John Davidson's self-titled album is his fifth full-length, not his first. After a strong beginning his sales went into decline, he fell completely off the charts in 1969, and he made his last recordings for Columbia in 1971.
John Davidson, his second to last charting album, gives some indication as to what went wrong. Schlocky material like "Little Green Apples" and "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da" (
Davidson sings "oob-la-di oob-la-da") very quickly dated the album, and
Davidson's confident vocal performances acquired an unwelcome Vegas flavor. A straight, more durable rendition of "Goodnight My Love (Pleasant Dreams)" and a contemplative reading of
Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" cannot salvage an album that is now decades past its expiration date.