Other than a few goodies led by Marilyn McCoo ("One Less Bell,"
"Working on a Groovy Thing," and "Wedding Bell Blues"), the years
haven't been kind to the Fifth Dimension's music. They had soulful
singers, especially McCoo and Billy Davis, but was designated pop and
recorded elevator music with vocals. Even Laura Nyro's "Stone Soul
Picnic" defies description. Not many (especially in the U.S.) could
relate to "surrey on down to a stone soul picnic." While very
successful for a while, tracks like "Go Where You Wanna Go" and others
have become painful exercises in listening.
Andrew Hamilton, All-Music Guide
The subtitle on this anthology is correct: This is truly the definitive
collection of the 5th Dimension's music, including all the hits and
most of the album cuts that anyone could want. The 20-bit digital
mastering provides a crisp, bright audio experience, and the joyous
harmonies bring back the positive side of the late '60s/early '70s era
in which the songs were recorded. The megahits are all here: Jimmy
Webb's "Up Up and Away," Laura Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic" and "Wedding
Bell Blues," the Bacharach-David opus "One Less Bell to Answer," the
beautiful "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" and the
Grammy-winning number one smash from the spring of 1969, "Aquarius/Let
the Sunshine In" from Hair. There are not-quite-Top-Ten hits like
"Sweet Blindness," "Go Where You Wanna Go," "California Soul," "Workin'
on a Groovy Thing," "Blowing Away," "Save the Country" and "Love's
Lines, Angles and Rhymes." What a run this quintet had on the pop
charts from 1967 to 1972. This two-disc set successfully makes the case
for the 5th Dimension to be remembered among the finest purveyors of
pop song vocal harmony in the rock era. Baby Boomers will delight at
the memories this collection conjures up and will find surprises they
may have forgotten or never known: "Paper Cup," "Carpet Man," "Puppet
Man," "Light Sings" and the group's medley of "The Declaration/A Change
Is Gonna Come/People Gotta Be Free." Listening to Up Up and Away: The
Definitive Collection is a great antidote for the blues, lifting the
listener up with a smile and reminding those who may have forgotten
that there once was a time when it seemed that music really could bring
us all together.
Jim Newsom
