5 By 5 = GO! (aka 14 Titles 1964-69)
JUST A LITTLE BIT NOW / Maze of Love / Return My Love / Best Days Work / Who Do You Think You're Talking To
/ Got Love If You Want It / THE RED BALLOON //// PLEASE STAY / Devoted to Me / 34-06 / Away From the Noises / When
I'm Alone / I Still Need You / NO ONE CAN BREAK A HEART LIKE YOU
Album Review by - John Hesterman
"This LP is a mixture of the new and old styles of the DC5. I prefer the old, however some of the new
direction is good in small doses. The album opens with JUST A LITTLE BIT NOW, a song in the You Got What It Takes
tradition. It's well produced, well played and very well sung by Mike Smith. Like most of the DC5 brass based singles,
however, it wasn't a hit in the U. S. Where I grew up (Phoenix, AZ) radio stations mostly ignored it. Maze of Love
follows. I find this song tedious, but there are those who consider it one of the better latter-day DC5 tracks.
I guess it's a matter of taste. Now we get to the great stuff . . . Return My Love! This is a DC5 throwback to
their old style (and was probably recorded much earlier than this album was released). It's the DC5 I know and
love. Excellent writing (a very strong hook), excellent playing and singing, it has everything needed for a top
40 hit in 1965. Too bad it was released in 1968. Best Days Work is a typical DC5 filler, pleasant and interesting
enough. Who Do You Think You're Talking To is a throw away as far as I'm concerned and should have been replaced
by an unreleased track featuring Lenny Davidson's lead vocal called Sometimes (not the Sometimes written by Ron
Ryan which appeared on the American Tour LP). This unreleased Lenny track is real gem. Too bad we missed it here.
Got Love If You Want It is another piece of filler, not great, but certainly not bad. Side one ends with Dave Clark's
only appearance as lead vocalist on a DC5 record, and Gary Owen's FAVORITE DC5 track: THE RED BALLOON. This is
a weird choice for a DC5 single, but it sold well in Europe (but was an abysmal failure in the U.S.).
Side two opens with PLEASE STAY. Again, there are those who really like Mike's attempts at R & B with songs
like this one (Blueberry Hill from the You Got What It Takes LP and Bring It In Home To Me from the DC & Friends
LP come to mind) but I find them a bit over the top. I know he's experimenting with a "new direction"
but I find myself wishing he would experiment at his own expense. Devoted to Me is another GREAT throwback which
would have been right at home on the Satisfied With You LP, and should have been there. 34-06 and Away From The
Noises are in this same category: GREAT DC5 ballads in their older style, with fine vocals from Mike and Lenny
and just the right production for 1965. When I'm Alone (I've always liked this track) is a soundtrack instrumental
(more a Les Reed & His Orchestra record than a DC5 record originally released on the Having A Wild Weekend
LP with its companion piece Sweet Memories), and I Still Need You was originally released on the Satisfied With
You LP, both featuring fine production and excellent performances. The LP closes with NO ONE CAN BREAK A HEART
LIKE YOU, fully orchestrated (including silky mandolins) and a vocal from Lenny. I'm a romantic so I like this
track, but again, his unreleased Sometimes would have been the better choice. I often wonder what prompted Dave
Clark to release certain tracks as singles towards the end of the DC5 experience. More often than not, his choices
(at least for the American market) were unwise. Following TRY TOO HARD with SATISFIED WITH YOU is a perfect example.
What was he thinking?
This was the first British DC5 album I purchased, and it's on Columbia. The differences between Columbia and
Epic are striking in terms of clarity, very like Parlophone Beatles albums compared to Capitol Beatles albums.
More definition. Better stereo separation (when real stereo exists) and better overall fidelity. As a result, 5
X 5 = Go U.K. is a good experience, even if half the album was a rehash of old material or songs that sound like
old material. Hey, I love the old stuff!"