Dave Clark Five
Band members Related acts
line up 1 (1958-70) - Dave Clark -- vocals, drums, percussion - Lenny Davidson -- lead guitar, vocals - Rick Huxley (RIP 2013) -- bass, guitar, vocals - Denis Payton (RIP 2006) -- sax, harmonica, guitar, vocals - Mike Smith (RIP 2008) -- lead vocals, keyboards
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- Dave Clark (solo efforts) - Mike Smith (solo efforts) - Smith & D'Abo (Mike Smith) - Wizard's Convention (Mike Smith)
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Genre: pop Rating: *** stars Title: 5 by 5 Company: Epic Catalog: LN
24236 Country/State: Tottenham, London, UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: mono pressing; still in shrink wrap (open) Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $20.00
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Say what you will about the Dave Clark Five in terms of artistic merit. They certainly weren't the most creative group in the Merseybeat pack, but you had to admire their stamina. Produced by Clark, by my count 1967's "5 by 5" marked their tenth America album in three years . Add in European releases and you might have a recording catalog that was twice as big. With four of the five members represented in the songwriting department (the lone exception being bassist Rick Huxley), the album marked a modest shift in sound. Certainly not a shock, but reflected by material like the ballad 'Bernedette' and the bouncy 'Pick Up Your Phone' Merseybeat was still a major part of their repertoire. Critics had been blasting them for their "old school" sound, but by 1967 they were apparently aware Merseybeat was falling out of favor with the buying audience. That might explain why tracks like 'Something I've Always Wanted' and 'You Don't Want My Loving' found them tentatively adding blues-rock touches into the mix. Nah you weren't going to mistake any of this for a Muddy Waters album or something out of the Cream catalog. Still, Mike Smith's voice was well suited for blues material and when combined with his organ fillss, 'You Don't Want My Loving' recalled The Animals. Far less impressive was the group's growing interest in American country music. They obviously weren't the only English band to explore the genre, but their stabs at the genre were uniformly poor. Tracks like 'Little Bit Strong' and 'Picture of You' provided some of the album's worst performances. Listening to the album two other things jumped out at you. Mike Smith was hopelessly wasted on these album. As reflected on the single 'Nineteen Days' he was an impressive vocalist and decent keyboard player who routinely provided for the album's highlights. Lastly, the ten tracks were amazingly short. Clocking in at 2:42, the bluesy ballad 'You Don't Want My Loving' was the LPs longest performance.
Certainly not a "must own" LP, but far better than the majority of their catalog.
"5 by 5" track listing: 1.) Nineteen Days (Dave Clark - Denis Payton) - 1:55 rating: **** stars Wow, kicked along by some raw Lenny Davidson lead fuzz guitar and Mike Smith's multi-tracked vocals, 'Nineteen Days' was surprisingly rock-oriented for The Dave Clark Five. Along with a great melody, stretching into falsetto territory was an interesting move and gave the tune a unique sound. Epic tapped it as a single:
- 1966's 'Nineteen Days' b/w 'Sitting Here Baby' (Epic catalog number 5-10076) # 48 US Billboard pop charts
Not sure when or where it was recorded, but YouTube has a live black and white performance of the tune at: The Dave Clark Five - Nineteen Days (LIVE, 1966) [HD] Love the suits. 2.) Something I've Always Wanted (Dave Clark - Denis Payton) - 2:00 rating: *** stars Rock Huxley's harmonica gave 'Something I've Always Wanted' a mildly bluesy feel. You weren't going to mistake these guys for Muddy Waters, but give them an extra star for the effort. The track reappeared as the "B" side to their 'A Little Bit Now single. 3.) Little Bit Strong (Dave Clark - Lenny Davidson) - 1:21 rating: ** stars The first couple of times I heard it I found the faux-country 'Little Bit Strong ' nothing short of appalling ... a bunch of English guys who thought they like country music. Today it's just a brief irritation. 4.) Bernedette (Dave Clark - Mike Smith) - 2:11 rating: ** stars Thankfully it wasn't a cover of The Four Tops. Unfortunately their 'Bernedette' was a hopelessly sappy Merseybeat-styled ballad. With harpsichord and classical flavorings, it must have already sounded old-school in 1967. 5.) Sitting Here Baby (Dave Clark - Mike Smith) - 2:40 rating: ** stars The old-timey, jug band-ish 'Sitting Here Baby' has always reminded me of something a band like The Lovin' Spoonful, or perhaps Spanky and Our Gang might have recorded. Not a fan of the genre.
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2) Smith's opening organ gave the bluesy-ballad 'You Don't Want My Loving' an Animals vibe. Just because it toughened up their sound and avoided the Merseybeat sound, this was one of the album's stronger tunes. 2.) How Can I Tell You (Dave Clark - Lenny Davidson) - 2:05 rating: **** starsrating: **** stars Powered by Huxley 's thundering bass, the ballad 'How Can I Tell You' has always struck me as sounding a bit like The Band-styled Americana. Because it's such an odd song, it's one of my album favorites. 3.) Picture of You (Dave Clark - Denis Payton) -1:50 rating: * star I've never understood why so many British bands were infatuation with American country. A country tearjerker, 'Picture of You' is a good example of how bad some of the result could be. Smith sounded like he was singing with a nasty sinus infection. The song bares a strong resemblance to their previous 'Satisfied with You'. 4.) Small Talk (Dave Clark - Mike Smith) - 2:15 rating: *** stars The organ, upright bass and fuzz guitar arrangement was kind of cool, but ultimately wasn't enough to save 'Small Talk' from also ran status. Smith's scatting efforts didn't help. 5.) Pick Up Your Phone (Dave Clark - Mike Smith) - 2:01 rating: **** stars With a great melody and ear-candy refrain the bouncy 'Pick Up Your Phone' was a guilty pleasure. If such a thing actually exists, it was a great example of The Dave Clark Five "sound".
The three hardcore Dave Clark Five fans will be aware of this, but in 1969 the band released another album entitled "5 By 5 (1964-1969) 14 Titles By Dave Clark Five" (Columbia catalog number SCX 6309). The album was only released in the UK and featured a totally different track listing.
© Scott R. Blackerby
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