, and is complimented very well by John Ford Coley's harmony. For anyone in love, out of love or longing for love, just put these guys on and you'll be reaching for your baby in no time!


The Very Best of England Dan & John Ford Coley   October 7, 2000
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

When my daughter was small enough to be rocked to sleep at night, I would put on this album, vinyl then, and rock her until she fell into slumber. She grew up with the timeless music of these two wonderful artists and now that she is 21, I will be giving this as a gift to her this Christmas. Several years ago I had the wonderful experience of meeting Dan Seals and developed a wonderful friendship with this most kind and umble man. He is everything that his music conveys. I highly recommend this album to everyone who appreciates REAL talent and music. We Love you Dan!