| features in: Album Chart of 1967 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1960s |
All new material on “You Got What It Takes” (Epic LN 24312), released in the USA in July 1967. The opening title track takes on Bobby Parker’s 1957 smash and Mike Smith digs deeply (and most ably) into his soulful reserves coming on all Wilson Pickett. They’ve got the Stax horns to go with it. And this band don’t need no Muscle Shoals rhythm section. This pounding vitality, subtly twisted via Los Bravos “Black Is Black”, is strictly in-house. It’s a sizzling starter. “Thinking Of You Baby” hits a great R n B groove - Mike Smith delivers another fantastic vocal, Lenny Davidson’s guitar chops are amazing, and the whole group is duly enthused to drive it on home. The album’s storming highlight is “Doctor Rhyhm”, a propulsive garage groover which takes over from where “I Know” left off on the “Try Too Hard” LP in 1966 i.e. ripping into Bo Diddley and offering clear trace lines for The Stooges to fill in the picture via “1969”. It was paired as the flip to “You Got What It Takes” - what a killer 7" THAT was.
The continuing DC5 contradictions continue apace however, as the band take on “Blueberry Hill” to disastrous effect. This time Mike’s showboating vocal wanders all over the shop - like a karaoke singer aping cheaping laughs. No need. The album’s sugar-coated moments come via “Play With Me”, full of Manfred Mann-liness that sounds extra terrific with the imaginary flute in my head, and “Tabatha Twitchit”, the album closer that comes complete with a bum-bum Eurovision beat which, by rights, should have me running for the hills. It puts me in mind of “Jennifer Eccles” by The Hollies, to which I used to love wolf whistling. In another life this might be deemed naff factor 10 - but I inexplicably dig it. Although never explicit, it’s almost certainly a nostalgic nod to Beatrix Potter’s anthropomorphic shopkeeping cat… Tabatha was the long-suffering mother of three unruly kittens, Moppet, Mittens and Tom Kitten. “The Unruly Adventures Of Moppet, Mittens and Tom” Now WHAT a great album title that could’ve been…
The Jukebox Rebel
23–Mar–2013
| Tracklist |
| A1 | [02:58]  The Dave Clark Five - You Got What It Takes (Bobby Parker, Berry Gordy) Soul |
| A2 | [01:55]  The Dave Clark Five - I’ve Got To Have A Reason (Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson) Pop |
| A3 | [02:20]  The Dave Clark Five - You Don’t Play Me Around (Dave Clark, Mike Smith) Soul Ballad |
| A4 | [02:31]  The Dave Clark Five - Thinking Of You Baby (Dave Clark, Mike Smith) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| A5 | [01:44]  The Dave Clark Five - Lovin’ So Good (Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson) Blues Rock / Soul Rock |
| B1 | [02:46]  The Dave Clark Five - Doctor Rhythm (Dave Clark, Mike Smith) Blues Rock / Soul Rock |
| B2 | [01:39]  The Dave Clark Five - Play With Me (Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson) Blues Rock / Soul Rock |
| B3 | [01:43]  The Dave Clark Five - Let Me Be (Dave Clark, Denis Payton) Blues Rock / Soul Rock |
| B4 | [02:16]  The Dave Clark Five - Blueberry Hill (Al Lewis, Larry Stock, Vincent Rose) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
| B5 | [02:22]  The Dave Clark Five - Tabatha Twitchit (Les Reed, Barry Mason) Pop |
