“Stoned Soul Picnic” by The 5th Dimension - album review

features in: Album Chart of 1968Album Chart of the Decade: 1960s

TJR says

An uplifting set of soul pop from the quintet best described as “the black Mamas and Papas”. It’s perhaps just a tad too cabaret to have me head over heels, but there’s no doubting some of the quality in these vocal and band arrangements. They were TV friendly, but they had talent and earned the right to be there. Noticeably, the best three tunes are all covers – the sunshine swinger “Sweet Blindness” and mid-tempo groover “Stoned Soul Picnic” were both done by Laura Nyro on her “Eli and the Thirteenth Confession” album earlier in 1968, and the soul stomper “California Soul”, penned by the young Nickolas Ashford / Valerie Simpson partnership, had recently been out as a single for The Messengers. Not all of this LP is to my taste but there’s no doubting it’s a cohesive and classy offering…

The Jukebox Rebel
12–Nov–2008

Tracklist
A1 [03:27] 6.4.png The 5th Dimension - Sweet Blindness (Laura Nyro) Blues Rock / Soul Rock
A2 [03:08] 5.8.png The 5th Dimension - It’ll Never Be The Same Again (Jeff Companor) Soul Ballad
A3 [02:52] 3.7.png The 5th Dimension - The Sailboat Song (Jeff Companor) Pop Ballad
A4 [03:08] 4.2.png The 5th Dimension - It’s A Great Life (Denny McReynolds, Karen O’Hara) Pop
A5 [03:30] 6.2.png The 5th Dimension - Stoned Soul Picnic (Laura Nyro) Soul
B1 [03:16] 6.1.png The 5th Dimension - California Soul (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson) Soul
B2 [02:51] 5.3.png The 5th Dimension - Lovin’ Stew (Jules Alexander, Jeff Companor) Soul
B3 [02:41] 4.7.png The 5th Dimension - Broken Wing Bird (Bob Alcivar, McKinney) Pop
B4 [02:37] 4.5.png The 5th Dimension - Good News (Dick Addrisi) Pop
B5 [03:18] 4.0.png The 5th Dimension - Bobbie’s Blues (Who Do You Think Of?) (Jeff Companor) Pop Ballad
B6 [02:26] 6.1.png The 5th Dimension - The Eleventh Song (What A Groovy Day!) (Jimmy Webb) Soul

© The Jukebox Rebel 2005-2020 All Rights Reserved