Up Up & Away [Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

The 5th Dimension | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 18, 2000)
• Original Release Date: 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Buddha
• ASIN: B00004SBSO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,858 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First Flight, April 23, 2000

By 

J. Collins "Paradise Bar & Grill" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Up Up & Away (Audio CD)

With the help of Johnny Rivers, the 5D cut their debut album with Soul City records some 35 years ago. Though 5D started as an R&B vocal act, they were passed over by Motown Records, which at the time was the only major label to host this type of material with a measure of success. Rivers' guidance wasn't flawless, and his desire to turn the group into a vocal powerhouse hit a few snags.

This album bears witness to the triumphs and misfires of Rivers' influence on the group. The almost accidental inclusion of Jimmy Webbs' original songs were by no means a calculated choice...after all, there were two other single releases from this album before "Up Up and Away" made history for 5D.

The material on this album is fairly standard Pop/Soul Fare by today's standards, but the sound (vocal and instrumental) is an oddball concoction that takes a little time to sink in with listeners. A few of the song covers bring almost inspirational performances out of this group of (then) unknowns: "Go Where You Wanna Go" gets a soul-intensive vocal workout that the Mamas and the Papas were simply incapable of achieving; Rivers' own "Poor Side of Town" is treated to a gorgeous (nearly a capella) performance that simply blows away Johnny's twangy/nasal original.

Though there are a few middling performances on this record, it's refreshing to be able to HEAR the enthusiasm that members of the 5D felt, and you CAN hear it. Solo highlights include Marilyn on "Never Gonna Be The Same," and Billy on "Misty Roses" and "Rosecrans Blvd." And buried on side two is a classic performance ("Learn How To Fly") that should have earned 5D another gold single.

The bonus tracks on this disc pre-date "Up Up...", and if you're familiar with "I'll Be Loving You..." from 5D's Definitive Collection, you'll be amply prepared for the other two R&B raveups that appear on this CD. They are solid, likeable tracks, but nothing exceptional in the musical field for that period.

-Mic

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's the Jimmy Webb factor, of course!, May 30, 2003

By 

Edward Walsh (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Up Up & Away (Audio CD)

The only Fifth Dimension albums that stand up consistently are this one and the Magic Garden. The magic ingredient is Jimmy Webb - otherwise they stray too far into bland MOR. Not all the songs are by JW but the arrangements take up all the tracks to a very high standard.
The ultimate highlight, apart from the obvious ones like "Up Up and Away" and "Go where you wanna go", has got to be "Rosecrans Boulevard". I venture to suggest that it is one of the best of JW's songs. I have found it circling in my mind over and over as I tried to grasp its intoxicating totality.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of Up-Up and Away, December 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Up Up & Away (Audio CD)

The fifth's debut album is wonderful. Full of great pop tunes and the fifth's wonderful harmonies. Billy Davis Jr. and Marilyn McCoo have terrific voices. This can be evidenced on "Misty Rose", "California my Way" "Never be the Same." Though they were grouped to sound like the Black Mama'a and Papa's they have a distinctive sound all there own. Interestingly my cat chills out to this album and that's all the recommendation I need that this is a great album.